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Keep Alive the Memory by Celeritas	7 Review(s)
Virtuella	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 11/25/2008
Imagine having to fight like that just to be allowed to read! I like this story very much (though it might take me a while to catch up with it). Author Reply: Yes, I wouldn't like that either! (Though fortunately Kira has some very good allies who are willing to do all the arguing for her!) Glad you're enjoying what you've seen so far, and I hope when you have the time you'll enjoy the rest as well! ~Celeritas

Agape4Gondor	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 10/20/2008
I am reminded of Pygmalion and wonder how much of a change this 'little' thing of her being able to read will bring about. It was a good chapter. Author Reply: I can't say how much of a change Kira's literacy will bring in total just yet, but I do like the idea of small things building on one another and having greater effects (which is something I really like in LotR--the most seemingly insignificant things can have large ramifications). So far that's already become apparent in the circumstances of how Kira learned to read: some sort of disease coming through not only Kira's home but also her mother's family's, Kerry happening to take notice of her and then favoring her with a visit a few weeks later on, the winter coming in and getting Kira stuck in Buckland for the winter... Yes, you've got the whole concept spot-on.

Kara's Aunty	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 10/8/2008
Hi there, enjoying this very much. No wonder Kira learnt so fast. She has an intelligent mind trapped in a sickly form and has been unable to exercise it because of the constraints of her health, family, friends and society! She's a sponge waiting to absorb a decent drink of water. Pity that Kerimac is so much older than her - ah well, I'll get over it.... I loved the civilised confrontation between him and Aunt Penny. I think we all have an Aunt Penny somewhere and it's nice to see her (politely) put in her place. She means well, but she smothers. I'll read the next chapter tomorrow and hope you update soon. Maureen. Author Reply: Yup. Kira is extremely bright, although only people like Kerry (certainly not her!) have noticed so far. I've often wondered how in less mobile societies those of the lower classes who were very intelligent managed to cope with their limited means, and if the spark in them was or could ever be thoroughly repressed by society and circumstances. But at least Kira has her chance, especially living in a society that's much more flexible than your average fantasy's. The age comment is quite amusing, because I let out some of the earliest incarnations of this story to some real-life friends who did not quite grasp how hobbit ages worked. There's a bit of a nod to their reaction to Kerry and Kira's relationship in the next chapter. As the summary says, updates occur every Monday. I do this (with great willpower--just about this time every week I tend to get too anxious and want to post the next chapter anyway) for the purposes of prolonging the agony, and also because I would rather update regularly than not at all. Though the story is finished, it's still undergoing a final phase of stylistic revision, and even when that's done I want to get some more work done on its sequel (which will feature romance, btw) so that there won't be a year-long wait between the two, or worse yet highly irregular updates between that story's chapters.

6336	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 9/30/2008
I think not being taught to read is one of the worst things that can happen to anybody! If you can read the world is open to you. Keeping an open mind about what you read is also important, just because it seems fantastic does not mean it did not happen. A paralell(sp) to our times is those who do not belive the Holocaust and all it's attendent misery happened. Keep on writing, hopefully Kerry will get Kira to belive in the end! More please, Lynda Author Reply: Literacy, especially in poor and rural areas, is a relatively recent trend in cultural history--traditional pub signs are so colorful and distinctive precisely because they were intended to be easily recognized by people who couldn't read. The problem is when illiteracy is combined with ignorance to create the kind of stiff-necked insular pride that was supposed to be characteristic of "typical" hobbits (who for good reason were not the sort that Tolkien wrote about!). Fortunately with Kira one of these problems is getting taken care of, and we can only hope that with it the other will as well. Back in those days, it was a shame if you were illiterate and ignorant. These days it's downright dangerous.

Raksha The Demon	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 9/29/2008
It really is sad that, apparently, so many hobbits think there was never any such things as dragons or magic rings, that they're just the equivalent of fairy tales. Of course, many hobbits called Bilbo "Mad". But Kira has learned to read, and a mind as fine as hers is not going to sit idle forever; I think she will learn more about the history of the Hobbits in the Third Age. And I certainly hope that she will meet an Elf or two, or a Dwarf, someday. Author Reply: Of course, many hobbits called Bilbo "Mad". Precisely--"and eventually Mad Baggins, who used to vanish with a bang and a flash and reappear with bags of jewels and gold, became a favourite character of legend and lived on after all the true events were forgotten." (Emphasis mine) Such is the way of Legend and Story.

Dreamflower	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 9/29/2008
Very interesting! The excuses Kira's aunt gave to keep her from reading was a very hobbity one. With the Proudfoot name, Kira is actually probably related to more than one of the Travellers--it would be very interesting to find out. I wonder if Kira will be able to read the other copy of the Red Book after all. And I wonder if she will have correspondence with Kerry? Her request for proof: proof should be there in the Shire. Where, I wonder, did Sting end up? I'm sure Sam would have left it with one of his children--Elanor, perhaps, or Frodo, or it may have ended up among the Tooks via Goldilocks and Faramir. He also still possessed his barrow-blade. The same goes for the mithril coat, Sam's golden mail, or Merry and Pippin's swords and armor--although those might have gone with their owners to Gondor...if Sam did not wear it across the Sundering Sea, there would have been the cloaks of Lorien and the brooches... I keep thinking about your hints in regards to the passing of King Elessar, and wondering how that will affect the story. And I do hope that Kerry will get to see an Elf. Someone will have to bring news of the new King to the Shire, which is part of Arnor, after all--and since Men can't enter, perhaps one of the Traveller's Elven friends--Legolas or Elladan or Elrohir, maybe, or even Glorfindel if he has not sailed yet... As you can see I am very fascinated with your story! I look forward to more... Author Reply: Of course, since all the canonical last names we have come from Appendix C, just about any name would make Kira related to one of the Travellers, at least--I haven't quite figured out where the Proudfoots fit into an extension of the tree just yet, but now that you've brought it up Kira (aged some years beyond this fic) is jumping up and down inside my brain and demanding to know. Such a hobbit... sigh The current extent of Kira's "Prove it to me!" artifacts is restricted to The Hobbit, but if she learns more the proof will become increasingly difficult to shut out or rationalize away. I just had to put the Ring in there because it's so very funny and back when my own knowledge of Tolkien was restricted to The Hobbit it made perfect sense that it'd still be around 120 years later for cheap parlour tricks. At any rate I'm not wholly sure how much of the litany of proof that you found is still in the Shire--a number of Really Really Sweet Things from the Third Age (the star-glass, for instance. I really wish the star-glass had stayed) departed, usually for the West. By virtue of his position, if indeed his disposition weren't already predisposed to such an encounter, Kerry will probably get to see an Elf at least once in his lifetime. And though we won't actually see him for a while, with Kira's going back to the Westfarthing, we certainly haven't seen the last of him!

Larner	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 9/29/2008
So, they've forgotten and refuse to believe, have they? And Aunt Penny needed so long to become convinced to allow her to continue reading? Too bad. Alas. Now, to find the evidence that it was all real. Frodo didn't go through what he did so others could forget and pretend it didn't happen. Author Reply: What can I say? Hobbits are awfully stubborn, and it's a testament to the Master's powers of persuasion that Aunt Penny conceded. Frodo didn't go through what he did so others could forget and pretend it didn't happen. Indeed, though I imagine getting hobbits to learn what happened was a herculean task in and of itself. The rumor mill is a dreadful thing, and subtle accomplishments such as carrying the Ring to Mordor can easily get lost in tales of hacking orcs into tiny little pieces. Not until the tale of the Ring becomes a part of the very fabric of hobbit society will hobbits cease to forget or rationalize away the bits that they don't understand--and then! Then, if someone or something tries to take that away from them, they will truly become a force to be reckoned with!

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