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annathepiperWhen I was in high school, I had a free period at one point that I cheerfully blew in the library, reading everything I could get my hands on. I credit that free hour to getting me acquainted with the likes of Barbara Michaels/Elizabeth Peters, Victoria Holt... and Mary Stewart. My memories of reading Touch Not the Cat go way, way back, and although I don't dig Stewart as much as I dig Michaels/Peters, I still like me a good Stewart read every so often.
The Gabriel Hounds is a re-release of a novel that came out originally in 1967, and as such, it's got a quite dated and quaint feel about it that makes it very much feel like it's set in some other world. The protagonists, Christy and her cousin Charles, are basically idly rich young people--and between that and their being second cousins who become romantically involved, they seemed almost like alien creatures to me. So too did the fact that they were wandering around Syria and "the Lebanon", or at least very much romanticized versions thereof. It was a bit of a disconnect when I thought about modern Middle East news.
Story-wise, the characterization was fairly sketchy, and honestly, so was most of the action. There were long passages of descriptive text in which our heroine did very little but wander around, and there was little suspense to be had. I certainly can't fault Stewart for her prose--even in a dated book like this, she has a lushly descriptive way with a word--but I could have used a bit more substance to the plot. Three stars.
The Gabriel Hounds is a re-release of a novel that came out originally in 1967, and as such, it's got a quite dated and quaint feel about it that makes it very much feel like it's set in some other world. The protagonists, Christy and her cousin Charles, are basically idly rich young people--and between that and their being second cousins who become romantically involved, they seemed almost like alien creatures to me. So too did the fact that they were wandering around Syria and "the Lebanon", or at least very much romanticized versions thereof. It was a bit of a disconnect when I thought about modern Middle East news.
Story-wise, the characterization was fairly sketchy, and honestly, so was most of the action. There were long passages of descriptive text in which our heroine did very little but wander around, and there was little suspense to be had. I certainly can't fault Stewart for her prose--even in a dated book like this, she has a lushly descriptive way with a word--but I could have used a bit more substance to the plot. Three stars.
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Date: 2007-03-06 10:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-03-06 12:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-03-18 07:06 pm (UTC)Oh, I just stopped by because someone mentioned you in Solarbird's journal, and I found it a couple of months ago thru someone linking to her cultural warfare updates.
Just read your userinfo and a couple of links therefrom and am friending you if is okay? Lemme know if not and I'll unfriend. But I like your journal and your partner's, plus I was also raised fundie in the South and veered a bit from approved thinking as I grew, so I identify. =)
a bit more clarity . . .
Date: 2007-03-18 07:08 pm (UTC)Nowadays, too many Arthur things, I'd prolly never go near another one unless by an author I already knew or *massive* recommendationing. These are good tho.
Re: a bit more clarity . . .
Date: 2007-03-18 07:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-03-18 07:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-03-06 12:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-03-07 03:37 am (UTC)