Tuesday, May 8, 2012

My American by Stella Gibbons

'It was autumn.  Kenwood House, the eighteenth-century mansion on the edge of Hampstead Heath, had been recently opened to the public by King George the Fifth and its beauties were still sufficiently unfamiliar to attract crowds and admire the collection of pictures inside the building.'

Amy Lee is a scruffy little girl when she happens upon Robert Vorst who is slightly older at thirteen years-old.  He is visiting England with his mother and aunts and biding his time in the courtyard until they emerge from their tour of this magnificently situated historical home.  Cheekily asking if he could loan her six pence for the fare home, Amy puts out her hand for a coin and tucks it into her glove for safekeeping.  Shortly afterwards she pulls it out to have a look and is more than a little hurt to discover a buffalo head staring back at her, it's an American coin and useless to her.  It is not the last she sees of Robert though.

The poor thing is a bit of an urchin, growing up without a mother and barely cared for by a father who really didn't want her in the first place.  Through circumstance, Amy, ends up living with the Beeding brood where another child about the place is simply a case of the more, the merrier.  But for a girl who counts the seconds until she can be alone with her pen and notebook to create her stories the hustle and bustle sometimes proves to be a bit maddening.  Sharing her deepest secret desire with a teacher, Amy, is allowed to hide her notebook away in a filing cabinet at school and write in solitude after class.

It all sounds absolutely delicious doesn't it?  My American felt a bit like a three course meal to me in that it has a tempting appetizer, the meat of the story follows.  And then, just when I was really looking forward to the dessert things got a bit weird and the book turns into a dime store crime novel!  Now I am quite sure that in 1939 when this was published there were hoards of fifteen year-old girls just lapping up every episode of illegal activity and sexual innuendo but I found it a bit of a struggle and almost lost the will to continue at one point.  Where was her editor?  But, I did persevere through almost 450 pages for the sake of those who might still be reading my post at this point.  The dessert does finally arrive but my goodness, what a wait.

This is the third Stella Gibbons book that I have read and found to be enjoyable enough but I would be hard pressed to shout from the rooftops about any of them.  So now I am wondering whether it would be worth my time to give Cold Comfort Farm a try, am I missing the jewel in the crown?

28 comments:

  1. I've read three, Darlene and concluded that Cold Comfort Farm was the only jewel in her crown.

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    1. A couple of days ago I lucked out in spying a copy of 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die on a cart at the library. It had just been discarded, lucky me! Cold Comfort Farm has made the list so I'll be picking up a copy. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Mary!

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  2. This doesn't sound wonderful, I must admit... although I do have the same edition you showed. Cold Comfort Farm is certainly leagues ahead of the only other Gibbons novel I've read (Westwood) which I enjoyed a lot, but CCF is just brilliant, brilliant, brilliant.

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    1. When I find myself thinking 'would I like this book better if I were stranded on an island with nothing else to read?', things are not good. But who could possibly resist a three 'brilliants' review?! It is a bit of an iconic book so I'll plow ahead (pun intended). Thanks, Simon!

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  3. I am the odd one out who found Cold Comfort Farm a bit of a drag. For me this one sounds good.

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    1. I am thrilled to mention a book that you're not longing to read and can't get hold of, Mystica. My heart breaks for you when we talk about Persephone titles that barely ever show up on shelves here in Canada much less Sri Lanka! Thanks for sharing your opinion and have a super day.

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  4. This does sound rather frustrating; it's never a good sign when you find yourself wishing the book had had a better editor! I've yet to read any of Gibbons' books beyond Cold Comfort Farm, though I've been sufficiently warned that nothing else is quite so good. Still, I've got Nightingale Wood sitting on my shelf and will get around to it some day.

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    1. I think it was Fleur Fisher who said it best. While she was reading Nightingale Wood she was happy enough but when she wasn't she didn't miss it..or something to that effect. That is exactly how I felt about NW and the other two books by Gibbons that I have read. Who knows, it may just be the perfect book for a certain mood one day so don't let us put you off, Claire!

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  5. I've read several of her books and none is a patch on Cold Comfort Farm.
    Sad when a novelist writes one classic and the rest of her work doesn't measure up, but it's true in Gibbons' case.

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    1. This is just the sort of reassurance I was looking for, thank you! I can't begin to imagine the sorts of feelings, not to mention terror, that writers must feel when they put forward a work of writing. The next decent copy of Cold Comfort Farm I stumble across will be mine, thanks for stopping by!

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  6. Australian TV has a book club called The First ABC Book Club that airs, you guessed it, on ABC TV on the first Tuesday of the month at 10 pm. Last year they reviewed Cold Comfort Farm and as I remember all of them really enjoyed it. You can read their review and watch the 10 min. segment if you like on: http://www.abc.net.au/tv/firsttuesday/s3237559.htm
    I never miss this show. It's lost of fun. Happy page turning, Pam

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    1. What a wonderful clip! I really enjoyed the panel and have saved that site to my favourites so I can go back and and discover some other great reads. Wonder how many times a reference to what's in the woodshed has gone completely over my head? Thanks very much, Pam!

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  7. Oh she was a one hit wonder, Darlene. Cold Comfort Farm is magnificent - you'll roll around laughing! Read it next!

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    1. There are a handful of copies at my favourite shop in Toronto so next time we're there I will grab one. Don't you just love books that have you laughing out loud, Rachel? There is a section in 'The Clothes They Stood Up In' by Alan Bennett that had me laughing so hard I couldn't see the print for tears...which was really frustrating let me tell you!

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  8. I hate to be the fly in the ointment, but I really didn't enjoy CCF at all. Perhaps it helps to have a very strong (and fairly recently earned) background in English lit., as she uses a lot of refs to Hardy etc. which went way over my head. I didn't hate it, but I definitely didn't see it as a masterpiece, and in fact, it has steered me away from any of her other works. I would say that if this one didn't strike your fancy, then CCF might fall flat as well.

    However, this is one person's opinion... :-}

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    1. I so appreciate you sharing your opinion and sincerity. If there is a book out there with universal appeal and not one negative review then I haven't heard of it! My sense of humour is definitely more in tune with that of the English but there is no degree in English I'm afraid. Perhaps a good bit of CCF will go over my head as well so watch this space and one day you'll find out which side of the fence I fall on, thanks for stopping by!

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  9. Cold Comfort Farm is worth a read - it deserves it's classic status, but I really liked 'Nightingale Wood' as well - it's a classic cinderella story, quite light and fluffy (forgive me if you've already read it) but fun and with some lovely descriptions of spring time.

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    1. No forgiveness necessary! I have read Nightingale Wood and perhaps it was a bit too light and fluffy, that may be the problem. This could simply be a case of right book, wrong mood but I'm going to keep trying!

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  10. I'm not the greatest Stella Gibbons fan, but I would say it is certainly worth reading Cold Comfort Farm. I first read it when I was very young and didn't even 'get' that it was satire, but once I did I really enjoyed it!

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    1. A bit of background information or a knowledge about style can make all the difference can't it? Without a proper English course behind me or anyone close who likes the same novels to point the way, I would have fallen into the same trap of thinking 'this isn't funny at all!'. I am going to pick up a copy the next chance I get, the edition with that huge cow muzzle makes me laugh every time I see it. Enjoy your day, Nicola!

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  11. I never read the book Cold Comfort Farm but I enjoyed the movie, and have always meant to read the book. I think I will read it now. I am intrigued.

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    1. If the mood strikes, Sunday, you can always let me know! If I have got my hands on a copy then perhaps we can do a read-along!

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  12. I don't have a degree, and I always enjoy Cold Comfort Farm! It's a kind of parody of tortured rural idylls (if that's not a contradiction in terms!) like Hardy, I guess, and Mary Webb. It's very funny, and quite tightly constructed and well written. It's quite short, and very easy to read - I hope you like it because there's nothing worse than reading a novel which everyone has flagged up, and finding that it doesn't live up to your expectations.

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    1. I will be very surprised if I don't like it based on most of the comments from my lovely blog friends. Then again, 'The Woman in White' was one of those reads that thousands seem to love but I couldn't wait to see the back of! 'No Name' was much better.

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  13. I love 'Cold Comfort Farm' and would recommend it to anyone. I've only read one other book by Gibbons, 'Fort of the Bear' and that was a very worrying experience. Not only did it need a very firm editor with an extremely sharp pair of scissors, but it expressed various prejudice views that I couldn't square with the woman who'd written such a romp as 'CCF'.

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    1. Hi Alex, thanks for stopping by! 'Fort of the Bear' is a new one to me but I am less than inspired...did Gibbons have an editor at all, I wonder? Oh, and there are a whopping handful of prejudice views in 'My American' as well, some books from this era really make a modern reader squirm. Thanks for sharing your opinion on 'CCF', might as well end things with this author on a high note. Enjoy your day!

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  14. I've only ever read Nightingale Wood by Gibbons and actually quite enjoyed it. Have you read this one?

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    1. I have indeed! It was lovely but I just didn't miss it when off doing other things. You can always tell that a book is top-notch at my house if the hoovering isn't getting done. A really, really good book will have me reading while I cook dinner and considering my klutzy nature, that is saying something!

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