Oana’s Comments (group member since Dec 04, 2009)

Oana’s comments from the Between the Wars group.

What does being a moderator that entail? (I might be a bit too busy, but maybe this might be someone else's cup of tea.)

I'm a little later than everyone in finishing this book (just finished last week), but I am glad I finally did. Thanks! I really enjoyed the Love in a Cold Climate film and I bought my copy of The Pursuit of Love back in 2003 - got to it at last!

Anyhow, I am not as hard on the Bolter as everyone else; I guess I just expect that that's how some people are. Ultimately I think she did nothing wrong. She would have probably been a worse mother if she had stuck around. Fanny got a better mother in her aunt. Still the Bolter is not someone I would care to have over for any length of time.

I know, I was pretty sad today! I went to get myself a couple of the mascot toys and the stores are nearly cleaned out. Life seems kind of boring now. :)

Yes, now that the Olympics are over, I can do other stuff (I'm not a sports person but Vancouver was the most fun it's ever been). Our local library has a copy for loan, so I shall have to get that soon!

Thank you for recommending this book - I had never heard of it and really enjoyed it. The characters were multidimensional and none was entirely bad or good. Even Mortmain was a good person despite his severe case of writer's block (he was always worried about having hurt Cassandra in the latter parts of the book).

I am also in the Stephen camp but I can see why Cassandra saw him only in a sisterly way. Perhaps as he gets more sophisticated, he will become a better conversationalist and be a better match for her.

As for the parts about their poverty, having grown up poor myself, I think children feel of its effects less if they have kind parents (Topaz was a great stepmother; I actually loved her eccentricities). I met a lady who lived through the Dutch winter of 1944, when people were starving there. She said that despite this, it was a fun time for her and her siblings. Their parents did all the worrying and the kids learned to live with less. Also, now that I have a job and am no longer short on money, I find that I am not as creative.

Anyhow, thanks again for choosing this great book!