Spring is in my heart

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a tatted heart and a romantic classic for Valentine's Day

Spring is in my Heart !

Block Heart Brooch / pendant pattern notated on pic. It measured : 1.25" × 1.75"

  

I visualized the bright 3-petalled mustard flowers - a harbinger of spring in North India. The fields are literally yellow as one drives across the region !!!

Pattern for freeform Floral sprig 

SH1 - yellow ; SH2 - green , in size 40 thread.

Flowers : R1 : 2-8-2 ; R2 : 2+8-2 ; R3 : 2+8+2. All small picots.

Leaves : R : 1 (-1)×10 with large picots.

Stem between elements : short Josephine Chain of 4-6 hs.

Sandalwood beads sewed in center while sewing on the sprig.

A teardrop gem sewn in later.

A size 20 heart beside the larger one.

The Thornbirds

Colleen McCullough

This family saga book was a thank-you gift from a friend & colleague three decades back. Loved it then, loved it again !
The main protagonists, Megan & Father Ralph, are effortlessly brought to life, with memorable interactions.

Drogheda, itself is a looming, vast, vibrant protagonist almost! Her descriptions of the sheep station & the Outback bring it all to life - very vivid, very potent. A superb glimpse into farm life & breeding, the hard life, the struggles & loneliness, etc. And when the first droplets of rain fall, I could rejoice as if I were right there.

When I Googled to see if it was made into a movie, my jaw literally dropped !!!! Richard Chamberlain as the priest - Wow! 

I could Totally visualize Rachel Ward & Richard together. 

And how ironical - the man was unavailable to women both in the story and in real life! Now isn't that a pity ;-P

There was a personal surprise, though. High praise & gratitude for the valour of Indian soldiers! But the war narrative was the only part of the otherwise perfect story that seemed a bit of a  drag.

I'm sure feminists pan the story, and some of it may be "politically incorrect" in today's world. Whatever. A story well told, that touches the heartstrings is a winner! A personal quest for perfection, for the ideal - that's how I see it. 

💖💞💗 Enjoy :-) 💗💞💖

Books I Read - IV

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Back to Back Reading

2 Novels by Jane Austen

 Mea culpa. I take full blame.

Some novels, some authors, some author’s novels are Not meant to be read back to back!

I am talking about Jane Austen’s “Mansfield Park” (1814) & “Northanger Abbey” (1817, although first given to publish in 1803!).

Both are coming-of-age stories of 2 young naïve girls.

Mansfield Park

M

ansfield Park was okay.

When I started, I realized that I’d read (And watched) it before, but continued nonetheless, because details were largely forgotten.

The protagonist was a bit depressing, but overall, the story worked out satisfactorily. The end, though, was very abrupt …. as if the author ran out of time, space, ideas, patience, or whatever.

Kind of reminded me of Yash Chopra’s films that start off well enough, with lots of romantic twists & turns, but then come to such an abrupt, unconvincing “Huh, what the ….?!” end ! Stopped watching them, too.

Northanger Abbey

N

orthanger Abbey – to me the only redeeming feature was it’s underlying sense of sarcasm & humor, a story in a lighter vein, despite the frequent “vexations”.

But I could Not connect with the heroine & the narration was not engaging enough (with some proselytizing about novels & their effect/impact on young minds). Maybe if I hadn’t read it immediately after finishing Mansfield Park, I might have found it a bit more pleasing, although her gothic fears were a bit over-the-top. It did, however, remind me of a neighbour we once had. This young teenager was so addicted to RL Stine books (horror fiction stories) that she would wake up screaming at night ! So, maybe if I was younger, I might have appreciated the story/heroine more? I  enjoyed horror back then.

My take on back to back reading

W

hatever their individual merits or demerits, my main point is this :

When you read independent, unrelated, non-serialized stories by the same author, in immediate succession, you discover many similarities & repetitions, which might not have been apparent if reading is spaced out (unless one has an eidetic memory). Back to back reading tends to highlight some “weaknesses” in a writer, which would’ve gone unnoticed by a casual reader. It is a difficult act to pull off with aplomb (although some authors are successful - will talk about such an experience in a future post).

Speaking of these 2 novels, the setting, the basic characters, the supporting characters, their basic personalities, their value systems, their backgrounds, the professions, their state & status in life & in family, etc. etc. were so very similar ! It felt like the writer had a good thing going with the character-building for one story & used the very same framework for the other. While Northanger Abbey was written earlier (with some alterations later), but since I read it After Mansfield Park, I found it quite a drag to finish – had to force myself to get through it.

Again, my impressions may be more biased because of the sequence & timing of reading than actual merits of each story. There could also have been some fatigue in reading about the same period, & same circumstances, & similar romances. But it is as it is.

I did want to read “Emma” again (been a looong time); but I am firmly decided on waiting at least One year before taking it up. Meanwhile, on to some serious reading – too much mushiness, despite a sweet tooth, is not good for my health  ;-).

Disclaimer: These are my personal impressions, not a formal or literary critique, & in no way discount the immense talent of the writer. It is easy to criticize, but so difficult to actually write !

****  happy reading ****

Books I Read - III

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Classic Aspirations

Classics are always such a pleasure to take up & read . There are times, however, when one wonders about the antecedents of certain characters, or more commonly, What happens to them after a few years. Here are some of my all-time favorites alongside their chronological "partners". 

(This is not a review, merely my thoughts/impressions) 

SET 1.

 Original : Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen (1813)

Need I say more ?! Few would not have enjoyed it, and I am certainly not among them.

I have enjoyed not just the book, but also several movies & TV series based on this classic. Always a winner.

Pastiche : Death Comes to Pemberley by PD James (2011)

Then along came PD James’ “Death Come to Pemberley”, which traces events a few years after Elizabeth & Mr. Darcy get married, with crime & murder thrown in.

Can’t say I was too impressed with this book. It had some mystery & a whodunit curiosity, but the 2 protagonists were shown to be very weak, helpless individuals, who just seemed to wait for events to unfold without any control or idea of how to cope with problems. After P&P, it was a let-down to say the least – not in the writing style, but in the characterization. Maybe the fault lies in my own idealization of characters?!

Disclaimer : I don’t remember reading any of PD James’ earlier novels, hence my opinion is no reflection on her greatness & popularity. It is tremendously commendable that she penned a novel at that late age !

SET 2.

  

Original : Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (1847)

As a young girl, I quite romanticized this book & it’s characters & have enjoyed the movies & TV series based on this novel. Mr Rochester, however much he is criticized today by ‘feminists’, held a certain fascination for me. For some reason, the most poignant scene in one of the series (probably the 1973 BBC miniseries) was when the now-blind hero calls out in forlorn despair to Jane thrice. And a rags-to-riches ‘Cinderella’ story is always so inspiring, even if only fiction ;-)

Prequel : Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys (1966)

A beautiful journey into The Caribbean & thoroughly enjoyed reading about the native as well as Creole culture. I also love the fact that the author traces the life of the mystery woman, Bertha – a lesser, obscure character in the original, rather than the protagonists. Although, like ‘Rebecca’, she was always present in the background. Yes, the ‘original’ hero is painted as a dark man, but the Jean’s use of multiple voices to narrate the story brings to light each character’s emotions & rationale.

Inspired (?!) : The Evil Genius by Wilkie Collins (1885)

Shortly after reading Jane Eyre this time, I took up this book. 

Imagine my utter surprise when the first few pages read Exactly like Jane Eyre !!! The story starts off with almost the same setting, similar characters, similar events ! Fortunately, later events take a slightly different turn & there are discussions on marriage, divorce, domesticity… It was interesting to read the views of those times in relation to the present. The ‘heroine’ seems to be constantly at the wrong end of destiny, naïve, & indecisive. Definitely not one of his best books, but nevertheless, a quick read for a lazy afternoon.

Would love to hear your thoughts & perspective ....

Happy Reading :-)