The Invisible Man was the first thing I ever read by Wells- (in my early teens, in the dormitory at school, in the short period of grace we were allowed before the lights went out, with the nice, friendly maths master wandering up and down putting the prettier boys at ease and telling them they didn't have to call him "Sir" at the conclusion of every sentence. Did we have his number? Oh, yes, the older ones did and the younger ones soon caught on) I had remembered it as a grim SF fable- and am surprised to find that it's actually quite funny- less War of the Worlds, more History of Mr Polly. It's dark, of course, but we English like our humour that way. And now I think of it, Mr Polly (possibly Wells's best book) is pretty dark as well....
It's raining, it's misty, I'm still adapting myself to the long dark evenings. "Cosy" I tell myself, but as yet I'm not wholly convinced.....
It's raining, it's misty, I'm still adapting myself to the long dark evenings. "Cosy" I tell myself, but as yet I'm not wholly convinced.....
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Date: 2024-10-29 12:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-10-29 01:22 pm (UTC)The rumour was that he'd gotten rather too close to one of his pupils and had been told that he'd better back away or else he'd be losing his job.
As it happened he stayed at the school all his working life. And retained a close link with it in retirement.
He was a very good maths teacher.
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Date: 2024-10-29 01:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-10-29 04:48 pm (UTC)You can desire someone sexually without caring for them in the least.
And you can care for someone deeply without wanting to f**k them.
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Date: 2024-10-29 06:10 pm (UTC)For example, friends with benefits.
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Date: 2024-10-29 12:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-10-29 01:27 pm (UTC)But Tono-Bungay is considerably more ambitious- and certainly a masterpiece.
And a lot of his later novels are unfairly neglected. I am particularly fond of Christina Alberta's Father, The Dream and Secret Places of the Heart.
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Date: 2024-10-30 12:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-10-30 06:43 pm (UTC)