| lesley153
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| Good for her! I hadn't realised. (When I read her books, I was probably too young to appreciate them.) |
Reply #3101. Jul 30 11, 3:48 PM
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flopsymopsy 
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I only ever read half an Enid Blyton book, I thought it was dreadful and refused to read another.
One of my teachers had taken his PhD as a mature student and while he was studying had worked for Enid Blyton as a gardener-come-handyman while his wife worked in the house, in return for which they were allowed the use of a cottage rent free. When his wife got pregnant, Enid Blyton had them thrown out as she hated children and didn't want a baby on her land. When he told us that story a whole school hated her - me because she couldn't write and the rest because they liked a good sob story. :)
Reply #3102. Jul 30 11, 5:01 PM
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| lesley153
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That's a dreadful story. I wonder how she managed to entertain generations of children with stories in which they always won, while most of the adults were either criminals or useless.
I didn't attempt to introduce my son to the joys of Blyton, but I cut my teeth on Beatrix Potter, and got some of her books for him. When I was little I loved them. When I was bigger, I couldn't understand how anyone could ever have called her a writer. The stories are nearly impossible to read aloud.
So I waited a few years and gave him Portnoy's Complaint instead. |
Reply #3103. Jul 30 11, 5:31 PM
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Jazmee27
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I remember liking Beverly Cleary's work when I was younger; same with Judy Blume (now, I consider them boring and cant understand what drew me to them at all [except the fact that I could actually get my hands on some of that stuff])
Reply #3104. Jul 30 11, 7:12 PM
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| veronikkamarrz
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I never read Cleary, or Blume as a child, but when mine were little, I started reading them, and loved both!
Reply #3105. Jul 30 11, 8:16 PM
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| lesley153
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That's how I discovered Judy Blume's books too - and loved them.
Still haven't discovered Cleary, though, and it's probably a bit late. Perhaps when I have grandchildren to read to, I can have a look for new things? |
Reply #3106. Jul 30 11, 8:22 PM
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MotherGoose
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"I didn't attempt to introduce my son to the joys of Blyton, but I cut my teeth on Beatrix Potter, and got some of her books for him. When I was little I loved them. When I was bigger, I couldn't understand how anyone could ever have called her a writer. The stories are nearly impossible to read aloud.
So I waited a few years and gave him Portnoy's Complaint instead. "
I loved Enid Blyton when I was a small child, mostly the Famous Five series. I think it was because the children had such wonderful adventures with minimal, or no, interference from their parents. We used to dream of being able to doing the same, when our parents demanded to know where we were and what were were doing every hour of the day. Re-reading them now, of course, they were dreadful!
I saved my books for my daughter and when she was the right age for them, she wouldn't have a bar of them. Such a sensible girl.
Re Portnoy's Complaint - when that was first published, it was banned in Australia. My mother, who is as innocent as the day is long, wrote to her penpal in America, wondering what all the fuss was about. Her American penpal (who became my mother-in-law decades later) offered to send her a copy and then enquired if she knew what it was about. Mum wrote back saying, "No, but I am assuming it must be a religious expose". MIL told me later that she laughed till she cried.
Reply #3107. Jul 30 11, 8:58 PM
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bloodandsand
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Totally agree, MotherGoose. Re reading Blyton now, which I do sometimes as I've still got lots of them, they are dreadfully written and her views leave an awful lot to be desired, but the adventures were wonderful. My friend and I used to go out looking for "clues" to put us on the trail of any number of criminals. Never did find any :)
Reply #3108. Jul 31 11, 2:11 AM
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Rowena8482
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Emily likes Enid Blyton, but I notice she likes them younger than I did - the ones I read at say 12, she is reading now. I wonder if it's a generational thing - there are no mod cons in her stuff. I am (well I think I still am) a member of the EB Society and her daughters sometimes attend the annual get togethers. They have actually said in the past that they could never get her attention and were basically neglected - not abused as such, just ignored - and EB referred to her readers as "my children" and felt her own children were a hindrance and an inconvienience to her :-( She never read to them, or told them stories or anything. Sad really.
Reply #3109. Jul 31 11, 2:17 AM
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| lesley153
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That's incredibly sad, and so damaging. Sounds a bit like my grandmother, who told her three children that she was cut out for better things than bringing up children.
I hadn't heard of Portnoy's Complaint when I bought it in the airport in 1971. I read it on the plane and laughed till I cried. |
Reply #3110. Jul 31 11, 5:33 AM
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daymare
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There are better things than bringing up children?
Reply #3111. Jul 31 11, 7:32 AM
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MotherGoose
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"I wonder if it's a generational thing - there are no mod cons in her stuff."
You could be right about the generational thing. When I was a child reading Enid Blyton (in the 1960s), Australian society was heavily influenced by our British heritage and my mother's side of the family was English, so I could relate to the way of life as described in EB's books. My daughter, however, thought it was totally unrealistic and couldn't relate to it at all.
Reply #3112. Jul 31 11, 10:13 AM
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| lesley153
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When I was a little older - ten or eleven - I was addicted to Richmal Crompton's "William Brown" stories. They were much better than sleep or food or school. They were also pictures of a most unfamiliar lifestyle, but I wasn't too bothered, because they made me laugh for hours.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
My grandmother was born in Riga, Latvia, where she was a medical student, with her life more or less planned. When the pogroms started, the family left Latvia. Better to take pot luck somewhere safer, than be a dead medical student.
They came to England, where she met a Polish boy, who had come to England for the same reason - to stay alive. They got married and had three children. He supported the family with a shop selling food, and she stayed at home, sitting in the kitchen, reading Kierkegaard and Nietzsche, surrounded - I have been told by two different relatives - by ageing food and rusting saucepans.
One of their daughters married an American man and went off to the Bronx. The other daughter married an Israeli man and stayed in Israel. My father married an Englishwoman and stayed in London, and never seemed comfortable in his mother's company.
I can understand if she was angry and bitter about the way her life had been changed, but can't understand why she couldn't see that bringing children up is as important as you make it, and not second or third best to being a doctor. |
Reply #3113. Jul 31 11, 2:35 PM
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MotherGoose
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"When I was a little older - ten or eleven - I was addicted to Richmal Crompton's "William Brown" stories. They were much better than sleep or food or school. They were also pictures of a most unfamiliar lifestyle, but I wasn't too bothered, because they made me laugh for hours. "
I loved the William books too but they weren't very popular over here in my childhood days. I thought they were very funny but they made me glad I didn't have a brother like William.
Reply #3114. Aug 02 11, 5:13 AM
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Rowena8482
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"oh dam and blarst my faithful warriors!" That still cracks me up even 30+ years later, and as I kid I thought it was the funniest thing I'd ever heard :-D Happy memories.
Reply #3115. Aug 02 11, 7:42 AM
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| veronikkamarrz
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I love that, Rowena! I'm looking for Enid Blyton stuff...So far, no luck. Probably, the library will turn up something. :)
Reply #3116. Aug 03 11, 8:28 PM
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Rowena8482
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Every so often an Enid Blyton query will pop up on the American side of Booksleuth (on abe books, to help people track down long lost stories) and it seems that although her books did/do get there sometimes, they aren't nearly as well known as they are here. People often say "I book I borrowed" or "A book I read on vacation" and it turns out to be on of hers.
Reply #3117. Aug 04 11, 3:58 AM
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| lesley153
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Jonathan has gone to France for a week, with his girlfriend, her parents, and a few books to read. He used to be as avid a reader as the rest of us, but was put off specifically by an exceptionally unpleasant English teacher, and generally by the school approach to literature, which puts analysis at the top of the list, and enjoyment at the bottom. It's a long time ten years since he read anything outside school that wasn't technical or Harry Potter.
Her parents have lent him shiny new copies of Silas Marner and The Mill on the Floss, and I bought him a shiny new copy of Cat's Cradle, although I'm hoping he finds better things to do than spend too much time reading. |
Reply #3118. Aug 05 11, 8:29 AM
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| lesley153
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| Rowena's had another heart attack and has had another stent put in. Her husband has promised to keep me posted. |
Reply #3119. Aug 05 11, 8:29 AM
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flopsymopsy
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Oh no! Send her love and best wishes from me please.
Reply #3120. Aug 05 11, 8:33 AM
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