tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7364116677912521674.post3601172632101209762..comments2024-03-27T04:43:10.452-04:00Comments on Random Musings of a Bibliophile: The Homeward BoundersBrandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12105770016693038906noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7364116677912521674.post-60781095310076736012014-06-18T23:02:36.261-04:002014-06-18T23:02:36.261-04:00Yeah...but there is something there for me that ma...Yeah...but there is something there for me that makes it a little less sad. I feel like this book gets me so much. Brandyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12105770016693038906noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7364116677912521674.post-36771080853367948882014-06-14T13:54:05.407-04:002014-06-14T13:54:05.407-04:00That ending though! *cries forever*That ending though! *cries forever*Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7364116677912521674.post-69734700691534398632014-06-13T14:02:07.498-04:002014-06-13T14:02:07.498-04:00I think they're disturbing for different reaso...I think they're disturbing for different reasons. When I read <i>Fire and Hemlock</i>, the age thing never really bothered me. Now I guess we've had so much of that sort of thing (with books like <i>Twilight</i>) that it sets off people's internal pedophile alarms.<br /><br />I've noticed that some of DWJ's books are a little dated in certain ways that might seem disturbing. One of the more recent ones I read had a little girl following a strange man into the bushes like it was no big deal. *shudder*La Coccinellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03118313017081994087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7364116677912521674.post-75251227360584780212014-06-12T21:18:17.188-04:002014-06-12T21:18:17.188-04:00It is structurally almost perfect. And there were ...It is structurally almost perfect. And there were SO MANY perfect lines. I kept flagging them and then decided to stop so I could just enjoy. I wasn't going o be able to include them all in the review anyway.<br /><br />I LOVE that she didn't go out of her way to explain the man on the rock and who THEY were. That is one thing I respect and adore about DWJ. She never condescended to her readers. I think I mention that in almost every review. <br /><br />I would say the evacuee experience would be incredibly to a military kid experience. <br /><br />Helen is great for all the reasons you said and her general contrariness. She may be my second fav DWJ heroine after Millie. Brandyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12105770016693038906noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7364116677912521674.post-40434671410825894182014-06-12T21:10:51.493-04:002014-06-12T21:10:51.493-04:00Interesting because I don't think they get muc...Interesting because I don't think they get much more disturbing than Fire and Hemlock. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Fire and Hemlock, but that's the one that disturbs me the most. Brandyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12105770016693038906noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7364116677912521674.post-56743246798383149632014-06-12T15:56:43.380-04:002014-06-12T15:56:43.380-04:00Oh, so glad you enjoyed this one, Brandy. Structur...Oh, so glad you enjoyed this one, Brandy. Structurally it's some of the best work she ever did, and it was written during the time period when I think her plots were strongest and most tightly woven. <br /><br />I read it when it first came out (in that hideous brown "you-don't-want-to-read-this-kid" cover), and at that age my reaction was kind of "Oh cool! Dungeons and Dragons!" Which I was very into for about less-than-a-year. Since then I've probably read it 20+ times.<br /><br />It's one of I think only two (?) books she wrote in the first person, the other being Spellcoats. Both books have a story frame, and in both of them there's the suggestion that telling the story actually serves some magical purpose for the narrator.<br /><br />And it has some great lines:<br /><br />"You can't tell them you're a Homeward Bounder."<br />"You wouldn't believe how lonely you get."<br />"I still don't know what called the Homeward Bounders."<br /><br />There's a quality of confidence to those lines that leaves the reader no room for doubt.<br /><br />And this bit, which every writer should study for its sheer economy:<br /><br />"But what I didn't see was my own reflection in that door as I dashed across the gravel. I should have thought about that. But I didn't. It was probably too late by then anyway."<br /><br />(Chills. Those last eight words do what would take most of us a paragraph to accomplish.)<br /><br />And I can just imagine an editor saying "Do you want to explain who the man on the rock is? Children may not know the myth." And Jones thinking about it and deciding that no, she doesn't.<br /><br />So you did think that it had some relevance to the millitary child experience. Jones didn't have that experience herself, of course, but she did spend her early years moving about a lot as an evacuee. Perhaps that's the experience she's calling on.<br /><br />For that matter, I spent my early years moving around a lot too. Hm.<br /><br />By the way, I just love Helen to bits, with her hair over her face and her love of creepy crawlies.Sage Blackwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10847897945969895906noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7364116677912521674.post-7100738371400593612014-06-12T14:32:43.129-04:002014-06-12T14:32:43.129-04:00I read this one years ago when I was reading lots ...I read this one years ago when I was reading lots of DWJ. I think it was one of my least favourite; I actually found it a bit disturbing. <i>Fire and Hemlock</i> and <i>Howl's Moving Castle</i> were a lot better (for me).La Coccinellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03118313017081994087noreply@blogger.com