Its been a few weeks since I last posted to the blog. During that time, I realized that I’ve been going way too fast with both my reading and writing – and that isn’t good ladies and gentlemen. To be honest, I was trying to grab a hold of the brass ring by posting something once a week – but that’s hard to do given my real life commitments and the like. I’ve been speeding through the reading and writing which has affected my blog. So, I think its a good idea, for now at least, to slow down to at least two entries a month and hope for the day when I can do this full time.
I am pleased to report that I’ve read over seventy percent of the book. Again, I have to compliment Poole on his style. I can put the book down and forget about it for a few days only to pick it back up and feel as if I hadn’t skipped a beat. However, this doesn’t change the fact that the book still feels like an early twentieth century family sitcom. After the death of her husband Bruce, Edith along with her children move in with her father and sister Deborah. Even though it is a serious affair, I still cant help but think that it is an episode of Full House.
However, the tone of the book takes a darker turn once World War 1 starts. The panic and uncertainty they feel is palpable. There’s a moment where Roger realizes that he’s not going to be able to make any money during this time, so he has to get his money from other sources. Who here hasn’t gone through that? His outlook though is something most people have when war starts – it’ll be over soon. The reality is that isn’t always the case. Its rare (but not unheard of) for a war to end rather quickly. The Uppsala Conflict Data Project, which is based in Uppsala University in Sweden, estimates that 26% of all wars lasted a short time – like days and weeks instead of months and years. I say estimates because the idea of war varies from individual to individual and country to country. In short, one might call a single battle a war while others might not.
Getting back to the story. Roger is hopeful the war might last a month or a year at most. Every day that passes makes him realize that that’s not going to happen. He understands then and there that World War 1 is going to last years. So worrying about war and how to make money during that time are problems he has to overcome, but during this time, he has to contend with Edith and Deborah not getting along.
The heart of their conflict is a mixture of yesterday versus tomorrow and sibling rivalry. Edith likes to think that she is old school even though Roger disagrees. In her mind, its better to go back to the old ways that worked best. Deborah disagrees as she says that ideas must change given that time changes everything. Deborah fights for these changes with everything she has. It makes me wonder what they would think if they learned that that battle is still happening over a hundred years later.
You know, the most amazing thing about World War 1 is that the assassinations of the Archduke and his wife shaped the twentieth century and beyond. What if the assassin failed? What if Franz Ferdinand and Sophie survived? World War 1 wouldn’t have happened meaning Hitler would have died broke and homeless out on the streets of Berlin. If World War 1 didn’t happen then there is a chance (albeit slim) that the Soviet Union might not have come into power. Imagine – no Stalin. Without him, China might not have fallen to the communists. No Korean war. No Vietnam war. No Soviet Union means no fear of communism in the Middle East meaning Iran might not have lost its government that would get toppled by Khomeini. Afghanistan might not have been invaded meaning no Osama Bin Laden. Mind you, this is all speculation. We’ll never know what might have happened, but its fun to think about it all the same right?
Laura comes back home wanting a divorce from her husband who had an affair on her. She has an affair with another man but that comes after learning about her husband’s affair. What I find hilarious is her attitude in that she believes she is entitled to the affair. Tit for tat right? She finds it unfair that her husband has grounds to divorce her even though he was the one that was initially unfaithful. Of course, dad finds it totally unacceptable that the two want to get a divorce. That was a great big no-no back then. Why that was still confuses me. I mean, I know the reasons why. Those generally ran the gamut of religious beliefs and societal norms, but it still confuses me. Perhaps I am just looking at yesterday’s way of life with today’s way of thinking. That’s all for this entry folks.
