Quote:
Originally Posted by bfisher
But then, to me the main point of the book was that the characters are self-absorbed to the extent that they live in a bubble.
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It's also notable (and Nancy Mitford said this in the introduction to one of my paperbacks) that no one in this class has children. The Antrobus "girls" are as young as it gets. Again, you have the sense that children would have forced their parents, even in an age of servants, outside their self-absorption. Adding to this impression are the veiled references to homosexuality, as presumably all the Pillson siblings are gay, as indeed Benson is presumed to have been. And certainly Lucia's marriage seems sexless, as
As a gossipy aside, Benson's parents, the Archbishop of Canterbury and a lesbian, had six children but no grandchildren.
Quote:
Originally Posted by orlok
I'll preface my review by saying that this is not my usual genre, and I'm not a big fan of "a comedy of manners" stories.
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I understand that reaction; for me it's exactly my thing, or one of my things. That mildly absurd English humor that relies so much on understatement and indirection, generally silly and occasionally uproarious, is like crack to me. Which I'm mentioning because I'd love to hear others' favorites in that genre!