WWW.WEDNESDAY

WWW. WEDNESDAY asks three questions to prompt you to speak bookishly. To participate, and to see how other book lovers responded, click here.  

1. What are you currently reading? Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella. Lara Litton is struggling -- romantically, professionally and financially. She's fragile and vulnerable, so when she begins seeing an apparition, it's easy to dismiss it as stress.

Only Sadie won't be dismissed. Lara's recently-deceased great aunt is now a fixture in Lara's life. Sadie appears to Lara (and only to Lara) as she was when she was happiest -- during her 1920's flapper/party girl days. She turns Lara's life upside down and leads her on zany adventures. (Yes, "zany" is the right word. If you've read any of Sophie Kinsella's Shopaholic books, you know she specializes in "zany.")

I enjoyed The Ghost and Mrs. Muir so much (see below) that, when I stumbled upon this book, I snapped it up. But it suffers from the comparison. This is funny and fast-moving, but it lacks the character development and emotional depth of R. A. Dick's much shorter book. Maybe the fault is with me. Perhaps it's unfair to compare modern chick-lit to a 75-year-old classic.

2. What did you recently finish reading? The Ghost and Mrs. Muir by R. A. Dick. 

Mrs. Muir was a petite woman who tried not to make waves. Consequently, everyone called her "Little Lucy Muir." When her husband died suddenly, leaving her a young widow with two small children and limited funds, she found herself surrounded by in-laws, all with an idea of how "Little Lucy" should live. She shocked them by rebelling. After all, she'd gone from her parents' house to her husband's house. She didn't want to be a guest in her sister-in-law's home. So she took a cottage of her own for herself and the children. Her husband's family figured it was just a matter of time before she returned to them.

It seemed like a good bet. The house Mrs. Muir chose for herself and her kids was Gull Cottage: long empty, and rumored to be haunted.

 

A dead sea captain's ghost refuses to leave the house where he died. Somehow she's not afraid of him, which surprises her as she had begun to believe she really was meek "Little Lucy Muir." The ghost falls in love with her. They have a necessarily chaste relationship but she blossoms under his attention. He never saw "Little Lucy Muir." He saw her as "Lucia."

 

In addition to the romance, there are interesting observations about self image, spirituality and eternity. This slim volume was a delight on many levels. I'm so glad I read it.

 

3. What will read next? I don't know.