Yes! This is my favorite fiction book of all time. Elizabeth Goudge's "The Bird in the Treel".I ordered it from Amazon. I have been looking for it for YEARS in thrift and antique stores. I've found many other novels of hers, but never this one. Even on line it was hard to find. And, as Oldest Son discovered, you cannot even find it in England, where Ms. Goudge hailed from.
Over the weekend I finished up "The Poisonwood Bible". I liked it. Although I'd have to add that the missionary men I know are loving husbands and fathers who aren't bent on forcing their way of thinking on other people. Although I did attend a weeklong seminar once and was horrified at the stories I heard there from missionary children, who felt abandoned in much the same way the book portrayed.
Last night, since I had such a sore throat I couldn't sleep, I read "Shipping News" into the wee hours of the morning. I liked that. Such a different style of writing. Anyway, I'm a huge fan of anyone who can write about people without centering the popularity of the characters around how beautiful they are. I tend to like stories about ordinary homely folk who have the ablity to remain interesting even when their lives are not.
So, all that said, I'm now ready to begin reading "The Bird in the Tree". I do hope I like it as much this time (about my forth reading) as I did all of the other times.
Baby Boy comes at 10, and my mom at 10:30. I've floors to vacuum, furniture to dust, a chicken salad to put together and a dining room table to clear...oh, and cookies, I wanted to make cookies...
That first chapter will still be there tonight, when I clammer eagerly up the stairs to my comfortable reading chair with the matching footstool...a warm kitty on my lap, a quilt up to my chin...(my fantasy life is rich).
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3 comments:
I enjoyed Shipping News too. Perhaps I should look for "The Bird in the Tree" here in Winnipeg. Maybe I'll have better luck than you. I didn't enjoy the last 2 books I read very much so I'm itching for a good one.
I sure loved reading George McDonald's books, most I read have been rewritten into our more comfortable form of English by Michael Phillips whose books I have also enjoyed. I have not kept up with his latest ones...possibly because I felt he got off biblically a bit in one of the last ones in the Heathersly Hall ones. But both men are so good at helping one to see HOW to live out the Christian life, no matter the circumstances. I love historical fiction which Michael Phillips is very good at writing. Actually I read very few fiction books anymore...being so facinated by some recent books that are teaching me more of scripture and the background of many things written there.
I do love books too...have hung onto not all, but all I can...hubby sees most of them as unnecessary and a bother. NOT his...mine! Oh well...I am not a super clean person...being a messy, though working on it!
I like 'The Bird in the Tree' too, though I read the two sequels before discovering it existed. It is available on Amazon UK in paperback form, though I see it has a 4-6 week delivery time, so it must be fairly rare. I was lucky enough to find it in a charity shop in the UK some years back. I should think it could be bought from Abebooks.co.uk if anyone's desperate!
BTW I also recently read The Poisonwood Bible, also with mixed feelings. I thought the father was a deliberate caricature - I didn't think the author meant to be disparaging about missionaries in general. But I felt she got rather too political - indeed, the bio at the back says she wrote the book in order to educate the public about what happened. And it went on rather too long towards the end. but still, it was interesting, and I loved the varying styles between the different voices.
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