Recent reading
Sep. 20th, 2022 07:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
luzulaMy environmental organization is doing some legal work, where I have learned that cases in the European Court of justice often get nicknames. For example Białowieża is the case against the Polish government for logging in the Białowieża National Park. And there is, delightfully, a case with the name Grand Hamster II. It makes me giggle every time--imagine being a lawyer and being able to write a sentence like: 'According to Grand Hamster II, §4 in the Habitats Directive should be interpreted as etc etc...' : D
A Thief in the Night by E W Hornung (1905)
This is the third collection of Raffles stories, and it is definitely my favorite so far!regshoe, you were right in saying that Raffles’ feelings for Bunny come through much more clearly here. And the stories are just a lot of fun, compared to the claustrophobic feeling when Raffles is shut up in the previous book. Also, I thought Bunny’s love interest in this one was a lot more interestingly written than Raffles’ love interests in the previous book.
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen (1811)
Another hiking weekend, another Austen audiobook. It's been ages since I read Sense and Sensibility, and it was never one of my favorites. I still can't quite reconcile myself to Marianne/Brandon. For one thing, I feel like she gets such a personality transplant after her illness--having just read Persuasion, I remember the same thing happening with Louisa Musgrove. Was this a trope in literature at the time? And the whole thing with Marianne reminding Brandon of his niece (and her mother)! I just... When I was 35, I was not attracted to immature 17-year-olds. I also think the contrast between Elinor’s sense and Marianne’s sensibility is somewhat undercut when Elinor thinks that Marianne hasn't really known Willoughby long, and see what happened. But how long had Elinor known Edward? And in fact it turns out that Edward has a secret engagement! I do like that Edward is allowed to be shy and awkward, though. But regardless of these thoughts, it is very pleasurable to hike along listening to Austen prose, especially with such a delightful reader.
Fic-wise, I can recommend Les oiseaux que l’hiver exile (14896 words) by Ellen Fremedon. It is set in France during the Bourbon Restoration, the same period as The Wounded Name, but instead of being about overdramatic royalists engaged in slashy hurt/comfort, it is about struggling (but slashy!) republicans with moral shades of grey. I love the exchange where the main character is told that he should run for election in the Vendée. He protests that surely they would never vote for him, they are all royalists! And the other one retorts that the Vendée is also poor, so that their bribes will go further...
A Thief in the Night by E W Hornung (1905)
This is the third collection of Raffles stories, and it is definitely my favorite so far!
regshoe, you were right in saying that Raffles’ feelings for Bunny come through much more clearly here. And the stories are just a lot of fun, compared to the claustrophobic feeling when Raffles is shut up in the previous book. Also, I thought Bunny’s love interest in this one was a lot more interestingly written than Raffles’ love interests in the previous book.Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen (1811)
Another hiking weekend, another Austen audiobook. It's been ages since I read Sense and Sensibility, and it was never one of my favorites. I still can't quite reconcile myself to Marianne/Brandon. For one thing, I feel like she gets such a personality transplant after her illness--having just read Persuasion, I remember the same thing happening with Louisa Musgrove. Was this a trope in literature at the time? And the whole thing with Marianne reminding Brandon of his niece (and her mother)! I just... When I was 35, I was not attracted to immature 17-year-olds. I also think the contrast between Elinor’s sense and Marianne’s sensibility is somewhat undercut when Elinor thinks that Marianne hasn't really known Willoughby long, and see what happened. But how long had Elinor known Edward? And in fact it turns out that Edward has a secret engagement! I do like that Edward is allowed to be shy and awkward, though. But regardless of these thoughts, it is very pleasurable to hike along listening to Austen prose, especially with such a delightful reader.
Fic-wise, I can recommend Les oiseaux que l’hiver exile (14896 words) by Ellen Fremedon. It is set in France during the Bourbon Restoration, the same period as The Wounded Name, but instead of being about overdramatic royalists engaged in slashy hurt/comfort, it is about struggling (but slashy!) republicans with moral shades of grey. I love the exchange where the main character is told that he should run for election in the Vendée. He protests that surely they would never vote for him, they are all royalists! And the other one retorts that the Vendée is also poor, so that their bribes will go further...
(no subject)
Date: 2022-09-20 06:50 pm (UTC)I feel I should warn you, if you read the fourth book, of quite a bit of antisemitism in the portrayal of the villain there. It's a weaker book in general, although it has its Raffles/Bunny moments.
I agree with your thoughts on Sense and Sensibility too, although it's been ages since I last read it. Aww, Austen must indeed make excellent hiking-listening prose :D Do you like Mansfield Park? It's my favourite, I've been meaning to re-read for a while and I see that the same Librovox reader has recorded it too...
(no subject)
Date: 2022-09-20 08:44 pm (UTC)I did wonder about a detail in A Bad Night. There are two instances where Bunny hears Raffles footsteps, which considering that Raffles can apparently walk across gravel completely soundlessly while carrying Bunny (heh), seems strange. I understand why Bunny is hearing his footsteps while he's breaking in one floor below--obviously it is because Raffles want to be heard, and arrested by Bunny. But why on earth is Bunny hearing him while being followed in the avenue?
I do like Mansfield Park, though I've only read it once! I think it's my third favorite, after Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion.
(no subject)
Date: 2022-09-21 04:49 pm (UTC)That's a good point about 'A Bad Night', though! Yeah, Raffles wasn't trying to be heard at that point—I don't know. Perhaps his footsteps on that gravel weren't completely silent, just quiet enough (Bunny's actual description is 'softly as the pard'), and that was enough for Bunny to hear when he wasn't expecting a noise? Or perhaps it's just one of Hornung's rare continuity errors!
(no subject)
Date: 2022-09-22 07:00 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2022-09-22 07:13 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2022-09-20 08:31 pm (UTC)IMO Sense and Sensibility is the grimmest of Austen's novels; I found it a real slog when I first read it, and although upon reread the pleasure Austen's prose carried me through, the novel still has a much more closed-in, controlled, constricted feel than for instance Northanger Abbey.
(no subject)
Date: 2022-09-20 08:55 pm (UTC)I haven't read Northanger Abbey in forever, maybe that should be for the next hiking trip...
(no subject)
Date: 2022-09-20 09:11 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2022-09-20 09:37 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2022-09-20 09:21 pm (UTC)Hee! ♥
(no subject)
Date: 2022-09-22 06:59 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2022-09-21 04:14 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2022-09-22 06:59 pm (UTC)