Christmas in Marlow-land

[sheep-noises.livejournal.com]

This time o' year always reminds me of

1) The Christmas Play in Wade Minster, from "End of Term" (which I don't have atm as my copy gave up the ghost and fell to pieces >:( ) ;

2) The unconventional Christmas Dinner in a cave, with poor old Ann staying home in case the phone rings :( , from "Run Away Home"; but mostly

3) "Peter's Room". For me, this is the most magical of all those magical books. I must admit I've always skipped the bits in Italics, so I still don't know what fantasy it was that they acted out that Christmas, even though I've read it dozens of times. Don't care, either. The wonderful descriptions of the day-to-day Marlow (and a bit o' Merrick) winter doings are enough to keep me going :)

Comments

[ankaret.livejournal.com]

There are some books that I love, but frequently skip bits of for whatever reason - the example that comes to hand right now is the bit with the Jewish moneylender in The Grand Sophy - but I can't imagine skipping bits of a beloved book by a beloved author and never reading them once.

[smellingbottle.livejournal.com]

The fantasy segments in PR are really interesting just for the light they throw on the characters playing the characters (so to speak). You get to see Nicola wishing she wasn't involved and being as colourless as possible, Ginty making up to Patrick via this rather homoerotic friendship between their characters (pre-empting the Rosina stuff), Peter dealing with his own fears of cowardice via the torture scene etc etc. You also get to see AF writing a very different kind of fiction, too, and I think it makes the 'real life' Christmas segments of the book more compelling by contrast, if you can see why, say, Ginty is unwilling even to spare an afternoon to go shopping for a non-awful dress.

(frozen comment)

[sheep-noises.livejournal.com]

Well. I must say I'm sorry I ever posted this. 'Twas meant to be a nice nostalgic post about the magic of Christmas seen through the Marlows' eyes in various books, but it turns out it's all about my pig-ignorance for not reading the wanky bits of Peter's Room. Do excuse me, all you Shakespeare and other literary experts. Sorry for breathing, I'm sure; sorry for taking up space on your precious board with me ignorant witterings.

And a bloody happy new year to you all, you pack of pretentious posers. I'll crawl back under me rock now. Been nice knowing you.

[alliekiwi.livejournal.com]

I've never been a fan of the Gondal bits either. Actually, I doubt I've read them all the way through as the first bits annoyed and bored me. I sort of see their point - the play acting and all that - but I coudl have done without them. But then, I am most certainly not a Bronte fan. Rather like Nicola and her dislike of all things Dickens.

The bit that strikes a cord with me in the Christmas dinner scene in Runaway Home, is that it's the magic type of day that accidentally falls together and can never be repeated. I've had a few of those and have also felt that I wish it could happen again... but know that it cannot. Reading that scene makes me so nostalgic for those few perfect days of my own.