Retro Reads discussion

For Part 3 & final conclusions!

The first page of this portion makes me wonder, once again, why people in cold, drizzly climates gravitate toward drab clothing while the more tropical ones grab all the brilliant ones. Shouldn't it be the other way around?!?

Karlyne wrote: "The first page of this portion makes me wonder, once again, why people in cold, drizzly climates gravitate toward drab clothing while the more tropical ones grab all the brilliant ones. Shouldn't i..."

Theory--it is an atavistic response to blend in with the 'herd'. Standing out/being highly visible makes one 'easy prey'. Or some such...
I grew up in Hawaii and my love for bright colors is firmly cemented in my brain. No blacks or browns for me! Not even during Maryland's dull, drab winters...

I know, but blending in with the herd is so bland! And there are plenty of scary carnivores in India and Mexico (Hawaii??? I have no idea! 😁) who will eat you if you stand out or fall behind - shiver! Those muggers! So why should they get all the pretty colors?

On a related note, we have had storm after storm this spring. And I'm wearing my favorite flannel shirt: a lovely raspberry and purply blue plaid. I refuse to be beige, either!

Carol noted that the little girls didn't receive much formal education, and I thought it interesting that

Aargh! Goodreads has made commenting on my phone so difficult! Anyway, Mollie rather bemoans the fact that she learned so little at school and that she wasn't fitted for a career after The Lawn. But I wondered just what she was thought she'd missed that would hinder her in what was available at that time (and not just to women; most careers these days weren't around yet for men, either). I don't think she had a hankering to be a secretary (for which she'd need spelling) or a diplomat in France or a dance instructor, e.g. I'm curious to see if she realized that art school was what she needed, both personally and professionally.

I loved the du Maurier story!

I looked up pictures of Kaye after reading this and was shocked at how stunning she was - a beautiful woman who was haunted by her "fat". I'm going to have to find the rest of her story.

Karlyne wrote: "I looked up pictures of Kaye after reading this and was shocked at how stunning she was - a beautiful woman who was haunted by her "fat". I'm going to have to find the rest of her story."

I've seen pictures of the adult Kaye too - & she was a knockout.

My (definitely not fat) mother used to obsess over her weight too - but she hit middle age in the "Twiggy era." Ms Kaye was a generation older!

Relationship - or lack there of between Tacklow & Bill is heart rending.

Karlyne wrote: "I looked up pictures of Kaye after reading this and was shocked at how stunning she was - a beautiful woman who was haunted by her "fat". I'm going to have to find the rest of her story."

Two more volumes of memoirs await you---
Golden Afternoon

and
Enchanted Evening

I own them both and haven't yet read them--but I did flip through the picture sections.

I only ordered the first one because I wasn't sure if I'd like it, having a major partiality toward fiction rather than non, but her storytelling talent and amazing memory make her memoirs as fascinating as the best fiction. I'll be putting the sequels on my order list.

And, yes, Tacklow and Bill were sad. I think kids can jump back into relationships with each other easier than the adult/child can. And, even though the separation was an accepted thing and "done for the best", it still had to have at least a tinge of guilt and resentment to it.

I finished last night - loved it. Writing her memoirs so late left Kaye the freedom to be totally honest about her distant past. I am glad her mother didn't see the final published version though

I had to check the published date because it was hard to believe that she was so far removed (in years) from the experiences she as describing. It felt as if all of her adventures had just happened. She was, indeed, a lucky girl and how insightful for her to acknowledge that fact.

I thought her father was prescient (not just in dreaming the winning horse) but in his thoughts regarding "the dole", the British Empire and revisionist history.