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| Elf-root by Soledad | 2 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 11/2/2008 |
| I love the title! Yes, kin-strive among Hobbits does take quite a different form than that among Men or Elves! And it's capable of being quite funny, as well as grounds for humor! Oh, but I love this. Doro has his work cut out for him, after all. And his father and the Old Farm sound wonderful! I don't remember hints of the place, so will have to look again for it in UT. By the way, what is the herb you indicate the Elf-root is like? I'm rather racking my brain trying to figure out what it is in English, and my German dictionary, which is the only one I have for eastern Europe, isn't complete enough to give me any idea. Author Reply: Elf-root is not a herb - it's a vegetable. And a dictionary won't help you, because I've made up the name. ;) The Old Farm is mentioned in the Scouring of the Shire, actually. We don't learn anything else about it than it was turned into a workshop of some sort. | |
| Dreamflower | Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 10/25/2008 |
| Ah, I had to go out today *right after* I found this chapter up! All day I kept wondering about it. I love your title for the chapter--it sets it firmly in the wider Middle-earth in which the Shire belongs--however much the Shire would deny it! I also love the various desciptions of the outrage being felt by various and sundry hobbits. My favorite was this: But Missus Ruby was the sister of Rudibert Bolger, whose wife, Amethyst, in her turn, was the older sister of Albus’ wife Amelinda, thus they had no other choice than listen to Missus Ruby’s complaints. About Bilbo’s irresponsible actions and how they would cast an unfavourable light at all Bagginses. About Longo’s greed and ruthless behaviour and how it would cast an unfavourable light at all Bagginses. About Camellia’s ridiculous accusations and how the scandal they had caused would cast an unfortunate light at all Bagginses. About her own husband, Fosco, who kept visiting with ‘that mad Baggins’, not caring about what people might say about such associations. About her elder son, Drogo, who kept sneaking out of the smial to see Bilbo, no matter how often she’d told him that Bilbo wasn’t the right company for him. And so on… LOL! So very hobbity! I also loved the references to Lalia! And the way that the working-class hobbits of the Shire are firmly on Bilbo's side, even if they don't approve. Definitely worth the wait! Author Reply: Hobbit family connections can confuse one out of one's mind, can't they? I'm glad that you enjoyed the new chapter nonetheless. I had great fun with Missus Ruby's outrage - she's just so frigging proper, I thought she'd have been the one most honestly upset. She wasn't disappointed because of the fine tea service she had to give back, she was upset because of the scandal, and that is, at the very least, an honest thing. As I'm not exactly a thin person myself, fat characters, like Bombur and Lalia always fascinate me. It makes me a little angry that they always have to stand in as the villain or as the comic relief - that's why I like writing about Forlong, who was, after all, a war hero - as if the mere fact of being overweight would make someone less worth than their skinny companions. It's the worst case of discrimination, where no other factor like origins and so on can be found, one I had to struggle with during my entire youth. I might write something about Lalia some day - she might have been a female dragon of extraordinary proportions, but she still deserves to tell the story from her own point of view. As for the simple people siding with Bilbo - well, he might have been eccentric, but he was always good to them, and that makes people forgive a lot of strangeness, I think. Thanks for your kind words. Feedback is what keeps the muses working. ;)) | |