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bekab20's review
4.0
Such a sweet story about a young girl growing up in the countryside of England. Prolific with flowers and native elements of the world around her, she inspired me to get out and enjoy the world more.
lory_enterenchanted's review
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Reviews and more on my blog: Entering the Enchanted Castle
I had this on my shelf for years before I finally got around to reading it, pushed by my own Make Me Read It blog poll. And how glad I am that I did! It's a marvelous evocation of a lost form of country life, before the Great War, in Derbyshire, where Uttley grew up. She's fictionalized her experiences into a story about a little girl named Susan, but clearly they are rooted in reality, above all in the landscape and the farm that is a part of it. She beautifully describes this agricultural surrounding, with its beauty and hard work, cycling through the seasons - it reminded me of Laura Ingalls Wilder, but without the traveling around.
As an only child, with busy, preoccupied and somewhat stern parents, Susan has a very vivid inner life; the book starts and ends with her nightmarish fears in the dark wood through which she must pass every day to school, but also has lovely evocations of her imaginative connection to homely household objects as well as to the natural world. In her child-consciousness, everything is alive, everything can speak, and her sense of wonder can give us new eyes for what is still wondrous in our own everyday. I'll be keeping this and reading it again.
I had this on my shelf for years before I finally got around to reading it, pushed by my own Make Me Read It blog poll. And how glad I am that I did! It's a marvelous evocation of a lost form of country life, before the Great War, in Derbyshire, where Uttley grew up. She's fictionalized her experiences into a story about a little girl named Susan, but clearly they are rooted in reality, above all in the landscape and the farm that is a part of it. She beautifully describes this agricultural surrounding, with its beauty and hard work, cycling through the seasons - it reminded me of Laura Ingalls Wilder, but without the traveling around.
As an only child, with busy, preoccupied and somewhat stern parents, Susan has a very vivid inner life; the book starts and ends with her nightmarish fears in the dark wood through which she must pass every day to school, but also has lovely evocations of her imaginative connection to homely household objects as well as to the natural world. In her child-consciousness, everything is alive, everything can speak, and her sense of wonder can give us new eyes for what is still wondrous in our own everyday. I'll be keeping this and reading it again.
melwyk's review against another edition
5.0
Read this book ages ago and loved it -- perfect for a reread at this time of year, particularly the gorgeously quiet Christmas chapters. A classic.
toniapeckover's review
5.0
Somewhere between a children's book and an adult's, Uttley has an unbelievable eye for detail and a sharp awareness. Her descriptions of old English farm life are so beautiful, and yet there is a layer of pain almost, underneath the poignant stories of the countryside, as the young girl wrestles against her knowing of the world and the religion that sweeps into the room in the skirts of her mother. There's a lot to love in these stories and a lot to remember.
lilis_land's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Alison Uttley is better known for the Little Grey Rabbit series but also published many other books of a semi-autobiographical / autofiction nature, focused on countryside living. One of these gems is The Country Child; the story of Susan Garland, a young girl growing up in rural Derbyshire during the Victorian era.
Uttley describes Susan’s surroundings in microscopic detail, letting you swim in the scents, sounds and aura of Windystone Hall. At times upsetting and at other times ethereal, The Country Child has been a delight to read and experience the changing seasons through the ever cheerful eyes of little Susan.
It is important to note that, with anything published almost 100 years ago and set even earlier, there are views and words that are not in-line with our modern views. Likewise there is a very strong Christian voice throughout which reflects Uttley’s upbringing which is expected from a semi-autobiographical story.
Uttley describes Susan’s surroundings in microscopic detail, letting you swim in the scents, sounds and aura of Windystone Hall. At times upsetting and at other times ethereal, The Country Child has been a delight to read and experience the changing seasons through the ever cheerful eyes of little Susan.
It is important to note that, with anything published almost 100 years ago and set even earlier, there are views and words that are not in-line with our modern views. Likewise there is a very strong Christian voice throughout which reflects Uttley’s upbringing which is expected from a semi-autobiographical story.
crazygoangirl's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.5
I heard about this book on Miranda Mills’ YouTube channel. It was a pick for The Comfort Book Club she hosts every month with her mother Donna.
This is, as the blurb says, a semi-autobiographical book based on Alison Uttley’s own childhood spent on a farm in Derbyshire. In it we follow 9 yr old Susan Garland through a year of her life at Windystone Hall and its surrounding farmlands in a remote tiny English village. Uttley’s prose is detailed, keenly observed and lyrically descriptive! The glories and vagaries of the English countryside are brought to life as are the joys and hardships of farm-life. Susan is an only child but not lonely. She is first and foremost a consummate nature lover, extremely imaginative, god-fearing, brave, and happy. She loves her home and family deeply and is content with her life on the farm. She feels things deeply as well, good and bad, and is quick to both thank God for favours granted as well as contemplate the consequences of ‘sinning’.
Although this book is full of gorgeous descriptions of Nature, it took me a while to get into it. There were quite a few farm-related words that I had to look up and after a while, the lack of plot began to bother me a little. But, I still enjoyed reading about a life so different from my own. Uttley’s descriptions of the dark & dense Druid woods; Susan’s school adventures; descriptions of Harvest time, Christmas, Easter and the daily busy routine of the farm - milking, cleaning, cooking, sewing, seasonal field-work amongst a million other things were fantastically narrated and minutely observed. Susan’s interactions with the farm animals were wonderful to read about. But there’s no sugar coating here - Susan’s parents love her but are strict disciplinarians and very god-fearing although her father never accompanied them to Church! Also, in one scene, where the Irish mowers are at work during Harvest time, they encircle a patch of freshly mowed grass, wait for the confused little animals to scurry out and kill them with blows from their scythes! Rather a gruesome and brutal event but one that rings true! Uttley doesn’t conceal the realities of farm-life nor sugarcoat them.
On the whole a wonderfully evocative book that was at once informative and comforting. I have the next book in the series, A Traveler in Time and look forward to reading it some time later this year.
This is, as the blurb says, a semi-autobiographical book based on Alison Uttley’s own childhood spent on a farm in Derbyshire. In it we follow 9 yr old Susan Garland through a year of her life at Windystone Hall and its surrounding farmlands in a remote tiny English village. Uttley’s prose is detailed, keenly observed and lyrically descriptive! The glories and vagaries of the English countryside are brought to life as are the joys and hardships of farm-life. Susan is an only child but not lonely. She is first and foremost a consummate nature lover, extremely imaginative, god-fearing, brave, and happy. She loves her home and family deeply and is content with her life on the farm. She feels things deeply as well, good and bad, and is quick to both thank God for favours granted as well as contemplate the consequences of ‘sinning’.
Although this book is full of gorgeous descriptions of Nature, it took me a while to get into it. There were quite a few farm-related words that I had to look up and after a while, the lack of plot began to bother me a little. But, I still enjoyed reading about a life so different from my own. Uttley’s descriptions of the dark & dense Druid woods; Susan’s school adventures; descriptions of Harvest time, Christmas, Easter and the daily busy routine of the farm - milking, cleaning, cooking, sewing, seasonal field-work amongst a million other things were fantastically narrated and minutely observed. Susan’s interactions with the farm animals were wonderful to read about. But there’s no sugar coating here - Susan’s parents love her but are strict disciplinarians and very god-fearing although her father never accompanied them to Church! Also, in one scene, where the Irish mowers are at work during Harvest time, they encircle a patch of freshly mowed grass, wait for the confused little animals to scurry out and kill them with blows from their scythes! Rather a gruesome and brutal event but one that rings true! Uttley doesn’t conceal the realities of farm-life nor sugarcoat them.
On the whole a wonderfully evocative book that was at once informative and comforting. I have the next book in the series, A Traveler in Time and look forward to reading it some time later this year.
mossypages's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes