I had hoped to post a review of Mariana by Monica Dickens but it seems like my reading has been very slow going this week so no review. I’m only about 50 pages into the book but it’s really been a fun read.
I admit at first I was a bit confused because I expected the novel to take off when Mariana is a young woman, say in her early 20s, but we actually get to hear about some of her childhood memories first. She reminisces about the days with her cousins, playing and causing their nannies endless amount of grief. And, there’s one scene that was just so vivid in the way it was written that I could just picture these kids being up to no good. Here’s a snippet:
“Had Mavis Richie been able to see the sight that met Mary’s eyes as she clicked up the latch of the door, she would have fainted dead away. Her daughter Sarah was being hanged… At the moment she was standing with her feet straddled over the open trap-door that was used for sweeping away sand into the hollow space under the floor of the hut, and round her neck was a looped rope, the other end of which was slung over a beam in the roof. Hanging on to the end of the rope, a sack over his head with a hole cut in the front, out of which his little robin’s eyes sparkled with excitement, was Michael Shannon, the eight-year-old son of Mary’s Uncle Lionel. His elder sister Margaret, who, with her sticking-out teeth and tin spectacles and damp, clumsy hands, was always relegated to the duller roles of any game, was earnestly holding up a volume of the Children’s Encyclopedia, out of which Denys, with his shirt hanging out over his trousers, was reading the burial service.”
A bit of chaos, tears and blood follows but tell me, can’t you just see these kids sneaking around behind their parents’ backs and playing their make-believe games? I loved this part. It reminded me of my own adventures growing up.
I am looking forward to reading more of Mariana this weekend and also catching up on other Persephone Reading Week participants’ blog posts. Thank you to Verity and Claire for having the links roundup. The only downside to this is of course now I want to order some new Persephones for my shelves.
I’m glad I ordered this book a few days ago! Now I look forward to reading it. 🙂
And that’s a downside how?! Hee.
The more I read about it the more I want to curl up with this hotwater-bottle of a book sometime soon.
I’m glad you’re enjoying it so much!
So glad you’re enjoying Mariana. It’s a great book – whihc Persephone will you choose next?
Melody – Oh that’s great! It’s your first Persephone right? You are going to get hooked 🙂
Claire (Paperback Reader) – Ha,ha.. True. Although I may just have to win the lottery so I can keep up with that addiction. Isn’t the phrase hotwater-bottle book great? I’d never heard that until I saw that in the intro.
Verity – It’s great and of course I keep eyeing my other Persephones that I want to read!
Joan Hunter Dunn – Well, I only have two others on hand and both sound so good but I’m sort of leaning towards the Dorothy Whipple book as it seems so many readers just love her books. Ah, decisions, decisions!
I still haven’t held a Persephone books in my hands. I can’t wait for my first read. I checked out their website the other day and was looking at all of the options…so many books, so little time! Anyway I’m glad you are enjoying yours. Have a great weekend.
I think this one might go on my Persephone order. I hope you enjoy the rest of the book as much.
Kathleen – Just wait ’til you get your first… You’ll just want more 🙂 Enjoy your weekend too!
vivienne – It’s really fun. I really want to get to the part when she is older and experiencing her first job, love, etc.
That brings back memories of childhood reading for me, Just William, The Would be Goods and their games whcih almost always got them involved in something bigger and crazier than they intended.