EnglishLiterature

pick

Well, I ended up enjoying this rather more than I thought I would (which is probably due to the quirkiness of Gibbons‘ characters). “Wise woman- ish” Ivy Gover and her menagerie of creatures were just so charming!

I read the introduction after I finished the novel and was fascinated by the links to Stella Gibbons‘ own life. A biographer said the character of Helen Green was the closest thing she had written to a portrait of her young self.

LeahBergen #FurrowedMiddlebrowClub 2d

Ruthiella I‘m glad you liked it. I enjoyed it, I just wish the plot had been a little plottier. 😁 2d

LeahBergen @Ruthiella That‘s the perfect way of putting it 😆 2d

48 likes3 comments

willaful

Woods in Winter | Stella Gibbons

I started this with a “four chapters a day“ plan and then read it straight through so I was definitely engaged. Set in the 30s, it started out with two interesting characters: Ivy, a thrice-widowed charwoman with an incredibly strong sense of self, and poet Helen, who's kind of lost herself in an affair with a man who won't marry her.

cont.

rubyslippersreads, quietjenn, Jess_Read_This, Kimzey, erzascarletbookgasm, catebutler, CarolynM, LeahBergen, Lizpixie, elkeOriginal, Aimeesue, batsy, Tamra, bookandbedandtea, Teresereading, kwmg40, Cathythoughts, Ruthiella, julieclair, MrsK

willaful When Ivy inherits a house (sort of? It's apparently a rental, yet willed to her?) she can finally live exactly the way she wants to, with animals and birds and even cockroaches freely sharing her space. And somehow a lot of other people in the neighborhood find themselves throwing off visions of what their lives should be and doing what they want instead. It's all kind of a muddle though, and I would rather have found out more about Helen's life. 5d

willaful #FurrowedMiddlebrowClub

37x37 book 1 @MatchlessMarie (edited) 5d

Ruthiella Good review. A muddle is accurate. There wasn‘t any focus. Not unpleasant but not great either, IMO. 5d

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willaful @Ruthiella yeah, I definitely enjoyed it more than some but it was lacking. 5d

LeahBergen @Ruthiella @willaful I‘m approaching the middle point (and the muddle, I think 😆). 5d

Faranae @willaful If it's set in the UK, there is in fact a legal thing where someone can have the right to live on a property while the actual ownership is held by someone else, and they can't be evicted. It used to be a way that rich people pensioned off favourite servants, or discharged responsibility for favourite/hated relations. I don't remember the legal term though! 5d

willaful @Faranae It's mentioned in the book that it's not a “freehold“ and though he could leave it to her, she couldn't leave it to anyone. Which is so confusing! Those British are crazy. 😂 5d

Faranae @willaful But they didn't give what it actually is? Eg, copyhold (abolished in 1925), life estate, leasehold (you could do a leasehold where the rent is 0)... I think a lot of people also don't know that “freehold“ is often shorthand for “perpetual freehold“, and there are other types of freehold... 4d

willaful @Faranae I think it did say leasehold, and presumably rent free. 4d

36 likes9 comments

Ruthiella

The Woods in Winter | Stella Gibbons

pick

#FurrowedMiddlebrowClub
#37by37

A very soft pick. It was a bit of a meandering hodgepodge. Taciturn, middle aged, and slightly witchy charwoman, Ivy Gover, inherits her uncle cottage outside the village of Nethersham in 1930 or so. There are a few village romances, a poignant foster son situation, a mean girl, class consciousness and class clashes. And then there‘s an epilogue 40 years later. It felt a little unfinished.

rubyslippersreads, quietjenn, Jess_Read_This, Kimzey, erzascarletbookgasm, catebutler, Cuilin, CarolynM, LeahBergen, JenlovesJT47, Lizpixie, elkeOriginal, Gissy, Aimeesue, batsy, Tamra, MatchlessMarie, bookandbedandtea, Teresereading, Sace, kwmg40, Sparklemn, willaful, MrsK

LeahBergen I‘m still reading and almost at the halfway point. I‘m wondering if the “unfinishedness” is a product of this being her last book? I‘ve saved the introduction to read until after I‘m done! 5d

Ruthiella @LeahBergen I think that might have played into it. 5d

LeahBergen I‘m going to make our post in the next day or two, calling for next year‘s voting. Is that okay with you, my fellow host? 😆 5d

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Ruthiella @LeahBergen Yes. Perfect. Should we also do a roll call of sorts? I think the core participants have changed and some are no longer active on the platform. 🤔 5d

Tamra I‘m only a third in and enjoying it, but based on reviews so far I should lower my expectations. Starts out strong! 5d

Cuilin @Tamra yes I thought it started strong, now I may need to adjust my expectations too. 5d

Ruthiella @Tamra @Cuilin It was overall enjoyable but no one storyline felt entirely fleshed out, IMO. 5d

LeahBergen @Ruthiella We should! I was going to drop a couple of names from the list that haven‘t been on Litsy for a year or two (they‘ll find us if they come back 😄). Do you want to do the roll call and then I‘ll check our picking order and organize that bit? 5d

Ruthiella @LeahBergen Yes, will do! 5d

70 likes9 comments

willaful

Woods in Winter | Stella Gibbons

I was really enjoying this, but halfway though it suddenly started focusing on all these extraneous characters. I'm baffled.

#FurrowedMiddlebrowClub

LeahBergen Oh no. I haven‘t got to that point yet! 😆 6d

Ruthiella Agree! I‘m at 80% and there‘s still no plot to speak of! 😆 6d

24 likes2 comments

LitsyEvents

The Woods in Winter | Stella Gibbons

Happy Halloween 🎃
via @Ruthiella
#FurrowedMiddlebrowClub readers!
Reminding y'all that our last title in 2025 is the tagged in November. I've started it and I will say, if you are a dog lover, you will appreciate it.
#JusticeforMrJones&JimJams (!)
Read at your own pace and make sure to tag us in your review and any related posts.
This buddy read is open to anyone. If you would like to be added to or removed from the tag list, say the word.

Ruthiella Thank you! 🙏 2w

Tamra Oh, how fun! Thanks for the reminder! @Ruthiella (edited) 2w

24 likes2 comments

Ruthiella

The Woods in Winter | Stella Gibbons

Happy Halloween 🎃 #FurrowedMiddlebrowClub readers! Reminding y‘all that our last title in 2025 is the tagged in November. I‘ve started it and I will say, if you are a dog lover, you will appreciate it. #JusticeforMrJones&JimJams 🐶!

Read at your own pace and make sure to tag us in your review and any related posts.

This buddy read is open to anyone. If you would like to be added to or removed from the tag list, say the word.

@LitsyEvents

rubyslippersreads, quietjenn, Jess_Read_This, Kimzey, erzascarletbookgasm, catebutler, Cuilin, CarolynM, LeahBergen, JenlovesJT47, Lizpixie, elkeOriginal, Gissy, Aimeesue, batsy, Tamra, bookandbedandtea, Teresereading, Sace, kwmg40, Sparklemn, julieclair, willaful, MrsK

Kimzey Yay! I‘ve started it also. 🐕 2w

Ruthiella @Kimzey Awesome! 🤩 2w

LeahBergen Dog lover here! 🙌 2w

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Ruthiella @LeahBergen We‘re in luck this time. Though, I will say Tara the dog in Susan Settles Down was well cared for. 🐶 2w

julieclair I think I need to be removed from the tag list, please. I have overcommitted myself to buddy reads. But I will still follow the hash tag and may pop in from time to time. Thanks! 1w

Ruthiella @julieclair No problem. 😉 Thanks for letting me know. 1w

CarolynM I‘ve got a few books in the queue ahead of this one, but I will get there eventually - hopefully before the end of the month😬🙂 7d

Ruthiella @CarolynM No worries! I‘m about 1/2 ways through and I have no idea where it‘s going plot-wise, which is interesting.🤔 7d

54 likes1 stack add8 comments

The_Penniless_Author

Stone Door | Leonora Carrington

so-so

A kaleidoscopic narrative larded with symbols and references to just about every religion, philosophy, and mystical practice known to man. It felt sort of like a William Burroughs remastering of fables and fairy tales from around the world. I love Carrington, and I appreciate formal inventiveness when it's well-done, but I'm still on the fence whether this added up to anything or was so much performative vagueness (albeit beautifully rendered).

33 likes

Lcsmcat

Emily & Herman: A Literary Romance | John J. Healey

pan

OMG, this was so unbelievable, so overwrought. And the author couldn‘t stop writing about nipples. 🙄At least I‘ve knocked off one #readyoirkobo for September. But don‘t waste your time on this one. @CBee

CBee Omg, well this sounds….. terrible 😅 1mo

Lcsmcat @CBee Yeah, especially if you like Dickinson, Melville, Hawthorn, or Whitman, stay away from this one. 1mo

CBee @Lcsmcat I very much like Dickinson and Whitman 💚 1mo

30 likes3 comments