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Keep Alive the Memory  by Celeritas 5 Review(s)
VirtuellaReviewed Chapter: 9 on 12/6/2008
"a sky as blue as fine dyed cloth, embroidered here and there with wisps of wool" That's just lovely!

Strange, isn't it, how they can completely shut out the outside world and at the same time believe they know what is and isn't possible in it!

Author Reply: I had a lot of fun writing that whole introspective/descriptive section. Thanks!

Hobbit xenophobia, I'm afraid, is just the real thing intensified. Strange, yes, but not terribly surprising.

Kara's AuntyReviewed Chapter: 9 on 11/27/2008
Hello Celeritas,

Dear, oh dear!

Kira's having a rather hard time of it lately! A very cruel punishment indeed to deprive her of her only joy. And aren't her friends a wily bunch? Trying to keep her so entertained with hee favuotite games that she forgets her book.

I do hope Tom isn't planning anything drastic, so I'll click on the next chapter to find out...

Author Reply: Yes, they can be pretty wily when they have the mind for it--especially Tom, and if he can get the others to go along then Kira's pretty much done for. But it's not working--she doesn't forget the book; she can't and she never will. I have to feel sorry for all of them; there doesn't seem to be a way that the characters can get out of this and all of them feel happy.

Agape4GondorReviewed Chapter: 9 on 11/18/2008
Oh my! Another great chapter...

in the centre of it all four Hobbits stranded in the sea of Outside, separated from one another and trying to find the courage to go on.... loved this line....

And I'm glad she finally talked with Daffodil - though the girl really doesn't understand....

Perhaps *giggles* Kira will, when she's finished reading, start wrting... *giggles furiously*

Author Reply: Oh, thanks for the quoteback! I had a lot of fun writing that entire prosy section.

No, Daffodil doesn't really understand, but at least she's making an effort, unlike some characters... *glares at Tom, who is whistling nonchalantly in the background*

Heh--well, we'll see how well that goes considering she's had absolutely no training in penmanship thus far...

DreamflowerReviewed Chapter: 9 on 11/18/2008
I read this last night, but got interrupted before I could review!

This is a bittersweet chapter--her grieving over the loss of her reading privileges at the beginning was very realistic. To me, the idea of not being allowed to read at all for that length of time would be sheer torture--no wonder she threw herself into a frenzy of activity.

I was so glad that the doctor convinced her mother that the reading would be more beneficial than harmful, and that the lack of reading was actually making her worse.

But I can't help but worry about her friends' reactions. There seems to be a foreshadowing of trouble there, especially with Tom. I wonder if she had offered to read the story to them from the beginning, if it would have made a difference, if they would have become as engrossed as she with the tale. They might, to begin with, have made fun of her--but I can't help think the story would have drawn them in as well in the long run. On the other hand, perhaps it's just as well--I think if Tom had become interested in the story, it would have been for all the wrong reasons, and he might have gotten into even worse trouble...

Author Reply: Good perception all around.

Kira's come to rely on the book in a way that she wouldn't have been able to fathom if it hadn't been taken from her. And for someone who has a weaker constitution like her, in one sense she does have a physical need for it, since she can't sit around and do nothing anymore, the way she did before she learned.

Goodness, I've never thought of the possibility of Kira reading to her friends from the start. I can tell you why she didn't, though: she's known all her life that reading is something odd, and she can only get away with it now by explaining that it's to help her rest. There would be no reason for them to even be interested. Plus she doesn't think her friends could ever understand all that goes on in the tales (a bit of smugness there, I'm afraid), but more importantly that they wouldn't fit in with it. Whether that's true or not I can't say, but that's how Kira sees it. If she were crafty enough she could probably play on the native curiosity of youth--"Gasp!" "What?" "Oh, nothing, it's just something very horribly exciting in these babyish tales I'm reading..." But while she's bright she's not that devious, so it really isn't an option within this tale.

And if she had pulled it off? Well, Tom has that adventurous streak to him, and the main reason his family tolerates it is because he's not putting it to any seriously harmful use (i.e. Adventures). So even if he did start to grudgingly split infinitives appreciate the book as soon as it started affecting his behavior his parents would stamp it out and Tom would become even more callous. If they couldn't stamp it out, they'd turn to Kira next and who knows what would happen from that confrontation. I may have to do an internal AU now!

LarnerReviewed Chapter: 9 on 11/17/2008
Ah, the most tragic time of all. But at last and at least Daffodil is starting to appreciate WHY Kira's reading! And hopefully perhaps she'll begin to appreciate why the story is important, not just to Kira, but to every Hobbit in the Shire!

Author Reply: Yes--no wonder Kira's so reluctant to put the book down! It's a good thing Daffodil didn't interrupt her a few pages later or she would have put Kira down as a lost cause.

Daffodil is beginning to understand why Kira has to read, but not much beyond that, at least not yet. It's a start, though.

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