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| Keep Alive the Memory by Celeritas | 5 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| Virtuella | Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 12/5/2008 |
| Ah, I've worked out what charms me in this story: It's the kind of thing I'd have loved as a child. A bunch of children, a mysterious book, strange clues, nightly excursions. Of course, it is a lot more sophisticated than the average Enid Blyton! Author Reply: What a compliment!! Being from the States Enid Blyton isn't part of my cultural heritage, but I used to eat up as many children's adventure novels as I could find in my youth. Since I grew up in a small town that was just beginning to lock its doors I always found something dreadfully romantic in the Shire, which because of the function it has to serve during LotR is (at least up till the scouring) pretty carefree! I think it would have to be one of the best places to grow up, until all the pressure to develop some good hobbit sense squashed your imagination (fortunately it's not quite squashed for Kira's friends yet, though it's starting to get there!). I don't think I consciously borrowed any ideas from the Adventure Novel, but part of Kira's character arc is by nature very closely tied to its cousin, the Coming of Age Novel. Anyway, I'm glad that this delights, and I hope that as Kira begins to grow up all of that whimsy isn't wholly lost! | |
| Kara's Aunty | Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 11/8/2008 |
| Helloe Celeritas, Oh how sad for Kira to have unexpectedly found herself staring at the face of her dead dad. The shock she must have got! No wonder she slipped and hurt herself. It's very good she has a sensible friend like young Daffodil to come to her aid. Though I wonder what her punishment was for sneaking off into the night (again) and coming to such harm (again!) in the first place! Maureen :) Author Reply: Kira's father is and remains a mysterious figure, since she never knew him, so the shock was pretty immense. Later on she's going to regret having broken the plate, though. I'm not sure about what Kira's punishment was, but I imagine it was more token than anything else because she got hurt so badly as a direct consequence. Whenever Kira gets into scrapes they seem to work out quite nicely like that, actually... O_O | |
| Agape4Gondor | Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 11/3/2008 |
| I am enjoying this tale thoroughly. I'm glad the children didn't get into too much trouble, and it seems, I hope, that Kira and her mother's relationship is growing stronger. However, I wept as I read about Fatty's painting on the wall.............. Author Reply: Honestly, I think Kira's mother was so relieved that she wasn't more seriously hurt that she didn't want to punish her too much. Plus shutting off that room from Kira's life and then letting her see it just briefly was asking for trouble. Daffodil managed to get off the hook because she was able to handle the situation so well, and I think Roly got some of the windfall of that. Tom, on the other hand... I apologize most sincerely for the weeping, though a part of me is gratified that my own writing produced such an emotional attachment. *hands tissues* The incident was directly inspired by real instances of prisoner graffiti where you can find names, family crests, religious symbols, etc. Some of them can be real works of art! But I figured that Fatty, knowing his friends who were Outside so well and knowing the real danger beyond anyone else in the Shire, would try his best to comfort himself with images of hope. | |
| Dreamflower | Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 10/27/2008 |
| Oh my! What an exciting and intriguing chapter! Kira is still trying very hard to convince herself that the Red Book is just made-up tales. But I think it's getting a lot harder. Methinks she doth protest too much! I love the idea that Freddy used his time in the Lockholes to make beautiful art, and that poem. But I'm dying to know what explanation Kira's mother gave for those things stored away--there is clearly and obviously a mystery. It seems as though Kira's father's family approved of the match between her parents, given that glowing letter. So that can't be what estranged the family. I'm eagerly awaiting more! Author Reply: Glad you liked it! I personally love this stage in Kira's relationship with the book because she can be so mercurial--that exchange ending with "Stupid book" pretty much sums it up for me and is one of my favorite moments (and it's been so long since I wrote that bit that I can honestly say that). At the very least (and even I'm not very sure) she's entered that stage where, within the contexts of the story, one can legitimately say, "But that's not what really happened," even if you're convinced none of it ever happened. That's happened to me on more than one occasion when talking book vs. movies with people. But how convinced Kira is is another story entirely, and one that she herself does not know. I've been intrigued by prisoner graffiti ever since my first visit to the Tower of London years ago. Such vivid testaments of the past practically screamed to be used in an adventure at the Lockholes, and Fatty (whether in my tales he kept this name up after his rescue is irrelevant; he goes down in Shire history as Fatty and so is remembered as such) seemed like the kind of person to not only do that, but make it something constructive. As for the other things... *coughs and walks away before she can say anything of significance* | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 10/27/2008 |
| Ah, part of the family history found and talked about at last. Too bad about the plate, really, as that must have meant a good deal to her mum. The dog rescued, then losing its place to the real family history--the book! She learning now about Odo and Sancho, even if they are mentioned only fleetingly. Then, as this is the original, she will find the family trees and realize she's descended from them and is related to Frodo and the others! Yes, she's Merry the Magnificent's descendent, and that's a fact over which to be proud! Author Reply: It meant a good deal to her mum and would have meant a good deal to her, since she has next to nothing to remember her father by. But this sort of thing (by which I mean Kira's injury, etc.) is something that's going to happen when you close the past off. I'm not sure when exactly Kira fully realizes that she's related to Frodo and Pippin as well--sometime after the conclusion of this tale, I'm sure--but I imagine her spending half the afternoon working out exactly how and through what lines and getting ridiculously excited about the whole thing until she realizes that no one else around her cares that much, or if they do care actually have more cause to get worried about her! | |