|
This is the second Eva Ibbotson book that I've read - the first being A Company of Swans - and it made me so angry that I wanted to throw it. Apparently at some point Quin's love for Ruth becomes so overwhelming because she is so wonderful that he will now forget his former lovers - who mean and meant nothing to him (heavy sarcasm) - and he will now happily settle down with her. The double standard here is incredibly obvious: it's OKAY (desirable, even) for the male to be sexually experienced, but his true love interest and future wife, must be a virgin. This is because deep down she knows she doesn't really love him and because she has exchanged marriage vows with Quin which she kinda takes seriously.
I demand faithfulness in life and literature from females AND MALES. Heini, Ruth's boyfriend/fiance, who wants to bed her to relieve his own sexual tension and possibly even play the piano better. (I am not making this up).This 18th, 19th centuries morality may be extremely romantic to some people, but I hate a double standard. Ibbotson, however, promotes that old agenda of "it's okay for men to fool around but women who are being considered for marriage must not". 'Lest anyone think I'm all about sexual freedom, that is NOT the case. What every other reviewer of this book has omitted is that Quin is an older (30ish) male - rich, admired, and extremely sexually experienced while Ruth is the young (20ish), naive, poor virgin - which so far in the two books I have read is the pattern Ibbotson uses.
Which Ruth goes along with out of her deep desire to do anything for him. Be very cautious - this book is intended for young adults - NEVER would I suggest that my teenage daughter read this. THE CHARACTERS ARE:Ruth, who actually tries to have sex with her boyfriend, but can't bring herself to do it and runs away instead. After sleeping with Quin and believing herself to have been rejected by him, Ruth actually considers begging Quin to be his "kept woman" (even if he's married to someone else) just so she can be with him.Quin, who is out having sex (although it's "lovemaking from which the soul is absent") with one of his MANY lovers while he is married to Ruth (even if it is only to get her out of Austria).
The way the plot unravels is the most realistic out of all the YA Ibbotson books. For those who say this book has too much description, you're right. But, what I will say is that this book is definitely worth the read. There are many other reviews with a plot summary, so I won't bother. For a book marketed for young adults, it does have too much description, in my opinion. However, the writing style is not young adult (though I am sure there are some YA readers who will get through this book just fine).Ruth and Quin are interesting, unique characters.
I read Eva Ibbotson's "Adult" books years ago and don't know how I missed this one. She is surrounded by love and good wishes but, as a young woman coming of age, she is uncertain, unclear and unconvinced about many things in her life and it is a delight to watch her mature and find her true path. The author has a charming style and all of her stories have that "mittel European" feel to them which is so different to much romantic fiction. During that year we learn so much about the refugee community that grew in London and the wider UK as more and more Jews and others fled the persecutions of Hitler.
The wide cast of characters and secondary stories made the novel truly three dimensional and deeply satisfying. Quin Sommerville is a delight of a hero - an academic from a very rich and structured background with a bit of a sad family history. I was very surprised by the negative reviews here. A lovely romantic story most appropriate to read on the eve of the 70th anniversary of Britain going to war against Hitler. The author has a delightful style with her own background always apparent just below the surface of her books. Personally I would not call it YA but "adult suitable for younger and discerning readers".
You can visualise him as part Indiana Jones, part war hero, part simple man who gradually falls in love despite himself. I do recommend this to lovers of well-written, emotionally involving stories. In this particular story of a marriage of convenience entered into to provide an escape from Nazi-occupied Vienna, we are treated to romance that takes a year or more to develop. There is tragedy and comedy in this book as we watch Ruth Berger grow up and spread her wings in a foreign land.
Quin is a great strong character as well and so romantic :o)I give this a 4.5/5.0The big issue I had with the book [partly because I was impatient] was the blurbs about random people or events when something just started to get good. The writing style is definitley different from most authors I read. But I really did like the book alot and I suggest that if you like a romantic sweet story and a strong [but sometimes a little quick to act] heroine then this book is for you. It sorta pulled me out of the book and frustrated me because I really wanted to know what was going to happen with Ruth and Quin. I liked that about this book. Ruth is very easily to fall in love with and her passion for life really makes you remember not to take life for granted.
Ibbotson's novel is also brimming with references to paleontology and other sciences, music, and literature that go hand in hand with the very academic characters and setting, but aren't over the top, nor do they require that the reader need any prior knowledge of such things to enjoy the book. Ibbotson has such a polished and sophisticated style, punctuated with smart snatches of humor and irony, which makes this book a delight to read. They form a marriage of convenience and escape to London. The Morning Gift is a believable, well researched book that chronicles the wretchedness of the displacement of millions of people before and during World War II, and also offers a bit of hope and romance, along with one of Ibbotson's trademark nerve-racking endings, complete with miscommunication and misunderstandings, that ultimately result in a happy ending. Now Ruth is enrolled in the university he teaches at.can they possibly keep their marriage a secret. Ruth Berger is a bright student who lives with her family in Vienna in 1938.
Hiding in Nazi-occupied Vienna is extremely difficult and risky, and she's lucky when Quin Somerville, a young colleague of her father's, offers his help. All of her characters are carefully portrayed with just the right amount of background details and traits so that they seem more realistic and three dimensional, even the lowliest one. When her father, who is half Jewish, is dismissed from his prestigious job as a well known professor because of his Jewish blood, the Berger family knows it's time to leave Vienna. Or their growing attraction.All of Eva Ibbotson's books are wonderfully charming, and The Morning Gift is no exception. The Morning Gift is highly recommended. They form a plan, and move out quickly, but it went wrong, and Ruth was left behind.
But once there, it will be harder to dissolve their marriage than Quin thought.
|
