{"id":359,"date":"2016-02-24T13:21:00","date_gmt":"2016-02-24T13:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/2016\/02\/24\/family-roundabout-by-richmal-crompton\/"},"modified":"2020-10-28T16:43:11","modified_gmt":"2020-10-28T16:43:11","slug":"family-roundabout-by-richmal-crompton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/2016\/02\/24\/family-roundabout-by-richmal-crompton\/","title":{"rendered":"Family Roundabout by Richmal Crompton"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\"Persephone<\/a><\/div>\n

I have had this book for almost a year and I kept putting off reading it. \u00a0Not because I wasn’t interested or didn’t think I would enjoy it but because I have a bad habit of hoarding books I think I am going to particularly enjoy. \u00a0I am not sure why I do it, it isn’t as if once it is read it can never be read again. \u00a0I just enjoy the anticipation and tend to want to save these special books for a special time. \u00a0I don’t want to read them in a hurry while making dinner and yelling at kids to get their homework done. \u00a0I want to read them while resting in a hammock with a large glass of iced tea and a constant supply of snacks. \u00a0There should be a beautiful garden to gaze out upon while contemplating character development and no one should ever interrupt me with demands for food, transportation, or clean laundry. \u00a0No, I didn’t achieve that nirvana recently (one can only dream) but I did have a quiet weekend with the kids at my parents which left me with plenty of time to read. \u00a0So I curled up on the couch with an afghan and a hot cup of tea and dove in.<\/p>\n

Family Roundabout<\/i> is the story of two families, the Willoughbys and the Fowlers, who live in the town of Bellington between the wars. \u00a0Each of the families is overseen by a widowed mother. \u00a0Mrs. Willoughby is domineering and rules her family with a rod of iron. She is described as “eagle-eyed, eagle-beaked, built on the formidable lines of a dreadnought.” \u00a0She loves them but is convinced that she always knows what is best. \u00a0The family submits to her rule, showing up when required and consulting her on all decisions big and small. \u00a0Mrs. Fowler is a quiet, peaceful woman who is content to let her children make their own way through life as best they can. She loves them dearly but does not feel motivated to interfere in their lives. \u00a0The lives of the two families become interwoven beginning with the marriage of Mrs. Willoughby’s son and Mrs. Fowler’s daughter. \u00a0The novel visits the characters over the course of some years and shows how the characters and their lives have changed.<\/p>\n

I was immediately drawn to Mrs. Fowler and some of my favorite quotes revolve around her. \u00a0I thought this quote gives such a clear picture of her.<\/p>\n

“Her name was Millicent, but Henry who liked diminutives, had called her Milly. \u00a0She always thought of the quick-witted , quick-tempered girl who still existed somewhere within her as Millicent and Henry’s wife as Milly. \u00a0“Now, Millicent…’ she would say to herself warningly, as she bit back some trenchant comment, some shrewd rejoinder.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I could so relate to this quote.<\/p>\n

“She had put a little pile of books on the table by her chair and was looking forward to a long quiet afternoon. \u00a0Peter used to laugh at her habit of selecting a number of her favourite books to ‘dip into’ whenever she had an afternoon or evening free for reading. \u00a0Other people, he said, just had a book and read it through till they’d finished it…<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

‘I get the same sort of gloating feeling that misers get, I suppose,’ said Mrs. Fowler. \u00a0‘I think I have all afternoon and evening and I can just–wallow.’<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is one of those quiet books where not a lot happens and even when things do happen they happen in a quiet way. \u00a0It feels like an observer’s book. We observe the families, observe the characters, observe their interactions. \u00a0And in many ways, the characters observe themselves. \u00a0Mrs. Fowler realizes something important here.<\/p>\n

“Sometimes she wondered if he came to her hoping for some help that he never received. \u00a0She had this feeling of uncertainty and inadequacy with all her children. \u00a0She shrank from bringing pressure to bear on them in any way or obtruding on their privacy, and so, she suspected, she often failed them. \u00a0They wanted help and advice, and she had none to give….Her thoughts went to Mrs. Willoughby. \u00a0She can always give people advice. I’d be better if I had more of her in me. \u00a0A little smile twitched her lips. And perhaps she’d be better if she had more of me in her….”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is just the type of book I like, a quiet book, a book where, in a way, not much happens. \u00a0A book full of characters more than events. \u00a0But at the same time an insightful book, a thoughtful book, and a book that bears reading again.<\/p>\n

I’ll leave you with one last quote. I think Mrs. Fowler would have completely understood my desire for a good book and a hammock.<\/p>\n

‘Having come to the conclusion that there was so much to do that she didn’t know where to start, Mrs. Fowler decided not to start at all. \u00a0She went to the library, took Diary of a Nobody from the shelves, and, returning to her wicker chair under the lime tree, settled down to waste what precious hours still remained of the day.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I reviewed this book for the Classics Club. \u00a0You can see the rest of my list here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have had this book for almost a year and I kept putting off reading it. \u00a0Not because I wasn’t interested or didn’t think I would enjoy it but because I have a bad habit of hoarding books I think I am going to particularly enjoy. \u00a0I am not sure why I do it, it isn’t as if once it is read it can never be read again. \u00a0I just enjoy the anticipation and tend to want to save these special books for a special time. \u00a0I don’t want to read them in a hurry while making dinner and yelling at kids to get their homework done. \u00a0I want to read them while resting in a hammock with a large glass of iced tea and a constant supply of snacks. \u00a0There should be a beautiful garden to gaze out upon while contemplating character development and no one should ever interrupt me with demands for food, transportation, or clean laundry. \u00a0No, I didn’t achieve that nirvana recently (one can only dream) but I did have a quiet weekend with the kids at my parents which left me with plenty of time to read. \u00a0So I curled up on the couch with an afghan and a hot cup of tea and dove in. Family Roundabout is the story of two families, the Willoughbys and the Fowlers, who live in the town of Bellington between the wars. \u00a0Each of the families is overseen by a widowed mother. \u00a0Mrs. Willoughby is domineering and rules her family with a rod of iron. She is described as “eagle-eyed, eagle-beaked, built on the formidable lines of a dreadnought.” \u00a0She loves them but is convinced that she always knows what is best. \u00a0The family submits to her rule, showing up when required and consulting her on all decisions big and small. \u00a0Mrs. Fowler is a quiet, peaceful woman who is content to let her children make their own way through life as best they can. She loves them dearly but does not feel motivated to interfere in their lives. \u00a0The lives of the two families become interwoven beginning with the marriage of Mrs. Willoughby’s son and Mrs. Fowler’s daughter. \u00a0The novel visits the characters over the course of some years and shows how the characters and their lives have changed. I was immediately drawn to Mrs. Fowler and some of my favorite quotes revolve around her. \u00a0I thought this quote gives such a clear picture of her. “Her name was Millicent, but Henry who liked diminutives, had called her Milly. \u00a0She always thought of the quick-witted , quick-tempered girl who still existed somewhere within her as Millicent and Henry’s wife as Milly. \u00a0“Now, Millicent…’ she would say to herself warningly, as she bit back some trenchant comment, some shrewd rejoinder.” I could so relate to this quote. “She had put a little pile of books on the table by her chair and was looking forward to a long quiet afternoon. \u00a0Peter used to laugh at her habit of selecting a number of her favourite books to ‘dip into’ whenever she had an afternoon or evening free for reading. \u00a0Other people, he said, just had a book and read it through till they’d finished it… ‘I get the same sort of gloating feeling that misers get, I suppose,’ said Mrs. Fowler. \u00a0‘I think I have all afternoon and evening and I can just–wallow.’ This is one of those quiet books where not a lot happens and even when things do happen they happen in a quiet way. \u00a0It feels like an observer’s book. We observe the families, observe the characters, observe their interactions. \u00a0And in many ways, the characters observe themselves. \u00a0Mrs. Fowler realizes something important here. “Sometimes she wondered if he came to her hoping for some help that he never received. \u00a0She had this feeling of uncertainty and inadequacy with all her children. \u00a0She shrank from bringing pressure to bear on them in any way or obtruding on their privacy, and so, she suspected, she often failed them. \u00a0They wanted help and advice, and she had none to give….Her thoughts went to Mrs. Willoughby. \u00a0She can always give people advice. I’d be better if I had more of her in me. \u00a0A little smile twitched her lips. And perhaps she’d be better if she had more of me in her….” This is just the type of book I like, a quiet book, a book where, in a way, not much happens. \u00a0A book full of characters more than events. \u00a0But at the same time an insightful book, a thoughtful book, and a book that bears reading again. I’ll leave you with one last quote. I think Mrs. Fowler would have completely understood my desire for a good book and a hammock. ‘Having come to the conclusion that there was so much to do that she didn’t know where to start, Mrs. Fowler decided not to start at all. \u00a0She went to the library, took Diary of a Nobody from the shelves, and, returning to her wicker chair under the lime tree, settled down to waste what precious hours still remained of the day.” I reviewed this book for the Classics Club. \u00a0You can see the rest of my list here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":647,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,7,53],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-359","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-classics-club","category-review","category-richmal-crompton"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=359"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2868,"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359\/revisions\/2868"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/647"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=359"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=359"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=359"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}