Miss Shelf
New Member
I absolutely love the Richard Jury series. I just started "Belle Ruin", which is part of another series. I'm having trouble with it because it's written from the point of view of a 12-year-old, but it vacillates between adolescent and adult. For instance, the protagonist, Emma, will proudly show off her usage of a new "big" word she's learned, then a few pages later she seems to have knowledge that an adult would have. How many of us know the difference between plain old silk and watered silk? How many 12-year-olds know the names of different fabrics from bygone days that are rarely seen anymore? This is what is frustrating me.
Another thing I'm finding frustrating is I'm not sure exactly where the action is taking place (it's been a while since I read "Cold Flat Junction" and
Hotel Paradise") -for a while I thought it was set in Britain, then I thought possibly it was in America or Canada, now I am not sure. I'm still not clear on what time period this book is set in-pre-WWII, postwar or modern day.
I'm not entirely sure that I'm not in the right mindset to be reading this book, I think one needs to have more patience when reading a book that's being narrated by an adolescent.
Another thing I'm finding frustrating is I'm not sure exactly where the action is taking place (it's been a while since I read "Cold Flat Junction" and
Hotel Paradise") -for a while I thought it was set in Britain, then I thought possibly it was in America or Canada, now I am not sure. I'm still not clear on what time period this book is set in-pre-WWII, postwar or modern day.
I'm not entirely sure that I'm not in the right mindset to be reading this book, I think one needs to have more patience when reading a book that's being narrated by an adolescent.