A classic from my TBR shelf...

I can't remember where I first heard about Angela Thirkell, but it was on someone's blog several years ago. And not just one person's blog. For awhile, it seemed like every other blog I followed was posting a review of one of Thirkell's novels. So, when I saw a copy of Growing Up in a used bookstore, I couldn't resist; I snapped it up, brought it home, promptly put it on a shelf .... and never got around to reading it. Until now.

Title:  Growing Up
Year:  1942
Place:  Barsetshire (Anthony Trollope's fictional English county)

Plot:  Sir Harry and Lady Waring's home is being used as a convalescent hospital for soldiers while they themselves live downstairs in the servant's quarters. A young military couple, Noel and Lydia Merton, come to lodge with them for a few months as does their niece, Leslie. And soon life at the Priory gets a little more complicated...and a little more fun. With wit and humor, Thirkell captures the struggle and uncertainty of the war years and deftly mixes it with the resilience and British good cheer of her main characters. There's even a little romance thrown in for good measure.

My thoughts:  This novel started off a little slow for me, but then I relaxed into the rhythm of Thirkell's writing and really started to enjoy her characters and their day-to-day happenings at Winter Overcotes. Lydia is delightfully charming; I loved the interaction between Sir Harry and his wife; and the uncertain romance between Leslie and Colonel Winter added another layer of fun. There were a few other characters I didn't love, but they only added to the eccentricities of life in a small English town. Growing Up reminded me a lot of a Barbara Pym novel with a hint of Elizabeth Gaskell added in.

Happy Reading!

P.S.  Since it was published in 1943, Growing Up fulfills the 20th Century Classic category in Karen's Back to the Classics Challenge. And since it came from my own TBR shelf, it also counts as a read for Lark's Backlist Reader Challenge. One book; two challenges. Gotta love that!

On reading Wodehouse...

P.G. Wodehouse is one of those authors I've been meaning to read for years. So many people seem to love his books I always figured I'd probably like them, too, but for some reason I kept putting it off. Bookish procrastination is one of my many faults. But this month, I finally checked out a couple from the library and actually read them. I'm just sorry it took me so long. Because they're as fun and charming and humorous as everyone says.

Lisa @ TBR313, who's a great fan of Wodehouse, recommended two of her favorites:  Leave it to Psmith and The Code of the Woosters.  Sadly, neither was readily available at my library, although I hope to read both soon. Instead, I decided to start with Enter Jeeves which contains the first eight Jeeves short stories, and the funny and delightful comedy of manners, The Adventures of Sally.  

What can I say?  I loved them both. You can now count me a fan of P.G. Wodehouse, too. Here's a taste from each book so you can see what I mean.

From Enter Jeeves:  
Jeeves--my man, you know--is really a most extraordinary chap. So capable. Honestly, I shouldn't know what to do without him...I rely on him at every turn. I'm a bit short of brain myself:  the old bean would appear to have been constructed more for ornament than for use, don't you know; but give me five minutes to talk the thing over with Jeeves and I'm game to advise any one about anything.

 And from The Adventures of Sally:

Sally looked contentedly down the long table. She felt happy at last. Everybody was talking and laughing now, and her party, rallying after an uncertain start, was plainly the success she had hoped it would be....At her end of the table the conversation had turned once more to the great vital topic of Sally's legacy and what she ought to do with it. The next best thing to having money of one's own, is to dictate the spending of somebody else's, and Sally's guests were finding a good deal of satisfaction in arranging a Budget for her.

And up next?

Happy Reading!