The Go-Between by L. P. Hartley

"The past is a foreign country.  They do things differently there."  Another of the best first lines ever.  [I didn't include this book in that post, as I hadn't finished it yet.]  But another great line, and a great book.  But it just broke my heart.

This is the story of young Leo Colston, a twelve year old boy spending the summer holiday with a school friend on a country estate.  It's set in 1900, at the very end of the Victorian era.  As an adult in his sixties, Leo finds the journal he kept that summer, and he's reminiscing about this summer and how it changed his life.

Leo is at Brandham Hall, a country estate, as a companion to his school friend Marcus Maudsley.  Unfortunately, a few weeks into the summer, Marcus falls ill with the measles and is quarantined, so Leo has to amuse himself for several weeks; he and Marcus were the only children and all the other guests much older .  He's befriended by Marcus' older sister, Marian, a beautiful young lady of about 18, whom Leo worships.  The family hopes that she'll soon be engaged to Viscount Trimingham, from whom they are leasing the estate -- he's titled but low on cash, and the Maudsley family are rich but untitled.  So, a match between Marian and the Viscount would solve everything beautifully.  Of course, things don't go as planned.  Leo is befriended by Ted, one of the tenant farmers, and soon Leo is passing messages between Ted and Marian -- hence, the title.

This book has a lot to say about Victorian ideas of class and station, snobbery, and loyalty.  Leo's pretty middle-class, and he's a little out of his depth with all of these wealthy people.  He's very aware of the class differences.  He's also friendly with Ted but is very aware that he's not the same class, being just a farmer.  He realizes he's caught in the middle of something and is trying desperately to get out of it without offending anyone, especially Marian, on whom he has a tremendous crush.

What I liked best about this book was Hartley's ability to write in the voice of a child.  I've read other books in which the narrator is a child, and a lot of them just didn't ring true -- they seemed so precocious, and much older than their years.  For example, I'm thinking about Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird, one of my favorite books of all time.  I love this book, but Scout doesn't sound like any child I've ever known, and I have two girls of my own.  (Other than this, I think it's perfect).  I didn't get any hint of that in Hartley's novel.

My one complaint is [contains spoiler! highlight if you want to read this section] that Leo has no clue about sex -- which I find pretty unbelievable for a 13-year-old boy, especially one who attends a boy's school.  I am sure that some other schoolmate would have known something and talked about it!  Seriously.  There would have been boys with older siblings or who had been on a farm or something.Anyway, I just found that terribly unrealistic.  But still, it's a great book, beautifully written.  Hartley is also very skilled at descriptions -- I could absolutely imagine myself right there with Leo.   There's an detailed chapter about a cricket match between the villagers and the residents and guests up at Brandham Hall -- I don't know anything about cricket (or much about any other sports, for that matter) but Hartley made it both interesting and full of tension, just like a real sporting event.  It takes a talented writer to get me interested in sports, believe me!  And the ending -- well, I couldn't possibly spoil it, but it's pretty dramatic, I couldn't stop reading.  This is one of those great classics that I think is sadly unappreciated.


This review is also posted at Our Mutual Read.

Favorite First Lines From Books

I was inspired by Amanda at The Zen Leaf, who posted today about her favorite lines from books.  I realized that many of the lines I remember most are first lines, so that's what I'm listing.  Many of them are famous, a few not so famous.  And I couldn't limit myself to just ten, so here they are, in no particular order:

1. "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of good fortune must be in want of a wife."  -- Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice.

I can't say anything about Jane Austen that hasn't already been said, and probably better than I could say it.  Probably my favorite book in the whole world, a great first line.

2.  "Last night I dreamt I was at Manderlay again."  -- Daphne du Maurier, Rebecca

Rebecca, the best gothic novel ever.   Not only does it have a great plot, and memorable setting, and scary villain, it's beautifully written.  The movie and television adaptations are great, but if you don't read the book you're really missing out.

3.  "Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much."  -- J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone

In just a few words, J. K. Rowling sucked me into the memorable world of Harry Potter, and I've been a fan (sometimes to the point of obsession) for almost eleven years.  I'm counting the days until I get to visit The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (only 97 left!)

4. "I write this sitting in the kitchen sink." -- Dodie Smith, I Capture the Castle

Immediately, we learn that our narrator is a writer, or diarist, and that she's quirky.  Intriguing!  Cassandra Mortmain lives up to the intro in this charming book (one of J. K. Rowling's favorites, by the way).

5.  "When he was 13, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow." -- Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

What happened to Jem, and how is this important to the story?  One of the classics of American literature.  If, like me, you read it in high school and didn't see the big deal about it, read it again.  It means so much more to me now as an adult.  I can't wait for my daughter to read it next year.

6. "Scarlett O'Hara was not beautiful, but men seldom realized it when caught by her charm as the Tarleton twins were." -- Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind

I don't think I'd like to be friends with Scarlett, but I'll always admire her spunk and determination.  It's probably not PC to love this novel, but it will always be one of my favorites. 

7. "Every summer Lin Kong returned to Goose Village to divorce his wife, Shuyu." -- Ha Jin, Waiting

One of my favorite lines from contemporary literature.  Every summer?  Do they get remarried every year -- what is going on here?  A great book about modern China, and a heartbreaking story.


8.  "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair."  -- Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

Bleak House is still my favorite Dickens so far, but I don't think Dickens ever wrote a better opening line.  A Tale of Two Cities also includes what is probably the best last line in a book: "It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far far better rest that I go to than I have ever know."

9.  "There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it." -- C. S. Lewis, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader


Who is Eustace, and what has he done to deserve it? And what is he doing on the Dawn Treader? Eustace is one of Lewis' most memorable characters in the Narnia series. The Horse and His Boy will always be my favorite in the series, but Dawn Treader comes pretty close. I'm looking forward to the movie adaptation.

10. "In the land of Ingary, where such things ase seven-league boots and cloaks of invisibility still exist, it is quite a misfortune to be born the eldest of three." -- Diana Wynne Jones, Howl's Moving Castle

I know I keep harping on it, but Diana Wynne Jones is sadly underrated in this country.  She's written more than 30 books of children's fantasy, and I've loved nearly every one I've read so far (13 and counting).  Everyone mourning the end of the Harry Potter series needs to read her books.

11.  "I had the story, bit by bit, from various people, and, as generally happens in such cases, each time it was a different story." -- Edith Wharton, Ethan Frome.

One of the most beautiful, heartbreaking stories I've ever read. Ethan is so tragic, but I still find the story wonderful and fascinating. Another novel that I think is best appreciated as an adult.

12.  "During my career as a backup singer with the with Vernon and Ruby Shakely and the Shakettes, it often occurred to me that this was not a lifetime occupation and that someday I would have to figure out my rightful place in society." -- Laurie Colwin, Goodbye Without Leaving

I loved Laurie Colwin's food columns when she wrote for Gourmet, but her prose is just beautiful.  I realized after reading her short stories that I would never write anything as good, and I should just give up trying. I've read all her books and wish there were more, but sadly, Colwin died suddenly in 1992 at the age of 48.  She's best known for two collections of food essays, Home Cooking and More Home Cooking.

So -- what are your favorite first lines?