OCR Text |
Show Book helps relive child's dreams The poetic quality of Wiggin's writing is of such sophistication that it would put many of us to shame to realize how we've lost that beauty in our own writing. Not every person would find value in Rebecca of Surmybrook Farm. It probably would appeal more to females of all ages, and to sensitive, older males. It will certainly cer-tainly delight those with tender hearts who can relate in some way to the colorful personality that Rebecca possesses. ... -i - lady has on so many people, indeed an entire town. She brings out good and enthusiasm in people the way many of us wish we could inspire others. Simple and idealistic though Rebecca may be, her story cannot help but put a smile on your face and some warmth in your heart as you read of her growing up years. Unfortunately, I found the end of the book disappointing. Even though Rebecca's status at the end is one of mixed blessings, the exciting ex-citing or romantic conclusion that seems to be foretold throughout the story does not occur. And the book closes in a rather anti-climatic fashion. fash-ion. I suppose my feelings are caused by the author's success in making me care about Rebecca as a real person and wanting true happiness for her. Wiggin did her job well. It is easy to tell at first glance that this book was written during a more tempered time in our country. Although Al-though the proper writing style of Kate Douglas Wiggin is somewhat different than the manner of writingspeaking we are accustomed accustom-ed to now, it is nonetheless a refreshing contrast to the casual, slang-filled speech we hear today. Perhaps the overriding reason to read a book like Rebecca of Sun-nybrook Sun-nybrook Farm is to capture the innocence in-nocence of an age that almost none of us knew, and to relive in our hearts the sweetness of a child's ! dreams. This is possible because the author, Kate Douglas Wiggin, created not only a magical child but added enough hardship to her life to make the character of Rebecca Rowena Randall believable. The story begins with Rebecca, at ten years old, leaving her widowed mother, six brothers and sisters, and their small farm to live with her two spinster aunts who agree to see that Rebecca gets an education. While the carefree, imaginative, energetic Rebecca charms nearly everyone she meets in Riverboro, Maine, she spends her whole youth trying to win the approval of her stiff and practical Aunt Miranda. The difficult relationship between be-tween the elderly woman and the life-loving child provides an interesting inter-esting scenario to which perhaps many of us can relate. A couple of passages from the book aptly describe the initial reactions. "She tried to like her Aunt Miranda (the idea of loving her had been given up at the moment of meeting), but failed ignominiously in the attempt. She was a very faulty faul-ty and passionately human child, with no aspirations toward being an angel of the house, but she had a sense of duty and a desire to be I good, respectably, decently good. I Whenever she fell below this self- I imposed standard she was miserable, "It is needless to say that Rebecca Rebe-cca irritated her aunt with every breath she drew. She continually forgot and started up the front stairs because it was the shortest route to her bedroom; she left the dipper on the kitchen shelf instead of hanging it up over the pail; she sat in the chair the cat liked best; she was willing to go on errands, but often forgot what she was sent for; her tongue was ever in motion; and she was always messing with flowers. ' ' The plot of the story is rather slow in developing, yet all the while the reader is learning to care very much for the fascinating little dark-haired dark-haired girl with huge, intense eyes. The story follows Rebecca through her school years and details her friendships, her joys, her disappointments, disap-pointments, and the hard times of her family. What makes the book interesting is the positive effect that one young |