I do like the Dodds, and I like RMF a lot (not RAH though). the Dodds all seem very REAL in RMF and I do like the scenes with them although they are younger children, and we don't really experience their inner lives in the books, so I don't think it's possible to identify with them in the same way as Nicola etc. Rose seems like somebody who might turn out very interesting - the developed fantasy life, the obsessive reading, the various fears and phobias - but she's a very reserved child at this stage in her life.
I also like Edwin, to some extent - and I don't really understand why everybody is so down on him! The point with him, I think, is that underneath an extremely brusque, awkward manner he does have integrity, strong feelings and a passionate interest in his work - even a sense of humour. Nicola comes to see his value in the end.
The Dodds do do seem like plot devices in RAH, but so unfortunately does everybody else IMO. I don't like anybody in this book very much, or the plot....and it feels peculiarly dated to me, a sort of madcap holiday adventure Swallows and Amazons thing going on in the eighties. There's a lot more character complexity in RMF - it's such an interesting situation, whereas the whole Edward Oeschli story is pretty flat. And Giles is a real problem for me in this book....he just seems a type to me, bold, dashing young naval officer, and AF lets him dominate her other characters completely, which makes the Marlows much less interesting as an ensemble.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2008-12-08 06:09 pm (UTC)I also like Edwin, to some extent - and I don't really understand why everybody is so down on him! The point with him, I think, is that underneath an extremely brusque, awkward manner he does have integrity, strong feelings and a passionate interest in his work - even a sense of humour. Nicola comes to see his value in the end.
The Dodds do do seem like plot devices in RAH, but so unfortunately does everybody else IMO. I don't like anybody in this book very much, or the plot....and it feels peculiarly dated to me, a sort of madcap holiday adventure Swallows and Amazons thing going on in the eighties. There's a lot more character complexity in RMF - it's such an interesting situation, whereas the whole Edward Oeschli story is pretty flat. And Giles is a real problem for me in this book....he just seems a type to me, bold, dashing young naval officer, and AF lets him dominate her other characters completely, which makes the Marlows much less interesting as an ensemble.