Busy pulling apart musical instruments...

[rosemary_green]

I have finished "Master and Commander" and have now embarked on "Post Captain." These are really marvellous books. They are particularly reminding me of the Richard Bolitho books, in that there is a good deal of human drama, and in that the characters actually *care* about one another. They worry about each other, and are glad to see each other, and when someone dies they actually mourn for them.
I was pleasantly surprised to find the character Mr. Marshall in a book published in 1970, and was much taken with this little passage from p.292 (Chapter 9) of M&C: "Mr. Marshall offered a few observations that brought no response, then contemplated him [Jack] for a while and then, with infinite tenderness, eased his feet up on to the locker, cradled him back with a cushion behind his head, rolled up the charts and tiptoed away." I was disappointed to find that he has not reappeared in Post Captain.

I'm still practising Off to Sea Once More..I can play it on the concertina, and I can sing it, but doing both at the same time is proving troublesome. Unfortunately, I was practising with such enthusiasm that I managed to pull the left thumb strap right off the concertina, so I can't play it at all until I fill in the screw holes (which were completely stripped) and drill new ones. Grrrr...

Comments

[raggedrose.livejournal.com]

Cool--I'm sorry about the damage to the instrument, but glad you're getting your shanty on.

While I agree with you as far as depth of character and drama, I find POB completely different from Kent. Both are good, well written series, but the approach and the characters are completely different for me. Bolitho is dark and angsty, and Aubrey is happy go lucky. Both are intelligent as all hell, but Jack comes off as less so, on the surface.

Though the last Kent book I read, The Only Victor seemed to be sliding a bit into schmaltz. And I can't say I like the direction he took Herrick. I haven't had the time or the money to catch up on him yet, and I'm a little afraid to. And I'm savoring POB a little at a time, you can only read a book for the first time once.

[rringram.livejournal.com]

Must learn how to make toasted cheese. I refuse to attempt spotted dick, however.