This was a great little story -- I wish I had read this series when I was younger. I'm going to give it to my mom, I even think my dad would really like it, and he doesn't read much.
A few fave quotes: Chapter 1: "Father bought a pail of milk and a whole custard pie. We ate it sitting on the curb beside our wagon. Father knew just how to buy a good breakfast" I liked how this breakfast treat was repeated throughout.
Chapter 7: "Father had a trick I never knew about before. He must have cupped his hand up some way, because every whack sounded like it was killing me, but they hardly stung at all. I howled loud enough to make up the difference."
Chapter 8: "Father grinned,'They're certainly a breachy lot, but I have an idea he can make out. There's one old heifer up there that I don't think he could handle, but he won't have to ride herd on her.' " My dad has always called his mother-in-law "the old heifer" so this really gave me a chuckle.
Chapter 21: ".. it was old Nig that started to run first. He jumped quicker than our tomcat did the time I hit him with a tomato." I would have loved to read about that tomcat story!!
Other things I really liked: Good cover art Chapters with titles Talking about building the privy (M knows I have an obsession for details of daily life like bathrooms, etc) The little character house Father sending him to see the sherrif Being punished by having to wear the buster brown suit to school. Mother reading to everyone on Sundays Two Dog (I really wanted him to say "hugh" at some point!) Turning blue on purpose to get brandy
I saw the ending coming about halfway through the book, and I kept thinking, no, maybe it won't happen, but alas, it did. I'm interested in reading the next book, maybe I'll read the whole series. (trying not to give anything away here) When the mom spends time with the doctor at the end it reminded me a lot of a similar situation in Like Water For Chocolate, if anyone has read that I'd be interested to see if you agree.
It did get a little preachy, which I think is great for a 8-12 yr old reader; got to be a bit much for me in the last third or so. I often found myself wondering about Grace, and what all she must have been responsible for on the farm. I assume she did a lot of gardening and cooking.
The drive by shooting blew my socks off. I didn't expect that at all!
I also wish I had read this series when I was younger. It reminds me of the Little House series that I enjoyed (enjoy) so much.
I'm still not finished, but I expect to be fairly soon. I have two quotes and one question that I wnated to write about for now.
First, the quotes: Chapter 4: "I should have admitted to Mother right then that it was only a story, but I as sure she'd spank me if I did." This reminds me of the saying, "Don't ask permission, ask forgiveness."
I won't type the whole speech, but I really liked his father's speech about character from this chapter.
My question: Was the big wind a tornado or just a really strong wind? It seemed like it lasted too long to be a tornado, but if not, that was REALLY strong wind. What do you think?
I also really enjoyed the story about turning blue to get brandy. Right after I read that section, I was reading a chapter in "All Quiet.." in which the main character holds his breath till he turned bluish so that he could go to the same hospital room as his feverish buddy. I never realized how important this trick is. :-)
I have a suspicion how it is going to end and am not looking forward to that part. I don't see how it can be avoided though?
I'm having so much fun reading this; great choice, Tracy.
A few more quotes and comments:
Chapter 6: Following the story of father training Fanny (anyone else think Fanny Hill everytime they read this name?) to work in a team and her tantrum: "If it had been Mother, I think she would have killed Fanny right then and there, but Father didn't seem to get mad at all-- only the muscles on his jaws went out and in." I love how the mother in this book seems more aggressive and impatient while the father is gentler and more patient (is this spelled correctly?)
Chapter 8 "I Become a Sort of Cowboy": I laughed so much during this chapter! I really liked the quote you picked out of this chapter, Angie. I had the problem of loving this whole chapter too much and wanting to quote everything. I chose just two, though:
"His feet were as big as footballs, and every time he trotted, I bounced a foot high and came down with a thud." Oh, I've been there.
"The things he (Fred) said about Mr. Corcoran were good to listen to. They were just the things I would have said myself if I hadn't been afriad of the damage it might do that character of mine-- I wish Father had never told me about it." The things we wished we didn't know..
In Chapter 9 I just loved how Grace kept telling him she was a better rider. Classic.
Chapter 15: First of all, my mother used to do operations like that to remove splinters, too. My brother and I stopped telling her when we got splinters just so we could avoid the operation. On that note, after his mother told him that Mother Nature would finish getting it out: "All the time she was telling me, I was wishing she had thought of it sooner and not tried to give olld Mother Nature quite so much help when she didn't need it." :-)
**** SPOILER ALERT **** I am going to give away the ending, so if you haven't finished, don't read this post.
I found Ch. 23, when Fanny dies, even more depressing than when his father dies, does that make me a bad person? I always hate horse deaths, of course, but this was so sudden. I've been expecting his father to die from the beginning, although not the way it actually happened, but I never expected Fanny to die, especially not the way she did.
I wish they had given us one more chapter so that we didn't have to end with the death of his father and illness of his mother. The next book in the series is "Man of the Family". I'm going to pick it up when I next go to the library. Anyone else finishing the series?
Only one quote to mention from the latter part of the book. In Chapter 30, after father beats up the school principle who whipped Ralph (I'm so glad corporal punishment was pretty much gone by the time I was in school, though we did have a wooden paddle at my elementary school that was occasionally used on my brother), Ralph asks where his father had been: "'Oh, I just had to go see a fellow about a dog.' Mother looked up quickly and said, 'I think you got it backwards.'"
I have two more questions (I must not be very quick on picking up on these things. When they get the new horse (Lady), Philip tells Ralph that the horses name is Bread, but when Ralph asks his mother, she says that Philip must have misheard what Mr. Cash was saying. Why would Mr. Cash call the horse Bread?
Secondly, Ralph's mother gets "surgeon's blood poisoning". What is that? At least no-one got brain fevers in this book.
M, I think the big wind was just a wind, something like a big front moving through is what I pictured.
The horse called Bread (hahaha I found this to be a very funny part of the book) was a female that they got after she had been impregnated/bred. =)
I am also confused about the mom's hand - I don't recall her getting it cut anywhere, which is how I thought you got blood poisoning (through an infection?).
The part where Charles beats up the school principal didn't jive for me. It seems out of character for him to use such blatent violence for a premeditated revenge (even if that principal DID deserve it).
I also took Fanny's death really hard - I agree it was worse than the dad. I thought that part read like Ralph went back out and drowned her on purpose to end her suffering, did you think that as well?
Do you think Hi will figure in to the later books? I wonder if he will continue in his mentor role.
OH.. BRED. Well, don't I just feel like an ass, now. I can't believe I didn't get that.
I read the Fanny part as that he was trying to save her but doing it badly, though at one point I thought maybe he might be trying to put her out of his misery. I'm not sure he even knew what he was doing.
I'm not sure if Hi will be in the later books, since they have already moved away. However, in researching the rest of the series, I see that he goes on to do a lot of trick riding and cowherding, so maybwe.
Maybe mother convinced father to open a can of whoop-ass on principle?
I too wished I had read this when I was younger. I would have loved it - just like I love Little House. Great pick Tracy!
And Ang, dad is reading this book. He was telling me about it yesterday then I told him, hey I'm reading the same book! He was on chapter 16 and I was on chapter 20. He was whipping right thru it!
I have the exact same quotes you have entered plus:
Ch 3: Teacher says Ralph "has made the adjustment to school" after beating up Freddie Sprague. And the later conversation with his father: Father: "I heard you had a fight yesterday." Ralph: "Yes, sir." Father: "Did you lick him?" Ralph: "Yes, sir." Father: "Good." LOVED IT! And I enjoyed how their conversations were during milking sessions.
Also enjoyed how Ralph got rid of his glasses (they dig those privies good and deep for the school) - ch 15.
And chapter 28, father takes everyone out for ice cream sodas but Ralph says "I think Hi would rather have had whiskey."
I could see the end coming and expected it but did not expect Fanny to die. That really tore me up. I think Ralph was trying to save Fanny but didn't really help. Glad that Ralph got involved with another horse and bonded.
Like you A, I was totally shocked at the drive by shooting. Holy horseless carriage!
And I liked that the chapters had names. Immediately I see the chapter title and can think what it was all about.
The cover of my book was not good. Shows a boy and a dog and a really skinny horse standing on the edge of a cliff in the snow. I don't know where that fit in the story.
I wonder how Two Dog got his name. Did he have 2 wolves at some point? Or did 1 wolf count as 2 dogs?
And being a sewer, I would have strung Ralph up for as many times as he ripped his clothes. His mother must've had quite a job mending and keeping clothes on that boy.
I read the first few pages of "Man of the Family" on Amazon and it says "Mother got blood poisoning in her hand from nursing Father". I wonder maybe she removed some of the barb wire and got herself infected???
I have to say again how much I enjoy this book club. It's so nice to read a good book and be able to share it. Sharing it is the best part. THANKS!
Joy, I agree, sharing is the best part. I love the little book club so so so much, there isn't a week that goes by that I'm not thankful for reuniting with Melissa, and for her suggesting that we do this.
I liked the whiskey line too, I'm glad you mentioned it.
Still can't believe how fast Dad is reading this book! It's unprecedented and definitely speaks to how good it is and how well written so as to be enjoyed by all ages! Did he tell you about the cow they had when he was little?
I also am quite happy with our little club. Ken laughs at me because I check it (and usually post) just about every day, but I just LOVE talking about books, especially with such great people!
I wonder why "have a cow" means to throw a fit?
No cover art in my volume, but I liked the illustrations within the text. They really fit the storyline, and who doesn't love pictures?
I'm picking up the next one at the library tomorrow. Is Pat still on vacation? I was curious what our next book would be. There's no hurry, of course. But you know me, always thinking ahead.
Pictures? I didn't have any pictures in my copy - guess I got all I could want with Fanny Hill.
Mimi and I worked on our quilt today so I took Little Britches to Dick. He started reading it and I'm sure will have it finished by Sunday - churchtime. He had not heard of it either. How did we all miss this series growing up???
I am so glad that you all enjoyed the book. All while I was growing up my grandmother and I would go to yard sales and she would say make sure you look for the Little Britches book. We never found a copy. But, I have always wanted to read it. I am glad I got to share it with all of you. My favorite parts in the book were: Chapter 3: When he fights with Freddie Sprague. How different teachers look at fighting between children. I especially likked the part about Ms. Wheeler "peeking out of the corner of the window, but she didn't ring the bell till it was all over and Grace had pinned my pants back on." Then telling Grace to tell mother that Ralph had adjusted to school... Ha. That's great. I wish teacher still were able to look at problems like that. I also liked many of the same parts as the rest of you and am not going to bother to rehash them. Melissa, I think I will continue reading the series too. But I am sure you will have them finished long before me. My final thought, I find it sad that "father" got pneumonia while trying to earn $3. It seems like such a small amount. Has anyone else noticed that popular music has gone from "I wish I had a million dollars" to "I wish I was a billionaire"? How quickly the American dollar has lost value. To think that in the early 1900s $3 was worth so much to a family... Oh, and father's death bothered me more than Fanny's. I knew he was going to die in the book. But I guess I formed a stronger attachment to him throughout the book than Fanny. (Although, she sounded like a wonderful horse.)
Don't worry about mispelled words and other 'mechanics' errors, Tracy. We'll only make fun of it behind your back, never to your face. You'll notice I flagrantly mispell words all the time. :-)
I am half way through Man of the House right now and it is just as good. I won't say anymore since I know at least Tracy and probably Angie will be reading on- though I'll probably write about it under "Other Books".
I will probably continue on with the series but not right away. The Bradford County Library has the whole series but in "painting season" I don't get out much (except rainy days and we have NOT had one!). So go ahead and post, I'll try not to look.
BTW, did you see all the misspelings in Tracy's post?
Just finished re-reading Little Britches. I first read it in the late fifties at age 8 when my parents gave it to me. I always remembered the father dying scene, and 25 years later my father died sick in bed before me, just like the scene pictured in the book. Coincidentally at the time I was a Colorado State Patrolman, in Turkey Creek Canyon (Hwy 285) and around Morrison (Jefferson County) but I didn't equate it then with Little Britches b/c I didn't remember that part. But that made re-reading it at age 60 doubly interesting, seeing the 1910 descriptions of places I drove around in the eighties.
I re-read it because like my father passed things on to me (like giving me the book to read), I wanted to pass things on to my 3 boys. They were estranged from me in a bitter divorce and I haven't heard from them in 7 years, and this is the type of book I would have given them if they still associated with me, to read or not. They always said (were told by their Mother) that I was too mired in the past, but I like to think of it as timeless values. I was saddened (haunted) by the ending the first time I read it, and tears rolled out on the last page the 2d time I read it. I keep a box for each of my 3 boys in the basement (now adults in their mid-20s); I'll put the book in one of their boxes and when they clear out my house someday they can either throw the boxes in the dumpster unopened or go through them and see such remembrances.
17 comments:
This was a great little story -- I wish I had read this series when I was younger. I'm going to give it to my mom, I even think my dad would really like it, and he doesn't read much.
A few fave quotes:
Chapter 1:
"Father bought a pail of milk and a whole custard pie. We ate it sitting on the curb beside our wagon. Father knew just how to buy a good breakfast"
I liked how this breakfast treat was repeated throughout.
Chapter 7:
"Father had a trick I never knew about before. He must have cupped his hand up some way, because every whack sounded like it was killing me, but they hardly stung at all. I howled loud enough to make up the difference."
Chapter 8:
"Father grinned,'They're certainly a breachy lot, but I have an idea he can make out. There's one old heifer up there that I don't think he could handle, but he won't have to ride herd on her.' "
My dad has always called his mother-in-law "the old heifer" so this really gave me a chuckle.
Chapter 21:
".. it was old Nig that started to run first. He jumped quicker than our tomcat did the time I hit him with a tomato."
I would have loved to read about that tomcat story!!
Other things I really liked:
Good cover art
Chapters with titles
Talking about building the privy (M knows I have an obsession for details of daily life like bathrooms, etc)
The little character house
Father sending him to see the sherrif
Being punished by having to wear the buster brown suit to school.
Mother reading to everyone on Sundays
Two Dog (I really wanted him to say "hugh" at some point!)
Turning blue on purpose to get brandy
I saw the ending coming about halfway through the book, and I kept thinking, no, maybe it won't happen, but alas, it did. I'm interested in reading the next book, maybe I'll read the whole series. (trying not to give anything away here) When the mom spends time with the doctor at the end it reminded me a lot of a similar situation in Like Water For Chocolate, if anyone has read that I'd be interested to see if you agree.
It did get a little preachy, which I think is great for a 8-12 yr old reader; got to be a bit much for me in the last third or so. I often found myself wondering about Grace, and what all she must have been responsible for on the farm. I assume she did a lot of gardening and cooking.
The drive by shooting blew my socks off. I didn't expect that at all!
I also wish I had read this series when I was younger. It reminds me of the Little House series that I enjoyed (enjoy) so much.
I'm still not finished, but I expect to be fairly soon. I have two quotes and one question that I wnated to write about for now.
First, the quotes:
Chapter 4:
"I should have admitted to Mother right then that it was only a story, but I as sure she'd spank me if I did." This reminds me of the saying, "Don't ask permission, ask forgiveness."
I won't type the whole speech, but I really liked his father's speech about character from this chapter.
My question:
Was the big wind a tornado or just a really strong wind? It seemed like it lasted too long to be a tornado, but if not, that was REALLY strong wind. What do you think?
I also really enjoyed the story about turning blue to get brandy. Right after I read that section, I was reading a chapter in "All Quiet.." in which the main character holds his breath till he turned bluish so that he could go to the same hospital room as his feverish buddy. I never realized how important this trick is. :-)
I have a suspicion how it is going to end and am not looking forward to that part. I don't see how it can be avoided though?
I'm having so much fun reading this; great choice, Tracy.
A few more quotes and comments:
Chapter 6:
Following the story of father training Fanny (anyone else think Fanny Hill everytime they read this name?) to work in a team and her tantrum: "If it had been Mother, I think she would have killed Fanny right then and there, but Father didn't seem to get mad at all-- only the muscles on his jaws went out and in." I love how the mother in this book seems more aggressive and impatient while the father is gentler and more patient (is this spelled correctly?)
Chapter 8 "I Become a Sort of Cowboy":
I laughed so much during this chapter! I really liked the quote you picked out of this chapter, Angie. I had the problem of loving this whole chapter too much and wanting to quote everything. I chose just two, though:
"His feet were as big as footballs, and every time he trotted, I bounced a foot high and came down with a thud." Oh, I've been there.
"The things he (Fred) said about Mr. Corcoran were good to listen to. They were just the things I would have said myself if I hadn't been afriad of the damage it might do that character of mine-- I wish Father had never told me about it." The things we wished we didn't know..
In Chapter 9 I just loved how Grace kept telling him she was a better rider. Classic.
Chapter 15:
First of all, my mother used to do operations like that to remove splinters, too. My brother and I stopped telling her when we got splinters just so we could avoid the operation. On that note, after his mother told him that Mother Nature would finish getting it out: "All the time she was telling me, I was wishing she had thought of it sooner and not tried to give olld Mother Nature quite so much help when she didn't need it." :-)
**** SPOILER ALERT ****
I am going to give away the ending, so if you haven't finished, don't read this post.
I found Ch. 23, when Fanny dies, even more depressing than when his father dies, does that make me a bad person? I always hate horse deaths, of course, but this was so sudden. I've been expecting his father to die from the beginning, although not the way it actually happened, but I never expected Fanny to die, especially not the way she did.
I wish they had given us one more chapter so that we didn't have to end with the death of his father and illness of his mother. The next book in the series is "Man of the Family". I'm going to pick it up when I next go to the library. Anyone else finishing the series?
Only one quote to mention from the latter part of the book. In Chapter 30, after father beats up the school principle who whipped Ralph (I'm so glad corporal punishment was pretty much gone by the time I was in school, though we did have a wooden paddle at my elementary school that was occasionally used on my brother), Ralph asks where his father had been: "'Oh, I just had to go see a fellow about a dog.' Mother looked up quickly and said, 'I think you got it backwards.'"
I have two more questions (I must not be very quick on picking up on these things. When they get the new horse (Lady), Philip tells Ralph that the horses name is Bread, but when Ralph asks his mother, she says that Philip must have misheard what Mr. Cash was saying. Why would Mr. Cash call the horse Bread?
Secondly, Ralph's mother gets "surgeon's blood poisoning". What is that? At least no-one got brain fevers in this book.
M, I think the big wind was just a wind, something like a big front moving through is what I pictured.
The horse called Bread (hahaha I found this to be a very funny part of the book) was a female that they got after she had been impregnated/bred. =)
I am also confused about the mom's hand - I don't recall her getting it cut anywhere, which is how I thought you got blood poisoning (through an infection?).
The part where Charles beats up the school principal didn't jive for me. It seems out of character for him to use such blatent violence for a premeditated revenge (even if that principal DID deserve it).
I also took Fanny's death really hard - I agree it was worse than the dad. I thought that part read like Ralph went back out and drowned her on purpose to end her suffering, did you think that as well?
Do you think Hi will figure in to the later books? I wonder if he will continue in his mentor role.
OH.. BRED. Well, don't I just feel like an ass, now. I can't believe I didn't get that.
I read the Fanny part as that he was trying to save her but doing it badly, though at one point I thought maybe he might be trying to put her out of his misery. I'm not sure he even knew what he was doing.
I'm not sure if Hi will be in the later books, since they have already moved away. However, in researching the rest of the series, I see that he goes on to do a lot of trick riding and cowherding, so maybwe.
Maybe mother convinced father to open a can of whoop-ass on principle?
I too wished I had read this when I was younger. I would have loved it - just like I love Little House. Great pick Tracy!
And Ang, dad is reading this book. He was telling me about it yesterday then I told him, hey I'm reading the same book! He was on chapter 16 and I was on chapter 20. He was whipping right thru it!
I have the exact same quotes you have entered plus:
Ch 3: Teacher says Ralph "has made the adjustment to school" after beating up Freddie Sprague. And the later conversation with his father:
Father: "I heard you had a fight yesterday."
Ralph: "Yes, sir."
Father: "Did you lick him?"
Ralph: "Yes, sir."
Father: "Good."
LOVED IT! And I enjoyed how their conversations were during milking sessions.
Also enjoyed how Ralph got rid of his glasses (they dig those privies good and deep for the school) - ch 15.
And chapter 28, father takes everyone out for ice cream sodas but Ralph says "I think Hi would rather have had whiskey."
I could see the end coming and expected it but did not expect Fanny to die. That really tore me up. I think Ralph was trying to save Fanny but didn't really help. Glad that Ralph got involved with another horse and bonded.
Like you A, I was totally shocked at the drive by shooting. Holy horseless carriage!
And I liked that the chapters had names. Immediately I see the chapter title and can think what it was all about.
The cover of my book was not good. Shows a boy and a dog and a really skinny horse standing on the edge of a cliff in the snow. I don't know where that fit in the story.
I wonder how Two Dog got his name. Did he have 2 wolves at some point? Or did 1 wolf count as 2 dogs?
And being a sewer, I would have strung Ralph up for as many times as he ripped his clothes. His mother must've had quite a job mending and keeping clothes on that boy.
I read the first few pages of "Man of the Family" on Amazon and it says "Mother got blood poisoning in her hand from nursing Father". I wonder maybe she removed some of the barb wire and got herself infected???
I have to say again how much I enjoy this book club. It's so nice to read a good book and be able to share it. Sharing it is the best part. THANKS!
Joy, I agree, sharing is the best part. I love the little book club so so so much, there isn't a week that goes by that I'm not thankful for reuniting with Melissa, and for her suggesting that we do this.
I liked the whiskey line too, I'm glad you mentioned it.
Still can't believe how fast Dad is reading this book! It's unprecedented and definitely speaks to how good it is and how well written so as to be enjoyed by all ages! Did he tell you about the cow they had when he was little?
I also am quite happy with our little club. Ken laughs at me because I check it (and usually post) just about every day, but I just LOVE talking about books, especially with such great people!
I wonder why "have a cow" means to throw a fit?
No cover art in my volume, but I liked the illustrations within the text. They really fit the storyline, and who doesn't love pictures?
I'm picking up the next one at the library tomorrow. Is Pat still on vacation? I was curious what our next book would be. There's no hurry, of course. But you know me, always thinking ahead.
Pictures? I didn't have any pictures in my copy - guess I got all I could want with Fanny Hill.
Mimi and I worked on our quilt today so I took Little Britches to Dick. He started reading it and I'm sure will have it finished by Sunday - churchtime. He had not heard of it either. How did we all miss this series growing up???
I am so glad that you all enjoyed the book. All while I was growing up my grandmother and I would go to yard sales and she would say make sure you look for the Little Britches book. We never found a copy. But, I have always wanted to read it. I am glad I got to share it with all of you.
My favorite parts in the book were:
Chapter 3: When he fights with Freddie Sprague. How different teachers look at fighting between children. I especially likked the part about Ms. Wheeler "peeking out of the corner of the window, but she didn't ring the bell till it was all over and Grace had pinned my pants back on." Then telling Grace to tell mother that Ralph had adjusted to school... Ha. That's great. I wish teacher still were able to look at problems like that.
I also liked many of the same parts as the rest of you and am not going to bother to rehash them.
Melissa, I think I will continue reading the series too. But I am sure you will have them finished long before me.
My final thought, I find it sad that "father" got pneumonia while trying to earn $3. It seems like such a small amount. Has anyone else noticed that popular music has gone from "I wish I had a million dollars" to "I wish I was a billionaire"? How quickly the American dollar has lost value. To think that in the early 1900s $3 was worth so much to a family...
Oh, and father's death bothered me more than Fanny's. I knew he was going to die in the book. But I guess I formed a stronger attachment to him throughout the book than Fanny. (Although, she sounded like a wonderful horse.)
Sorry didn't edit the post. A few mispellings etc.
Don't worry about mispelled words and other 'mechanics' errors, Tracy. We'll only make fun of it behind your back, never to your face. You'll notice I flagrantly mispell words all the time. :-)
I am half way through Man of the House right now and it is just as good. I won't say anymore since I know at least Tracy and probably Angie will be reading on- though I'll probably write about it under "Other Books".
I will probably continue on with the series but not right away. The Bradford County Library has the whole series but in "painting season" I don't get out much (except rainy days and we have NOT had one!). So go ahead and post, I'll try not to look.
BTW, did you see all the misspelings in Tracy's post?
Ha Ha Joy. I can see why you fit in with our group so well...Smartass ;)
Do you notice how T can spell "smartass" just fine? :-)
Just finished re-reading Little Britches. I first read it in the late fifties at age 8 when my parents gave it to me. I always remembered the father dying scene, and 25 years later my father died sick in bed before me, just like the scene pictured in the book. Coincidentally at the time I was a Colorado State Patrolman, in Turkey Creek Canyon (Hwy 285) and around Morrison (Jefferson County) but I didn't equate it then with Little Britches b/c I didn't remember that part. But that made re-reading it at age 60 doubly interesting, seeing the 1910 descriptions of places I drove around in the eighties.
I re-read it because like my father passed things on to me (like giving me the book to read), I wanted to pass things on to my 3 boys. They were estranged from me in a bitter divorce and I haven't heard from them in 7 years, and this is the type of book I would have given them if they still associated with me, to read or not. They always said (were told by their Mother) that I was too mired in the past, but I like to think of it as timeless values. I was saddened (haunted) by the ending the first time I read it, and tears rolled out on the last page the 2d time I read it. I keep a box for each of my 3 boys in the basement (now adults in their mid-20s); I'll put the book in one of their boxes and when they clear out my house someday they can either throw the boxes in the dumpster unopened or go through them and see such remembrances.
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