A review by jlmb
Queen Lucia Part I: Make Way for Lucia, by E.F. Benson
4.0
What a fun read! A satire of English village life, focusing on social climbing "mean girl" Lucia and her gay BFF/ wingman Georgie. Even though it was written a hundred years ago, the shenanigans described read as fresh and relatable.
Daisy is your friend that is always gung-ho about the latest trend. Lucia's husband reminds me of the IG account "Boyfriends of Instagram" which consists of images of browbeaten boyfriends taking photos of their narcissistic girlfriends. And Lucia? Well, she is the person you know who can never, ever admit that they don't know the answer. Ok, the way I describe it makes it sound unpleasant, but trust me, it's a funny book.
Georgie is by far my favorite. The reader meets him as he is sashaying(literally that is how Benson describes him) across the croquet lawn to do a little dance with Lucia and talk baby talk. Georgie wears a cape(!) and a dyed toupee and loves to embroider and dust his Faberge cigarette case. He's a loyal right hand man to Lucia until a famous opera singer moves to the village who is super fun and fabulous. What is Georgie to do? Who will he hang out with?
That is the slim "plot" the novel hinges on. Really there is no plot; the book is a series of vignettes and that is a-ok with me. Not everything has to have a dramatic story arc. Sometimes it's fun to just read about characters and their daily lives.
#popsugar challenge 2020 - a book published in the 20th century
Daisy is your friend that is always gung-ho about the latest trend. Lucia's husband reminds me of the IG account "Boyfriends of Instagram" which consists of images of browbeaten boyfriends taking photos of their narcissistic girlfriends. And Lucia? Well, she is the person you know who can never, ever admit that they don't know the answer. Ok, the way I describe it makes it sound unpleasant, but trust me, it's a funny book.
Georgie is by far my favorite. The reader meets him as he is sashaying(literally that is how Benson describes him) across the croquet lawn to do a little dance with Lucia and talk baby talk. Georgie wears a cape(!) and a dyed toupee and loves to embroider and dust his Faberge cigarette case. He's a loyal right hand man to Lucia until a famous opera singer moves to the village who is super fun and fabulous. What is Georgie to do? Who will he hang out with?
That is the slim "plot" the novel hinges on. Really there is no plot; the book is a series of vignettes and that is a-ok with me. Not everything has to have a dramatic story arc. Sometimes it's fun to just read about characters and their daily lives.
#popsugar challenge 2020 - a book published in the 20th century