The cosmos is out in our local park. This means that autumn is official here. I love the cosmos and went to the park to take pictures yesterday late afternoon.
A Poem – The Vanishing Knight
This poem could be about my life but it is more likely to be entirely fictional – smile! I wrote the poem to go with a drawing of an older man’s profile I did in charcoal.
Pathological liar? Sociopathic killer? Or just a troubled kid seeking attention? These are the questions that haunt therapist Selena Harris as she undertakes the most challenging case of her career.
Sitting on a couch two feet across from her is an ordinary-looking teenager who confessed in a text, inadvertently broadcast to his entire school, to murdering an autistic child left in his care. With no evidence to support Leal Porter’s testimony, authorities have referred him to Selena for counseling.
Challenging her professional distance is the emotional bond she develops with this lonely, isolated boy, whom classmates describe as “that scrawny kid who talks to himself at his locker.” Although Selena believes the alleged victim is the product of her client’s fevered imagination, she harbors one major doubt:
What if she’s wrong?
Selena can relate to Leal’s feeling of isolation, especially as she has returned to her small hometown on the heels of a divorce to take care of her father, who has suffered a debilitating stroke. In Leal’s case, however, he’s a school outcast due to his predisposition to tell tall tales to worm his way out of trouble.
Stepping outside the confines of her office in a quest for clues, Selena is determined to separate fact from fiction. But nothing in her experience prepares her for the harrowing revelation of the inner demon that lurks beneath the surface of Leal’s confession.
My review
I reviewed this book in my capacity as a member of Rosie’s Book Review Team. If you would like your book reviewed, you can contact Rosie Amber here: http://rosieamber.wordpress.com/.
This book is a well written and fascinating psychological thriller. Leal Porter, a teenager from a seemingly troubled background, is sent to psychologist, Selina Harris, for counselling sessions following his claim of drowning his younger autistic friend. His mother is not keen on his attendance at the counselling sessions, citing there cost and drain on her health insurance, but the school has made it a condition of his continued enrolment.
Selina has her own problems: she’s pregnant and isn’t sure whether the father is her soon to be ex-husband or an ex-lover with whom she had a one night stand, she’s in the process of getting a divorce from her husband, her ex-lover has announced his engagement to be married to another woman, and her elderly father has had a debilitating stroke. Despite, or perhaps because of, these personal issues, Selina becomes increasingly involved with Leal’s rather unbelievable account of the events leading up to the death of his young friend.
The story mainly constitutes Leal’s recounting his version of the events of his summer and involvement with a strange couple. He and his young autistic friend, Thuster, meet a beautiful young woman, Diana, who is married to a wealthy furrier. The two boys help her carry some groceries home and a friendship of sorts develops.
Leal is an unreliable narrator and neither Selena or the reader can tell what parts of his story are truth, if any, or if all of it is true. Is Thuster a real boy or is he a figment of Leal’s imagination? What has happened to Thuster’s caregiver, who also sometimes cares for Leal? Are the boys really friends with Diana and her husband, Saul, or it that all a lie? What happened to Leal’s father the night he died?
These are the questions around which the story line rotates. The book is beautifully written and it is impossible to know, as you read, what the answers to these questions are. Selina is also struggling and feels she is failing with this patient.
Selina is an interesting character with her poor self image and lack of confidence although she appears to be a competent psychologist. She is a bit confused about her relationships and does some strange things which are not unbelievable, just not well thought out. The more you learn about Selina, the easier it us to understand why her life is in such a muddle and why she is so perplexed by Leal. I thought Selina’s character was well drawn although I couldn’t understand her or relate to her reactions and actions. I ended up feeling sorry for her. Her short sightedness in all aspects of her life and projection of her internal conflicts and confusion onto her relationship with Leal contributed to the terrible situation she ended up in.
This book takes some very unexpected and interesting twists and turns, especially towards the end. A fascinating story with a great ending.
Terri’s photo prompt this week is green. Terri also provided a wonderful photograph for Colleen’s weekly Tanka Tuesday so I have put the two prompts together for this post.
The four photographs above were all taken at Fugitives Drift Lodge in KwaZulu-Natal.
The above three pictures were all taken at Nedile Game Lodge during December 2022.
Here is another entry into the U.L.S., the Underground Library Society by Robbie Cheadle, a long-time member of this unofficial group. I am honored that Robbie Cheadle has written another entry–this one on The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde.
To Robbie: thank you!
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Overview
The Picture of Dorian Gray is a gothic novel written by Oscar Wilde and first published in April 1890.
The book opens on with painter, Basil Hallward, a sensitive soul, painting a portrait of a young man of extraordinary good looks called Dorian Gray. Basil’s friend, Lord Henry Wotton is observing Basil adding the final touches to the painting and comments that it is Basil’s best work.
Lord Henry takes an interest in Dorian, a remarkably good looking but shallow young man, and sets about influencing him with his believes that beauty and the pursuit…
This book is close to my heart as the 62 syllabic poems are all devoted to southern African wildlife and nature conservation. My intention with this book is to share information about African animals, birds, insects, and other creatures and to highlight their plight in the face of the Sixth Mass Extinction and climate change. This book also includes my short story, The Nutcracker, which also highlights these themes.
The cover
Blurb
Do you rely on Earth for your survival?
Lion Scream is a graphic collection of poetry and prose. The book portrays the author’s experiences with South African wildlife and the growing impact of the Sixth Mass Extinction and Climate Change on the natural environment.
Lion Scream There is no jungle Only acres of smooth stumps There is no jungle No habitat, no food source Hopeless lion screams tonight
Editorial review of Lion Scream
“In this reflective collection of syllabic poetry, poet Roberta Cheadle weaves words, emotions, and images as she recounts her soul-stirring journey around South Africa in 2022. She highlights the plight of the animals in the face of the Sixth Mass Extinction, during a visit to Ukutula Lodge & Game Reserve. Lion Roar is a poetic and photographic roadmap to the heart & soul of South Africa with highlights about the increasing impact of global warming on humanity and the greater planet. A must read!” —Colleen M. Chesebro, Author of Word Craft: Prose & Poetry, The Art of Crafting Syllabic Poetry
I am grateful to Colleen from Unicorn Cats Publishing Services for her help with editing and preparing Lion Scream for publication. You can find out more about Colleen’s services here: https://colleenmchesebro.com/my-services/
Terri’s prompt for this week’s Sunday Stills is as follows:
This week’s Sunday Stills theme is “out of this world” which can be described as something extraordinary looking, food that tastes super-delicious, or things that might look otherworldly. My examples show images depicting things that are odd, cosmic, celestial, or a bit alien. Many are from my archives and have been shared before.
This prompt fits in beautifully with my new children’s book idea. Dinah in Chocolate Land is about Alice in Wonderland’s cat, Dinah, and her visit to Chocolate Land where meets several cats, all of whom have unusual adventures.
I must admit I am delighted this Vocal challenge came along as I’ve been meaning to start writing this new book for some time. This challenge gave me the inspiration to get started. The story will include a selection my my cake and fondant artwork which are all ‘out of this world’.
The Chocolate Land characters are also ‘out of this world’. Below are Sir Chocolate and the Roundy Twins, Professor Smartie, Sylvia the Alien, the Man on the Moon (made of cheese), four Moon Babies, a surprised Taylor Red, and on of the Nougat Clowns.
Here are a few of the Chocolate Land Homes:
I made Greg a hummingbird cake for his twentieth birthday last weekend. I used a new marbled cream cheese icing technique which came out very well.
According to New York University: “The Cricket on the Hearth was the most popular of Dickens’s Christmas Books, which he wrote both to support his large family and to generate readers’ sympathy and charitable giving, often through characters who are poor, suffering, and/or physically disabled.”
This story is set within a small family comprising of John Peerybingle, a carrier, his much younger wife, Mary but called Dot, and their baby. The baby’s nanny, Tilly Slowboy, lives with them. A cricket chirps on the hearth and acts as a guardian angel to the family.
The story starts with with a setting of domesticity where the reader meets Dot who is filling the kettle in anticipating of her husband’s arrival home after a long days work. There is a lengthily and entertaining description of the kettle, which Dot struggles to fill, carry over to the hearth, and set it upon the fire.
The purpose of the scene would appear to be to demonstrate the happy character of Dot who is quickly restored to good humour despite her struggle with the cantankerous kettle. The kettle submits and starts to behave, entering into a singing challenge with the cricket as indicated by this quote:
“And here, if you like, the Cricket DID chime in! with a Chirrup, Chirrup, Chirrup of such magnitude, by way of chorus; with a voice so astoundingly disproportionate to its size, as compared with the kettle; (size! you couldn’t see it!) that if it had then and there burst itself like an overcharged gun, if it had fallen a victim on the spot, and chirruped its little body into fifty pieces, it would have seemed a natural and inevitable consequence, for which it had expressly laboured.”
John soon arrives home to this scene of domestic bliss, bringing with him a selection of parcels that he is either to deliver or which will be collected from his home. Dot soon comes across a spectacular wedding cake and learns that the local miser, Mr Tackleton, is to be married to her young and beautiful school friend, May.
Dot is clearly upset by this news and not long afterwards, John remembers and elderly man who travelled on his cart with him, and rushes out to bring him inside. The elderly gentleman asks if he can lodge with the Perrybingles for a few days. It quickly becomes evident that the elderly man’s presence had disturbed Dot greatly and her behaviour is quite unusual that evening.
The Perrybingle’s are also great friends with Caleb Plummer, a poor toymaker who works for Mr Tackleton, and Caleb’s blind daughter, Bertha. It is disclosed that Mr Plummer also had a son, Edward, who’d travelled to South America some years before and never returned. May was the sweetheart of Edward and is being compelled to marry Mr Tacklton by her overbearing and anxious mother.
The night before the wedding, Mr Tackleton tells John that his wife is cheating on him and manages to show him a secret scene in which Dot embraces the mysterious stranger.
The rest of the story is devoted to untangling these threads and restoring all parties to harmony and love.
This story is quite removed from Dickens’ usual stories filled with social criticism, current events, and other topical themes, and is, in his own words, it is “quiet and domestic […] innocent and pretty.”
The most interesting social theme in the story is Dickens’ description of Bertha, the blind daughter of Caleb Plummer. Caleb has mislead Bertha from birth, describing the hovel in which they live as being charming, and his selfish and tyrannical employer, Mr Tackleton, as being kind at heart. Poor misled Bertha has fallen in love with her father’s depiction of Mr Tackleton and is heartbroken by his engagement to May.
It is important to note that Bertha’s portrayal and love for Mr Tackleton are dependent on the assumption at the time of writing of this story that blind women did not marry. This belief arose due to the Victorian anxiety that disabilities like deafness and blindness were hereditary. Writers of the day liked to place blind women in courtship plots with the express intention that these courtships would not culminate in marriage.
According to New York University’s commentary on The Cricket on the Hearth: “Dickens’s representation of Bertha Plummer as tragically removed from the world of courtship participates in stereotypes about blindness and femininity that linger into the twentieth century. His extension of Bertha’s blindness to a cognitive dullness is an example of the sociological phenomenon of “spread,” in which one disability is assumed, without evidence, to produce impairment to other physical and mental functions.”
I did not know about this stereotyping of blind women, so this was new information to me.
“It was pleasant to see Dot, with her little figure, and her baby in her arms: a very doll of a baby: glancing with a coquettish thoughtfulness at the fire, and inclining her delicate little head just enough on one side to let it rest in an odd, half-natural, half-affected, wholly nestling and agreeable manner, on the great rugged figure of the Carrier. It was pleasant to see him, with his tender awkwardness, endeavouring to adapt his rude support to her slight need, and make his burly middle-age a leaning-staff not inappropriate to her blooming youth. It was pleasant to observe how Tilly Slowboy, waiting inthe background for the baby, took special cognizance (though in her earliest teens) of this grouping; and stood with her mouth and eyes wide open, and her head thrust forward, taking it in as if it were air. Nor was it less agreeable to observe how John the Carrier, reference being made by Dot to the aforesaid baby, checked his hand when on the point of touching the infant, as if he thought he might crack it; and bending down, surveyed it from a safe distance, with a kind of puzzled pride, such as an amiable mastiff might be supposed to show, if he found himself, one day, the father of a young canary.”
Terri’s Sunday Stills challenge is birds. I love birds and here are a few of my photographs:
This is Eleanor – She is sitting on her favourite tree stumpIf I remember correctly, this is a HammerheadMy fondant Roc from Sir Chocolate and the Sugar Crystal Caves story and cookbookBird cake I made for Mr Fox (hubby’s) birthday some time ago. It features an eagle on its nest, a peacock, a barnowl, a green Knysna loerie, and a woodpeckerFondant woodpecker
This month, my Dark Origins post delves into the evolution of Valentine’s Day and the link between Geoffrey Chaucer and this celebration of love. Thanks for hosting, Kaye Lynne Booth.
Modern Valentine’s Day is celebrated as the day of lovers. People give each other chocolates and flowers as gifts and often do something special with their partner.
Valentine’s Day did not start off as the cutesy day filled with candy and cuddles we know, it’s origins were dark and bloody.
Lupercalia
The date of 14 February coincides with the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia which was celebrated annually on the 15th of February. The aim of the festival was to purify Rome and promote health and fertility and certain rites or observances were undertaken to achieve this aim.
These rites took place in the Lupercal cave, the Palantine Hill (the centremost of the seven hills of Rome which has been called “the first nucleus of the Roman Empire”) and the Forum. All of these locations were central to Rome’s foundation myth about the founding of Rome and the earliest history…
This is my first post for the challenge and features an analysis of A Christmas Carol.
About A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol tells the story of an elderly miser, Ebenezer Scrooge, who is visited by the ghost of his deceased business partner, Jacob Marley, on Christmas Eve. Jacob Marley is described as having a pigtail and a waistcoat, tights and boots and looking much the same in death as he did in life except that he is transparent and bound in chains which are locked around his midsection. Marley has come to warn Scrooge that he will be visited by three spirits over the course of the evening, The Ghost of Christmas Past, The Ghost of Christmas Present and The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come.
Marley and Scrooge were the same in life, mean and selfish and obsessed by making money. Marley died unrepentant of his sin of greed and now wanders the world, a spirit dragging heavy chains forged by what he valued in life – wealth and money. Scrooge is on the same path, but is being offered a change to change his ways and redeem himself before he dies.
Quote: “You are fettered,” said Scrooge, trembling. “Tell me why?” “I wear the chain I forged in life,” replied the Ghost. “I made it link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will, and of my own free will I wore it.”
Marley’s Ghost. Ebenezer Scrooge visited by a ghost. Colour illustration from ‘A Christmas Carol in prose. Being a Ghost-story of Christmas’, by Charles Dickens, With illustrations by John Leech.
Each of the three ghosts is a metaphor for the memories that shape our characters in life.
The Ghost of Christmas Past is the first of the ghosts to visit Scrooge and symbolises the experiences and memories that have moulded him into the callous and selfish man he is when the story starts. The head of this ghost glows represents memory.
The Ghost of Christmas Present is the second ghost to visit scrooge and is a metaphor for generosity, empathy, and the Christmas spirit.
The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is the last ghost to visit Scrooge and is a metaphor for death and the legacy of our lives that we leave behind when we die.
A Christmas Carol is an allegory as it features events and characters with a clear and fixed symbolic meanings. Scrooge is the antithesis of the spirit of Christmas and represents greed, selfishness, and a lack of goodwill towards his fellow men.
A Christmas Carol includes social commentary although this is not the central theme of the story. There are various statements made by Scrooge that relate to the Poor Laws that governed the lower classes during Dickens’ lifetime. Some examples are as follows:
“If these shadows remain unaltered by the Future, none other of my race,” returned the Ghost, “will find him here. What then? If he be like to die, he had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.”
Scrooge hung his head to hear his own words quoted by the Spirit, and was overcome with penitence and grief.
“Man,” said the Ghost, “if man you be in heart, not adamant, forbear that wicked cant until you have discovered What the surplus is, and Where it is. Will you decide what men shall live, what men shall die? It may be, that in the sight of Heaven, you are more worthless and less fit to live than millions like this poor man’s child. Oh God! to hear the Insect on the leaf pronouncing on the too much life among his hungry brothers in the dust!”
“This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both, and all of their degree, but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased. Deny it!” cried the Spirit, stretching out its hand towards the city. “Slander those who tell it ye! Admit it for your factious purposes, and make it worse. And bide the end!” “Have they no refuge or resource?” cried Scrooge. “Are there no prisons?” said the Spirit, turning on him for the last time with his own words. “Are there no workhouses?”
Ignorance and Want are two hideous and emancipated children that the Ghost of Christmas Present shows to Scrooge before he disappears. Ignorance and Want are allegorical characters who have no personalities and only symbolise Scrooge’s own ignorance and want. The spirit warns everyone to be wary of both of them. Want represents the plight of the poor in Victorian society and Ignorance represents societies ignorance of this plight.
Tiny Tim, the disabled young son of Scrooge’s employee, Bob Cratchit, is a symbol of what must be prevented in society, namely, the disease and dependence that comes from poverty and industrial exploitation. Tiny Tim represents the value of human beings outside of the contribution they make to caretakers or society.
The message of A Christmas Carol is that those who are generous and kind will be rewarded on Earth as well as in Heaven.
The novella has a happy ending and Scrooge sees the error of his ways and undertakes to change his behaviour going forward. He seizes the second chance he is given.
I enjoyed A Christmas Carol as a lovely and inspiring Christmas story. Dickens’ idea about selfish and greedy actions and behaviours during a person’s life forging chains they must carry with them in the afterlife is a concept that has always fascinated me. I remember reading a similar idea, except the chains were described as burdens, in Enid Blyton’s The Land of Far Beyond which I read as a child. I never forgot that story and I tracked this book down about ten years ago and I acquired a hard cover copy.
The visits of the three ghosts were entertaining and insightful and each of them also made their points well. The representations of goodness in the forms of Bob Cratchit and his family and Cousin Fred were interesting contrasts to Scrooge and the ghost of Marley.
Have you read A Christmas Carol? Did you enjoy it? Let me know in the comments.
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