They are generally good children, but not unreasonably so, and their numerous falls from grace drive the narrative, along with the endless succession of tales told by cousin Sara Stanley, the self-named Story Girl, who has an endless collection of anecdotes from a myriad of sources – local and family fables, legends, fairy tales and Greek myths – something for every occasion. The cousins and friends do their chores, play, squabble and run wild as often as they are able. Nothing much happens in this book, but the days are nonetheless filled to the brim with interesting incidents. Uncle Roger’s hired boy, Peter Craig, and a neighbourhood friend, Sara Ray, round out the group of children. Nearby is another motherless cousin, Sara Stanley, living with her Uncle Roger and Aunt Olivia, with a father in Paris. They are to stay with their Aunt Janet and Uncle Alec, and cousins Felicity, Cecily and Dan. The narrator is a grown man, Beverley King, looking back on his childhood, when he and his brother Felix travelled from their home in Toronto to spend the summer on the old family farm while their widowed father travelled to Rio de Janeiro on business. *****Īn absolutely charming set piece about a group of cousins and friends spending a mostly idyllic summer together on Prince Edward Island. Sweet, but never cloying the very human children keep it real. Loved it! Why have I not read this one before?īeautifully evocative of golden childhood summers in a faraway time.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |