vivico1 wrote:
paula_02912 wrote:
kiakar wrote: "I feel if Grace was 98 when she was writing this;"
Kiakar, I hate getting into symantics, but Grace isn't writing this...Kate Morton is, and Grace is remembering things...the book is written in her voice, from her point of view...so I understand why the mix up could occur...This is like the third reference I saw about Grace writing at 98...
Awww come on Paula, we all knew what Kiakar and the others meant. Writing, speaking, we just mean its Grace's voice being expressed here, so no need for semantics or corrections. We are a pretty lose group, if you get what is being said, thats good enough lol, that includes typos too and lack of proper punctuation. I am one of those online that if I know you get it, i am not going back to put in apostrophes in cant or dont or stuff like that either. We all know Grace is a character and didnt "write" the book,hehe. Kiakar's point was just about her age. And Kiakar, thats how old she says she is, so you are right on the 98 too.
Thanks Viv;
I sure am glad some people know me well enought to know I did mean Grace thought it but of course Syrie James wrote it. Wouldn't anybody know that? Oh well! Don't worry, Paula
you have lots of posts and probably will win the booby prize! ha. Just kidding!
goingeast wrote:
LyndaSue wrote:I must go back and read that section. I don't remember Ruth knowing that her mother was a servant. Can someone please tell me where I might find it.
goingeast wrote: Please look at p.9 4th paragraph...'I don't know why you have to do this,' she said quietly, lips sucked tight. 'You've done so much with your life. Travelled, studied, raised a child...Why do you want to be reminded of what you used to be?'
Hope that helps.
OK, thanks. But I've got to raise the question, when Ruth says "reminded of what you used to be" is she refering to servant or possibly something else?
LyndaSue,
I guess Ruth could be referring to something else, but it seems to me that Ruth does not want to be reminded that her mother was once a servant girl. What else would Ruth be referring to? All we know is that Grace was a servant at Riverton. To what do you think she might be referring?
I don't know yet.........and if I did I couldn't tell ya cause it's not in chapters 1 or 2. In this very early stage of the story and with so many unknowns anything is a possibility. But it's fun tryng to find out.
KxBurns wrote:
Hi gang. I know some of you just can't wait, so I'm posting our first discussion thread a day early.
For those of you who were with us for Monsters, I should point out that these discussion threads will be posted a little more quickly, since the author will be joining us on the 14th. But everyone should absolutely feel free to participate at their own pace. I'll be here to discuss the book as long as you are
And, finally, a note about spoilers. The threads will be broken into groupings of two to three chapters, named at the top. Please be mindful of other readers and DO NOT refer to events or revelations that occur in chapters later than the chapters under discussion in a given thread. If you're uncertain, add the words SPOILER to the "Message Subject" of your post.
Okay, let's get on with it. Happy reading!
Did I miss the posting about how the club is run? The reason I'm asking is, I don't know whether to read 2 chapters or 1 and post.
Please bear with this first timer.
Carmenere_lady wrote:
SandyS wrote:
Page 13 where Ursala, Ruth & Grace are talking of the sisters. Grace says, " 'Hannah.' There. I'd done it. I'd spoken her name aloud."
Another layer of mystery for me. Why was Grace fearful or unwilling to speak Hannah's name?
SandyS
Hey Sandy, when I read that line I associated it with someone who has been very badly hurt by another. Sort of like when someone divorces, splits up, they don't even want to mention the others name. And I'm going to make a suggestion here that may or may not go over very well, but perhaps Grace and Hannah were even lovers!
Message Edited by Carmenere_lady on 01-03-2008 09:16 PM
Message Edited by Carmenere_lady on 01-03-2008 09:19 PM
Carmenere_lady, I've reread the passage from your viewpoint of hurt vs. mine of fear or anger. I'm betting you are more likely correct. Thanks for a new way to think about it.
Not sure what to think about the sisters as lovers though - I didn't get that.
SandyS
EbonyAngel wrote:
KxBurns wrote:
Hi gang. I know some of you just can't wait, so I'm posting our first discussion thread a day early.
For those of you who were with us for Monsters, I should point out that these discussion threads will be posted a little more quickly, since the author will be joining us on the 14th. But everyone should absolutely feel free to participate at their own pace. I'll be here to discuss the book as long as you are
And, finally, a note about spoilers. The threads will be broken into groupings of two to three chapters, named at the top. Please be mindful of other readers and DO NOT refer to events or revelations that occur in chapters later than the chapters under discussion in a given thread. If you're uncertain, add the words SPOILER to the "Message Subject" of your post.
Okay, let's get on with it. Happy reading!
Did I miss the posting about how the club is run? The reason I'm asking is, I don't know whether to read 2 chapters or 1 and post.
Please bear with this first timer.
The club will run all month and you can read all of the book and then come back to the threads and post or you can read just the ones posted and then post too and you know then you wont write a spoiler about other chapters. Each thread will tell you what chapters are being discussed but we have the whole month, so take your time and enjoy, if you can with this many posts from this many people! lol.
LyndaSue (Carmenere Lady) -- thanks for the cautions about jumping to conclusions! Somehow, it seems to me that, as daughter, Ruth must have some sixth sense that her Mum has hidden something about Riverton, probably as long as Ruth can remember and even if Ruth doesn't know exactly what. Ruth is no twenty-year old; she herself probably has seen a portion of what life can deal, against who knows what odds at this point in the story. She seems to be questioning whether her Mum, at 98, should re-open what Ruth could reasonably perceive as old wounds.
Grace doesn't express open adoration of Ruth, but she still protects her (e.g., the photograph on the dressing table -- p. 8) and acknowledges that she herself can be obstinate (p. 11). Why does Grace "side" with Ursula rather than Ruth when Ursula calls Ruth "a chauffeur" -- simply because Grace knows her daughter's sensitivities too well while Grace's own training and generation has been to defer to the "rights" of authority or class? Any woman who has been called "just a secretary" or "just a housewife" or "a woman in a man's job" should pause, it seems to me, before getting too upset with Ruth at this point.
In fact, I saw mostly Ruth's protectiveness and care, even pride of her Mum, when I first read these two chapters. I recognized Ruth and her Mum had somehow realized they probably couldn't live together, although the reasons -- frailty, work demands, cost, personalities, family history, ..., weren't revealed, at least here. It took the rest of you here to sensitize me to whatever excessive ego Ruth may harbor or express. I took Ruth as more "touchy" than "snobby."
Ruth puts herself through a real guilt trip (p. 16) on the way home from the film set on perhaps not having been adequately protective of her Mum. More than one of us can identify with such feelings, even if we are "wrong" about from what we try to protect.
Message Edited by Peppermill on 01-04-2008 09:30 AM
Grace doesn't express open adoration of Ruth, but she still protects her (e.g., the photograph on the dressing table -- p. 8) and acknowledges that she herself can be obstinate (p. 11). Why does Grace "side" with Ursula rather than Ruth when Ursula calls Ruth "a chauffeur" -- simply because Grace knows her daughter's sensitivities too well while Grace's own training and generation has been to defer to the "rights" of authority or class? Any woman who has been called "just a secretary" or "just a housewife" or "a woman in a man's job" should pause, it seems to me, before getting too upset with Ruth at this point.
In fact, I saw mostly Ruth's protectiveness and care, even pride of her Mum, when I first read these two chapters. I recognized Ruth and her Mum had somehow realized they probably couldn't live together, although the reasons -- frailty, work demands, cost, personalities, family history, ..., weren't revealed, at least here. It took the rest of you here to sensitize me to whatever excessive ego Ruth may harbor or express. I took Ruth as more "touchy" than "snobby."
Ruth puts herself through a real guilt trip (p. 16) on the way home from the film set on perhaps not having been adequately protective of her Mum. More than one of us can identify with such feelings, even if we are "wrong" about from what we try to protect.
Carmenere_lady wrote:
goingeast wrote:
LyndaSue wrote: I must go back and read that section. I don't remember Ruth knowing that her mother was a servant. Can someone please tell me where I might find it.
goingeast wrote: Please look at p.9 4th paragraph...'I don't know why you have to do this,' she said quietly, lips sucked tight. 'You've done so much with your life. Travelled, studied, raised a child...Why do you want to be reminded of what you used to be?'
Hope that helps.
OK, thanks. But I've got to raise the question, when Ruth says "reminded of what you used to be" is she referring to servant or possibly something else?
LyndaSue, I guess Ruth could be referring to something else, but it seems to me that Ruth does not want to be reminded that her mother was once a servant girl. What else would Ruth be referring to? All we know is that Grace was a servant at Riverton. To what do you think she might be referring?
I don't know yet.........and if I did I couldn't tell ya cause it's not in chapters 1 or 2. In this very early stage of the story and with so many unknowns anything is a possibility. But it's fun trying to find out.
Message Edited by Peppermill on 01-04-2008 09:30 AM
