tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265120169320473011.post2634328861351608056..comments2024-03-25T13:09:43.054-05:00Comments on Charlotte's Library: The Wild Hunt of the Ghost Hounds, aka The Wild Hunt of Hagworthy, by Penelope LivelyCharlottehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11835101886202235868noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265120169320473011.post-64330300631501446202013-10-09T18:52:49.116-05:002013-10-09T18:52:49.116-05:00It just goes to show how variable peoples' rea...It just goes to show how variable peoples' reading experience can be--maybe if I had read this at a different age, in a different mood, in a different place, I'd have loved it!Charlottehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11835101886202235868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265120169320473011.post-85878138045557787802013-10-09T13:49:38.185-05:002013-10-09T13:49:38.185-05:00I loved the book as a child - probably because I k...I loved the book as a child - probably because I know the area. Hagworthy has to be somewhere around Roadwater or Luxborough in Somerset. But I would never have written in unless my own daughter had not been fixated on the story when I read it to her. Like JK Rowling, the story thrives on understatement. I love the themes of belonging/outsider and wisdom/being popular. Food themes? Never thought of them. It's the burgeoning awareness of the bigger world around them, traditional and modern that makes these two young people so real.Richard Baldwin - Leehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07551905813038593154noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265120169320473011.post-39844999168445116992013-08-12T06:01:36.851-05:002013-08-12T06:01:36.851-05:00I loved Penelope Lively's books as a kid, but ...I loved Penelope Lively's books as a kid, but you put your finger on something I had never quite articulated. The stories are full of children that something happens to, not children who make choices or do things. I do remember particularly liking the Whispering Knights, which somehow captures the natures of the three children very well. They are all ordinary, but it's this that makes the story come alive. The action derives completely from what sort of people each of the characters are, even the supernatural aspects. <br /><br />I never liked her grown up books very much though. Pennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265120169320473011.post-91731527676420904662013-08-11T09:54:58.502-05:002013-08-11T09:54:58.502-05:00I'm glad I'm not alone! I've never tri...I'm glad I'm not alone! I've never tried any of her adult fiction...someday....Charlottehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11835101886202235868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265120169320473011.post-29968795177722348092013-08-11T07:43:47.145-05:002013-08-11T07:43:47.145-05:00I was interested to read this - I too never felt e...I was interested to read this - I too never felt entirely gripped by Peneloppe Lively's children books. You may have put your finger on the reason why. I love her adult books and especially her short stories, though! Katherine Langrishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12529700103932422873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265120169320473011.post-72156555150118887622013-08-10T21:42:07.382-05:002013-08-10T21:42:07.382-05:00What a thought-provoking review. I don't gener...What a thought-provoking review. I don't generally notice food in books, but the lack of agency behind a character becoming something more is something that I have noticed. It's as though any old character could be the hero and this one only was by chance. Disappointing, sometimes. Laureenhttp://msbibliophile.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265120169320473011.post-61933743326037632832013-08-10T19:34:00.057-05:002013-08-10T19:34:00.057-05:00I'm glad I'm not alone with regard to food...I'm glad I'm not alone with regard to food! It has to be done well, though--better no food than lavish descriptions that lack substance!!!Charlottehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11835101886202235868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1265120169320473011.post-87632338920902746802013-08-10T18:35:13.799-05:002013-08-10T18:35:13.799-05:00Sorry, too many typos, here is my comment again:
...Sorry, too many typos, here is my comment again:<br /><br />That's an interesting review, almost like an investigation into what bothered you about the book. I've never read her but I've had similar feelings with other books when it's as if the characters could have been anyone and were only there to support events much bigger than them. It's not pleasant, I agree, and usually I don't finish this kind of book.<br /><br />Your remark about the lack of food descriptions is far from shallow, it's one of the things I always, always enjoy reading about. It's such an easy way of warming up a scene I'm often surprised not more authors decide to incorporate pages and pages of meals in their books :DRuby Scarletthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06357630134919728215noreply@blogger.com