Summer Half

I don't know if my reading speed is increasing or if it is just a co-incidence that I seem to have finished two books in almost record time (for me anyway). First there was Trollope's mammoth, "The Way We Live Now" and now my latest in Angela Thirkell's Barsetshire novels - "Summer Half." I finished the latter book in about two or three sittings, the final one in a motel room in Richmond, Virginia. At first I didn't think I would like this one as much as the others since the scene was a boy's boarding school and one of the things I like about Thirkell are her depictions of country life.

However, once again I was surprised because as I got into it, I really liked it, not as much as "August Folly" or "Northbridge Rectory," but it was still very enjoyable. There were, of course, some of Thirkell's characteristic lighter touches - reference to other characters or locales in her books, similar referrals to Trollope's Barsetshire series and, for the second straight book, a reference to one of Shakespeare's history plays. The latter item in this book comes early on when Lydia Keith, a loud and precocious adolescent makes reference to something being covered with "bubukles and whelks and knobs." In the text the quote is recognized as being from Shakespeare without any further identification so that only those who are passionate about the history plays like DT and myself would immediately recognize it as Fluellen's description of the ill-fated Bardolph in Act III, Scene 6 of "Henry V."

The references to Trollope's novels are either direct or subtle. Very direct is having the current Dean of Barchester named Crawley and identified as the grandson of Josiah Crawley, who appears in "Framely Parsonage" and is one of the major characters in "The Last Chronicle of Barset." More subtle is naming a minor character Bunce after John Bunce a friend and supporter of the Rev. Septimus Harding in the book that got all this started "The Warden." A similar approach is taken to the current references - appearing in this book in his late teens is Tony Morland who is a younger and less attractive child in "High Rising." Far more subtle is having the Birkett family (along with the Keiths, the major families in the novel) occupy Northbridge rectory for the summer vacation - that being the site of the book of that name later in the series.

In addition to these lighter touches, I also noted the repetition of two more serious things. One has to do with males expressing sympathy and help to other males in indirect subtle ways. In "August Folly" a father uses this approaches to console his son about underachieving at university, in this book, more than once teachers or administrators at the school do this to help students out of difficult moments. I am probably not expressing this well, but basically the idea is that one male recognizes another male is in difficulty and says or does something to help them out of that difficulty without directly mentioning the issue. Given the difficulty males often have talking about their problems it may very well be the best approach - I was interested to see it again and also interested to see it used by a female novelist.

Thirkell's novels tend to be light, very easy reading, something that helps me and, I suspect, others to relax. But this is the second time that I recognized something deeper and more profound. In this book it has to do with Rose Birkett's engagement to Philip Winter, Rose being the 18 year old daughter of the head master and Winter a 25 year old student very dedicated to the students and the study of Greek. Rose has almost no redeeming qualities, while apparently very attractive, she has little or no intelligence, is extremely flighty and is now engaged for the fourth time. As soon as she is engaged she proceeds to flirt with every male within sight making Winter very jealous and unhappy in the extreme.

At first I not only disliked Rose and Winter, but found the whole thing very unrealistic especially Rose as described in the novel. But then I started to wonder if perhaps Thirkell is using her a means to end - specifically the vehicle for making Winter miserable and behave badly. Perhaps this is offered as way to allow or encourage the reader to think about unhealthy personal relationships of any kind and the importance of either avoiding or ending them. To behave as Winter behaves is to have almost lost all contact with reality possibly the way we act when we are obsessed with something or somebody, perhaps when we allow our whole sense of well being to be caught up in how someone else behaves or treats us. Not to say that isn't important, but like everything else it has to be kept in proportion.

In any event, as I read my way through these novels, my enjoyment increases with each one. Next is to reread "Pomfret Towers" and "Before Lunch" both of which I have read before, but remember very little about. It is especially nice to know that I have so many more to read.