Congratulations to Cullen and Brian for correctly mixin’ up 2 of the 3 Word*Pies!! And I have to give extra snaps to Brian for holding onto his pie like a pitbull until it was shaken and gnawed into submission. Good job, men! (Don’t forget to email me with your address, Brian.)
Now just what book were these quotes from, you ask?
It waaaas ……. Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons. A book I love. A movie I love. So so funny. And Pie #3, that vexing little pie that had everyone stymied? Well, here it is, in a larger context:
A thin wind snivelled among the rotting stacks of Cold Comfort, spreading itself in a sheet of flowing sound across the mossed tiles. Darkness whined with the soundless urge of growth in the hedges, but that did not help any.
Here’s another little snippet that just kills me:
The trout-sperm in the muddy hollow under Nettle Flitch Weir were agitated and well they might be. The long screams of the hunting owls tore across the night, scarlet lines on black. In the pauses, every ten minutes, they mated. It seemed chaotic, but it was more methodically arranged than you might think.
Oh, I can’t recommend the book highly enough.
So thanks, everyone, for your guesses! And thanks, Missy, for coining “his old hair bells.” It just cracks me up somehow.
“his old hair bells” sounds crude and pornish. prude and cornish?
Aw, the “any”–I kept leaving out the any.
And I really thought Heathcliff and Cathy were lurking in the hedges of darkness.
I remember seeing the movie a long time ago and liking it, but I haven’t read the book. Did Gibbons write anything else, and did you like it?
She did write other books, but Cold Comfort was her first novel. I haven’t read anything else of hers, yet. She was only 30 when Cold Comfort was published and it became a big commercial success, which almost hampered her in a way.
If you loved the movie, you’ll love the book. The movie is a very faithful adaptation. Read it! 😉
I’m so glad that my hubby is not one to give up easily! Can’t wait to try your coffee! It’s a staple here in the Northwest you know!
I really MUST read that book, tracey – the way you talk about it makes me HUNGRY to just start it!!
AS — Yes, I think it’s prude and cornish … hahaha!
Kathi — Yes, the wheels are in motion. 😉
red — Oh, you gotta. You GOTTA. It’s such a fun read, just so light and fresh and I needed that right now. I mean, I OWN the movie and it KILLS me, but now, to read her words, the way she turns her phrases, to be able to just throw myself into that — oh, it was wonderful. It’s sad because she’s not really given enough merit NOW for what she wrote then.