tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post817858900056788109..comments2024-03-28T12:00:55.653-07:00Comments on FURROWED MIDDLEBROW: Just the facts ma'am: Short takes on SUSAN ALICE KERBY and D. A. PONSONBYFurrowed Middlebrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12065110409019861653noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-14624324003292896352021-05-21T09:44:00.098-07:002021-05-21T09:44:00.098-07:00Yes, I always cringe when someone says they've...Yes, I always cringe when someone says they've bought a dog from a breeder. Ugh. <br /><br />And yes, definitely it makes all the difference how an author, rather than a character, treats a subject. The controversies around Huckleberry Finn, one of the subtlest works of anti-racism ever written, being an obvious example of people not being able to tell the difference.Furrowed Middlebrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12065110409019861653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-31101481905094953282021-05-20T07:09:30.330-07:002021-05-20T07:09:30.330-07:00Oh golly. Well, that may be the standard practice ...Oh golly. Well, that may be the standard practice in the dog-breeding-for-show world, but it becomes ever clearer to me it's a world I want nothing to do with.<br /><br />"Authorial Approval/Disapproval" I like this term. It sums up for me what I've tried to express in far too many words. That just because an character expresses, say, Nazi sympathies, it doesn't mean the author thinks that way. Surprising how often readers refuse to understand that.Susan Dhttp://www.susandaly.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-45838483387875784892021-05-19T19:49:03.732-07:002021-05-19T19:49:03.732-07:00I don't think it was your review Liz, and at a...I don't think it was your review Liz, and at any rate whoever's review it was, the concern is perfectly valid, of course. I just wanted to explain why that instance didn't tarnish Moore at all for me (perhaps the opposite), while this one definitely does.<br /><br />The Kerby really is fun, but of course vanishingly rare!Furrowed Middlebrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12065110409019861653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-32504726835727375192021-05-19T19:45:02.543-07:002021-05-19T19:45:02.543-07:00Point taken, Jerri. For me, it's not that the ...Point taken, Jerri. For me, it's not that the activity was portrayed, but that it was portrayed in an apparently blithe and accepting way that makes me feel quite happy never to be inside Ponsonby's head again. Furrowed Middlebrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12065110409019861653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-27392399632085082802021-05-17T13:27:11.134-07:002021-05-17T13:27:11.134-07:00I took the plot point in Not At Home in my stride ...I took the plot point in Not At Home in my stride even though I hate animals being put in just to further the plot (at least I don't THINK it's me you're mentioning as complaining about it! It was sad but as you say, the author clearly disapproves and nothing could show the character's character more clearly). But that would be too much for me. The Kerby looks fun and how interesting to have censorship pop up again!LyzzyBeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16398604923871095647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-51599707636929223322021-05-15T05:16:10.676-07:002021-05-15T05:16:10.676-07:00Perhaps Ponsonby felt she was just writing realist...Perhaps Ponsonby felt she was just writing realistically about common practice in the dog breeding world. In 101 Dalmatians there is a comment that it would have been the normal thing for Patch to have been put down, since his markings were outside of the breed standard. And I know that in the horse breeding world, when trying to produce foals of a specific coloring or other feature it is the standard practice to put down at once any foal that isn't "right" so that the mare can be breed again at once. In this case, it would have been impossible to even attempt to hide the fact that there had been irregularities in the breeding process if the irregular pups had been allowed to live, and be nursed by their mother.<br /><br />It isn't a happy or nice activity, but any other resolution to the issue would have been very unrealistic for a serious dog show character. I can't see any other option, if she wanted to use this plot line at all. And it is a reason I would not want to be part of any serious animal breeding program in real life. But I can understand it in this type of book.<br /><br />As a reader of Heyer's Regency novels, this does make me wish I could sample something like Bow Window in Green Street, but it looks pretty unlikely at any realistic price.<br /><br />Many thanks for the reviews.<br /><br />JerriAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com