Posted by Peter Ceresole on January 25, 2007 at 00:30:15 from 80.177.22.49 user PeterC.
In Reply to: Re: Summer Hols - was The Untold Stories posted by PeterH on January 24, 2007 at 15:40:40:
I do see harm in trying to add more detail to AR's stories. Surely if AR had felt there should be more detail he would have added it himself?
Maybe, but I don't see that adding homegrown detail damages the books in any way. I've been guilty of speculating about Beckfoot's plumbing and putting an early bound on the date of WD because of the reference to the Bawdsey radio masts, but thinking about these things hasn't spoilt my enjoyment of the books one jot. One of my favourite moments in all the books is the D's arrival in Beckfoot in PM. Guessing at the plumbing simply helps me into the story; the beauty of AR is the total immersion his skilful story telling makes possible. His treatment of class is quite unobtrusive, and wonderfully true to life. It's neither snobbish nor belittling; I enjoy it as a true depiction of that place and time. I certainly don't see it as a sociological treatise.
The beauty of reading books, as opposed to going to the cinema, is that it's possible for readers to bring their own contribution to the mental images conjured up by the books. I think that's what is happening here.