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paul_cornelius's review
2.0
A 22 year old teenager, Amber Harrison, runs away from a failed love affair in England to pursue a new life in Peking. The 22 year old "teenager" is precisely that, because of her immaturity and lack of experience. The trouble is that I'm not sure that the author is really all that much more mature. For the gist of this book, Love and Horses, is brought off with such a narcissistic air that it seems Ann Bridge must share the perspective in her own life, not just her work. It's there on every page, the obsession with the confined and limited society of the Legation Quarter in Peking, where the Chinese themselves only appear as ghostly servants and toilers in the most hated occupations. Ann Bridge, say the reviews, was a "gentle satirist." But the satire in this work (there is some throughout perhaps the first third of the book) is so gentle as to be non-existent. And it eventually turns into heavy-handed philosophies of love, poetry, and horses.
While in Peking, Amber, of course, falls in love with yet another man, 32 year old Rupert of the British Legation. Rupert moons around himself because of a failed love affair and writes a considerable amount of bad poetry. Meanwhile, Amber finds a father figure in Nugent Grant-Howard who, along with his wife, Joanna, try to give some direction to the young woman's life. The advice Nugent provides could not consist of more useless bromides if he tried. Words from Nugent would not have been out of place on Father Knows Best. All of it is so self-obsessed and trite. And all of it going on against a background of warlords, Chinese ruins, and horses.
A few times it seems something interesting may arise. A visit to the Ming Tombs, for example. Or an exploration of the Forbidden City. But such activities soon turn to Amber's main interest in life, horses. Yes, China is caught in the grip of battling warlords, maneuvering armies, and foreign threats. But, yes, horses. Then Nugent and Joanna's annoying young boy, "Little Dickie," manages to come down with scarlet fever and diphtheria at the same time. Sadness ensues--at least for me--as he has a miraculous recovery. Then, more horses. Finally, Amber's latest love affair comes to a crashing end, a monumental disaster. But it's all resolved with--more horses. By the end, you know more about the horses than you do Amber or anyone else. The Ginger Griffin ends up being the most horse obsessed novel I've seen since My Friend Flicka.
Note: a "griffin" is a newcomer to Peking, or so I've read. Here the term applies to one of Amber's horses and Amber herself, as she is red haired and resembles the horse.
While in Peking, Amber, of course, falls in love with yet another man, 32 year old Rupert of the British Legation. Rupert moons around himself because of a failed love affair and writes a considerable amount of bad poetry. Meanwhile, Amber finds a father figure in Nugent Grant-Howard who, along with his wife, Joanna, try to give some direction to the young woman's life. The advice Nugent provides could not consist of more useless bromides if he tried. Words from Nugent would not have been out of place on Father Knows Best. All of it is so self-obsessed and trite. And all of it going on against a background of warlords, Chinese ruins, and horses.
A few times it seems something interesting may arise. A visit to the Ming Tombs, for example. Or an exploration of the Forbidden City. But such activities soon turn to Amber's main interest in life, horses. Yes, China is caught in the grip of battling warlords, maneuvering armies, and foreign threats. But, yes, horses. Then Nugent and Joanna's annoying young boy, "Little Dickie," manages to come down with scarlet fever and diphtheria at the same time. Sadness ensues--at least for me--as he has a miraculous recovery. Then, more horses. Finally, Amber's latest love affair comes to a crashing end, a monumental disaster. But it's all resolved with--more horses. By the end, you know more about the horses than you do Amber or anyone else. The Ginger Griffin ends up being the most horse obsessed novel I've seen since My Friend Flicka.
Note: a "griffin" is a newcomer to Peking, or so I've read. Here the term applies to one of Amber's horses and Amber herself, as she is red haired and resembles the horse.
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