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When Winter Fell by Lindelea	3 Review(s)
Bodkin	Reviewed Chapter: 13 on 12/17/2005
It is so easy to empathise with Bilbo here. Who hasn't, as a child, yearned to avoid those cringe-making relatives who pinch your cheek and say how like you are to old Uncle So-and-So - and here the poor lad is, taking mad old Uncle Isen home with him! Except old Uncle Isen isn't mad at all - well, not really - and what he really needs is someone who will listen to him and show him some respect. He must be desperately lonely, poor hobbit. And the rambling tunnels of the Smials is probably the worst place for him. (Especially with those unadventurous smug brothers acting as gaolers.) He might not see it yet, but Isen will be better off with Bella and Bungo - and Bilbo is about to learn a few things that will turn him into Gandalf's next hobbit adventurer. Author Reply: I remember being very confused as a youngster, being told I had somebody's nose. I could see very well that somebody's nose was properly in place, and that my nose was my own! Well, you have had a glimpse of Isen in the kitchen of Bag End, and so you know a little of how things are going to be once the hobbit settles in to his new surroundings. There may be a rocky start, of course. He does have a habit of wandering. But it'll do Bilbo some good to learn compassion at his young age.

Larner	Reviewed Chapter: 13 on 12/17/2005
Enjoy how Belladonna and Bungo are making this an enjoyable thing rather than an exile. And the invocation of the prunes by Bungo was inspired. As for Bilbo--he'll regret it when Uncle Isengar goes home again, I'm betting! Author Reply: Ah yes. Prunes. Do it for me every time. (Actually, they're not so bad eaten "as is". But I have never seen any merit in stewing the things.) I think you're betting wisely. Hoorah! We had a late night last night, a Christmas get-together with friends. Ah. Pizza and carols. Lovely. The children are sleeping in as a result, and so I hope to read a chapter or two of your latest! (Hurry, hurry, before the hobbitlings awaken...)

Dreamflower	Reviewed Chapter: 13 on 12/16/2005
Bilbo's rather a selfish little thing here, isn't he? Of course, he's at the start of that age where everything has to be about him, LOL! But I have a hunch he is rather going to be changing his feelings about Uncle Isengar over the next few months. Your Bungo is a wonderful character. He has a quiet strength and intelligence and a goodly amount of empathy that I think is a Baggins trait (one seen in Frodo later on)and is probably why he was able to win the marvelous Belladonna. I don't much like Isengrim. Aside from a general distaste at his brother's having had an adventure and returning marked from it, I just don't get his hostility. For some reason he doesn't seem very Tookish compared to his other siblings. Author Reply: Ah, well, Bilbo has room to grow. Too bad Isengrim doesn't have such an excuse. Perhaps he takes more after his mother's side of the family. As I've mentioned before, he's a pragmatist and not as much of a dreamer as some others amongst his siblings. He is also in line to be Thain after his father, and it is a heavy responsibility to bear, in all likelihood. Do you think he might be jealous of his mother's regard for the youngest? Here's this ne'er-do-well brother who ran off and broke their mother's heart and when they'd reconciled themselves to his loss he came back and his constant presence rubbed his (forget the word I want, injuredness?) in their noses, making Adamanta fuss over him even more, and grieving her heart at the same time... and there may be sort of a parallel to the prodigal son and his older brother's bitterness, perhaps, though I never thought of it that way until just now. Bungo is one of those easily-overlooked but solid characters. I remember hearing two older women, when I was very young, talking about people at a large event (picnic? outdoor wedding reception? can't remember). "That one is quite a dancer" and "That one has a way of making you laugh" and "Ah, but that one, he's not much to look at but he'll make some lucky girl a fine husband some day."

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