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A review by mat_tobin
The River at Green Knowe by L.M. Boston
2.0
The archaeologist, Doctor Biggin and her friend, Miss Bun rent out Green Knowe over the Summer and decide to invite two 'displaced' refugees to accompany Doctor Biggin's niece, Ida. The Doctor is here to investigate the presence and history of giants on our isles and her Miss Bun to provide company and food.
With no Tolly and Mrs. Oldknow present, the adventures lie with Ida, Oskar and Hsu (or Ping as he is named). Together, they canoe through the river and canals around Green Knowe, discovering flying horses, moon worshiping Bronze Age people and a 'displaced' giant.
There was no continuity here for me in this installment; I felt we missed the presence of Mrs. Oldknow to ground us in the place. Yet, with her missing, we also miss out on Green Knowe itself and, instead, are left to explore its surroundings. To me, this at least made sense. Mrs. Oldknow is the custodian and the channel through which we see the house's history, with her absent, the children must travel outside its boundaries.
I also struggled with accepting the naming of Ping. I understand that, much like Jacob in 'Chimneys', Boston is trying to create a space for racially and culturally diverse characters and, in 1959, she possibly did a valiant job of it but naming a character 'Ping' because no one could understand of pronounce this name (Hsu) would, in our times, be considered offensive and tactless. I also had a problem with the giant, whose father was humiliated and tricked into performing at a circus, who finds joy and security by doing the very same thing...
With no Tolly and Mrs. Oldknow present, the adventures lie with Ida, Oskar and Hsu (or Ping as he is named). Together, they canoe through the river and canals around Green Knowe, discovering flying horses, moon worshiping Bronze Age people and a 'displaced' giant.
There was no continuity here for me in this installment; I felt we missed the presence of Mrs. Oldknow to ground us in the place. Yet, with her missing, we also miss out on Green Knowe itself and, instead, are left to explore its surroundings. To me, this at least made sense. Mrs. Oldknow is the custodian and the channel through which we see the house's history, with her absent, the children must travel outside its boundaries.
I also struggled with accepting the naming of Ping. I understand that, much like Jacob in 'Chimneys', Boston is trying to create a space for racially and culturally diverse characters and, in 1959, she possibly did a valiant job of it but naming a character 'Ping' because no one could understand of pronounce this name (Hsu) would, in our times, be considered offensive and tactless. I also had a problem with the giant, whose father was humiliated and tricked into performing at a circus, who finds joy and security by doing the very same thing...