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Gaskell, Elizabeth. 1866. Wives and Daughters.

To begin with the old rigmarole of childhood. In a country there was a shire, and in that shire there was a town, and in that town there was a house, and in that house there was a room, and in that room there was a bed, and in that bed there lay a little girl; wide awake and longing to get up, but not daring to do so for fear of the unseen power in the next room; a certain Betty, whose slumbers must not be disturbed until six o'clock struck, when she wakened of herself 'as sure as clockwork' and left the household very little peace afterwards. It was a June morning, and early as it was, the room was full of sunny warmth and light.

This first chapter introduces us to a young Molly Gibson. She's around twelve at the time give or take a little. And she is most eager to go to her 'first' 'real' social event: a tea hosted by the Lord and Lady of the region--Lord and Lady Cumnor. The Cumnor's estate--they have several--in the region was called The Towers. (Usually they reside elsewhere. This is definitely just their country vacation home.) At this grand party, the young girl gets bored wanders into the gardens, falls asleep, is later discovered by the former-governess-then widow, Mrs. Kirkpatrick. (The family STILL calls her Miss Clare.) This discovery ruins the day for her. It's not that the family treats her poorly, it's just that when Mrs. Kirkpatrick tells the young girl to rest from being out in the sun (or some such notion) in her room, the girl falls asleep and misses her ride home. So she awakens hours later alone and confused and wanting to go home and be with her dad. (Her mother died when she was just a wee thing.) Her dad, the doctor, a somewhat dignified, genuinely respected doctor, comes to her rescue, however, and she's saved the embarrassment of having to sleep over.

A few chapters later Molly has grown from twelve to sixteen. She's becoming a young lady, an attractive young lady. And her father is noticing the transition. Feeling overwhelmed by the thought of raising her alone, he decides to remarry. It's not that he decides this overnight. At first he resists the notion. But as the idea sits with him, it grows on him more and more. When he discovers that Mrs. Kirkpatrick is once again visiting The Towers (after quite a few years absence from the region) he decides to call on the family and see if she might not do as a wife. He knows or vaguely remembers that she has a daughter around Molly's age. He hopes that the idea of raising a daughter without a father will seem equally daunting to her as raising a daughter without a mother.

Molly is SO NOT HAPPY with the idea of a stepmother and stepsister.

And here my summary must stop. The book is long 648 pages. But it is good in a steady kind of way. It is slow; It is steady; It is good; It improves with each bit. (What do I mean by "bit"? Well, the descriptions seem heavy and largely unnecessary--very weighty--at the very beginning. But towards the middle and especially at the end, it begins to make sense. These descriptive bits which you take for fluff at first, are meant to pad the resulting pages. In other words, they help explain or fill out or give substance to the rest. It's not that you'll desperately need that information, but it will make more sense and be a better read if you resist the urge to skip and skim. Gaskell has a HUGE task. She brings to life a whole community. From the Gibsons to the Kirkpatricks to the Cumnors to the Hamleys to the town busybodies. A real panoramic, sweeping view or portrait of life.

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Bray, Libba. 2007. The Sweet Far Thing.

The Sweet Far Thing concludes the trilogy following Gemma Doyle and her quests in and out of the realms. (The first being A Great and Terrible Beauty which I read at least six months or so before I started blogging so there's no record of what I thought. And the second being Rebel Angels which I reviewed last winter/spring.) The book is heavy both in content and weight. 819 pages. Most of them of seventeen-year-old Gemma confused about who she is and what she wants. At the end of Rebel Angels, Gemma bound the magic of the realms to herself. She had promised several different peoples or tribes that she would later share the magic and make peace throughout the realms; she would issue in a new era of peace and unity. The close of Rebel Angels also saw the death of Circe. (or did it???)

The Sweet Far Thing picks up three months later. It is spring. Felicity and Gemma are getting ready to make their debut in society. And Ann, poor Ann, is still going to be a governess. She's still being treated horribly by the other girls at Spence Academy. Mrs. Nightwing is planning a big masked ball in honor of the graduating class--the class of which Gemma and Felicity and Ann are a part. The other buzz around campus is the ongoing work to complete the East Wing. Mrs. Nightwing is determined that the East Wing which was originally destroyed by fire twenty-five years before, needs to be rebuilt in order for Spence to regain its honor and prestige. But there are many people who fear what will happen when the East Wing is rebuilt. They're afraid of what might become unsealed and unburied. The Gypsies. Mother Elena especially is full of warnings. Most of which go unheeded. But such is the way with those that prophesy foreshadowing.

Getting back to Gemma. Gemma was having an identity crisis of sorts in Rebel Angels. She feared that no one really loved her for her. That her father and grandmother and brother all have their own "idea" of who she is. An idea that is far from reality. And she's worried that her friends just love her, just include her because of her magic, because of her power. She was tempted for a while by a boy, Simon, but then felt he didn't love her for her, know her for her either.

This quote is from Rebel Angels:

To Felicity and Ann, I’m a means into the realms.
To Grandmama, I am something to be molded into shape.
To Tom, I am a sister to be endured.
To Father, I am a good girl, always one step away from disappointing him.
To Simon, I’m a mystery.
To Kartik, I am a task he must master.
My refelection stares back at me, waiting for an introduction. Hello, girl in the mirror. You are Gemma Doyle. And I’ve no idea who you really are. (396-397)

Back to Sweet Far Thing. So Gemma is still learning who she is, what she wants, what she needs, and even learning what she fears most. When the book opens, the reader learns that Gemma has not been able to regain access to the realms. She can no longer conjure up the white door. She has seemingly lost her power. Also of note, the dreams and visions have stopped for the most part. But with 819 pages, the reader knows this powerlessness won't last long. Gemma will find a way; she always finds a way to get what she wants or what she thinks she wants.

There is mystery, confusion, epic battles between good and evil, trickery, betrayal, secrets, lies, love and lost love, fear and hope. There is family drama and school drama. And drama between friends as boundaries are pushed or nudged and little lies are told. Fans of the series will no doubt be anxious to read this saga through to its bittersweet conclusion. (I read it in two days.) But I'm unable to predict how they'll feel about the ending. I know my response. (Though I won't go there here in this post.) But how will fans react?

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Dana at So Many Books, So Little Time is hosting the 2008 Chunkster Challenge. You can read all about it on her site. But I thought I would post the rules here as well. I like to be able to reference them quickly, you know :) You almost have to when you're as obsessed or crazy as I am.

So here are the rules:

To qualify the book must be 450 pps regular type OR 750 pps large text.

You must read FOUR chunksters (one each quarter), you OBVIOUSLY may read more

The Challenge will run Jan 7th, 2008 - Dec 20th, 2008 (the only chunky thing occupying my mind over Christmas is ME! AND I am using my foresight remembering my inbox on Dec 31st/ Jan 1 of THIS year when all the challenges ended). BUT any chunkster started after Jan 1 qualifies.

OH THERE WILL BE PRIZES - one a quarter. Prizes to be determined later ( so making the rules on the fly here, peeps). Think small and fun, not big and chunky.

Sharing reviews mandatory, format still to be determined.

Join by leaving me a WEE comment. I will work on a list of active participants to be shared here. There is a sign-up deadline of March 1st, so tell your friends and neighbors but only until then.

Here are the books on my list that I'd like to read

The Lord of the Rings trilogy (all three books count as one) by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Chronicles of Narnia (all seven books count as one) by C.S. Lewis
Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell
The Once and Future King by T.H. White
Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray

Others I may read instead or in addition include:

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Vilette by Charlotte Bronte
Middlemarch by George Eliot
Mill on the Floss by George Eliot
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
Possession by A.S. Byatt
The Count of Monte Cristo, unabridged in 2 volumes by Alexandre Dumas
Christy by Catherine Marshall
Savannah by Eugenia Price
To See Your Face Again by Eugenia Price
Before the Darkness Falls by Eugenia Price
Stranger in Savannah by Eugenia Price

The chances of me reading all of these is very slim indeed. But the possibility of me switching out books is probable. Thus the listing of alternates. I might add a few more as the months go by. I'm thinking Stephenie Meyer will be releasing Breaking Dawn sometime in the summer/fall. And that one is bound to be over 450 pages.

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