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Altogether, an interesting read. In places the writing is quite lyrical; I suppose that is because Lee was a poet before he wrote prose.
Aside from the Paul Bunyanesque uncles, Lee's story seems very credible. He did not romanticize cottager living. The story of the murder reminded me of Sherlock Holmes' remarks in The Adventure of the Copper Beeches when Watson declaims on the beauty of the countryside: "You look at these scattered houses, and you are impressed by their beauty. I look at them, and the only thought which comes to me is a feeling of their isolation and of the impunity with which crime may be committed there."
The story of the attempted rape is both interesting, and horrifying in the way it was treated. I was impressed by Lee's candour in including it, and appalled by how lightly he dismissed it.
I'm planning on reading As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning. It will be interesting to compare it with A Time of Gifts and Down and Out in Paris and London.
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