And the secret garden bloomed and bloomed and every morning revealed new miracles.

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Spoiler Alert: Plot Summary

And so we begin with Mary Lennox,
Brought from India to the English moor.
Contrary,
Detached,
Emancipated from her parents by cholera.
Friendless,
Grumpy,
Her world starts to expand.
Into the gardens of Misselthwaite Manor she frolics,
Jumping rope,
Kneading weeds right out of the earth.
Left to her devices, she starts to flourish,
Much to Martha and brother Dickon's great delight.
No one knows when she finds the secret garden,
Omitted from Mary's original tour.
Private haven of the Cravens, till the missus died,
Quiet for a decade since their son was born.
Reclaim it she does, with just Dickon at first,
Suddenly Colin is convinced to join in.
The trio joyously heals and grows,
Under the eye of grumpy gardener Ben Weatherstaff.
Violently brilliant the garden becomes,
Where Colin realizes he can walk just fine.
X marks the spot where their secret lives,
Yearning to surprise Mr. Craven.
Zestful, they show him, all is joy, family, friends, a garden again.

Spoiler Over: Continue Here

Dear readers, 

I'm not sure why I felt compelled to share that plot summary in alphabet form. Something about the book and its place in the children's genre, perhaps. In any case, there you have it! On the off chance that you have never heard of the Secret Garden (book, film, remaking, etc.) there's a summary for you.

Now, if you haven't read the book, I suggest you go do so. (Right now is just fine, yes. You can always come back and read this later. It's really quite a short book.) I have to say it really stood up for me, and it was, in a word, charming. Let me tell you about the bits I liked.

Love in the time of cholera
When we start the book, Mary is a rather forgotten child, growing up in India with fairly absent wealthy British parents. One of the her first lines is this, after the entire encampment (including her parents and all their servants) has been wiped out from a cholera epidemic, unbeknownst to Mary: 

'Why was I forgotten?' Mary said, stamping her foot. 'Why does nobody come?'

Narrator as moral caretaker
One of the things I like best about reading is getting to know the narrator. It feels very British (but could simply be something I've noticed often in British works) for the narrator to have opinions about the characters, and to act as a sort of moral high ground. I very much enjoyed seeing Mary grow throughout the novel through the eyes of the narrator. Here are some snippets: 

• She began to feel a slight interest in Dickon, and as she had never been interested in anyone but herself, it was the dawning of a healthy sentiment.

• She had felt as if she had understood a robin and that he had understood her; she had run in the wind until her first blood had grown warm; she had been healthily hungry for the first time in her life; and she had found out what it was to be sorry for someone. She was getting on.

Ben Weatherstaff shade
This book isn't swimming in characters, but each character really packs a punch. Ben Weatherstaff is the aged P, the gardener to Misselthwaite Manor, and Mary's first pseudo-friend. He's quite a shady old man, which I loved. Some choice lines:

• Don't be a meddlesome wench an' poke your nose where it's no cause to go.

• P'rpas tha' art a young u'un, after all, an' p'raps tha's got child's blood in they veins instead of sour buttermilk. lololololzzzz. I died. 

• Tha's a bit fatter than tha' was an' tha's not quite so yeller. Tha' looked like a young plucked crow when tha' first came into this garden. Thinks I to myself I never set eyes on an uglier, sourer-faced young 'un. OUCH, right? Luckily Mary knows that she was pretty sour when she came, so this is more of a compliment than anything.

The moor
Misselthwaite Manor is a large estate deep in the English moor, and the descriptions of it reminded me very romantically of several other books that featured the moor (Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre).

Nor it isn't fields nor mountains, it's just miles and miles and miles of wild land that nothing grows on but heather and gorse and broom, and nothing lives on but wild ponies and sheep.

Mary did not know what 'wutherin' meant until she listened, and then she understood. It must mean that hollow, shuddering sort of roar which rushed round and round the house, as if the giant no one could see were buffeting it and beating at the walls and windows to try to break in. doesn't this make you want to be tucked under a blanket at the fire with a cozy book and a cup of cocoa?

The garden
One of the other things I loved about this book is that it's not about anything huge or fantastic - it's literally about a garden that hasn't been visited in a decade. That's it. And it's So. Delightfully. Magical! 

• It was because it had been shut up so long that she wanted to see it. It seemed as if it must be different from other places and that something strange must have happened to it during ten years.

• There were other trees in the garden, and one of the things which made the place look strangest and loveliest was that climbing roses had run all over them and swung down long tendrils which made light swaying curtains, and here and there they had caught at each other or at a far-reaching branch and had crept from one tree to another and made lovely bridges of themselves.

• The garden had reached the time when every day and every night it seemed as if Magicians were passing through it drawing loveliness out of the earth and the boughs with wands.

A good skipping rope
Martha, a servant in Misselthwaite Manor, knocks some sense into Mary pretty soon after she arrives, and eventually she tells her mother about this strange girl from India she's been caring for. Her mom spends some of her small salary to buy Mary a jump rope, and says the following:

"That's what Mother said. She says, 'Nothin will do her more good than skippin'-rope. It's th' sensiblest toy a child can have. Let her play out in th' fresh air skippin' an' it'll stretch her legs an' arms an' give her some strength in 'em."

So true! Jump ropes are such a sensible and useful toy for children.  

The robin
One of Mary's early friends is of the avian persuasion. He's actually the guide who helps her locate both the secret garden and its key. 

The robin was tremendously busy. He was very much pleased to see gardening begun on his own estate. He had often wondered at Ben Weatherstaff. Where gardening is done all sorts of delightful things to eat are turned up with the soil. Now here was this new kind of creature who was not half Ben's size and yet had the sense to come into his garden and begin at once. ahghaghaghahg. I love this.

Dickon, aka Martha's younger brother and animal/flora/fauna lover
I distinctly remember having a crush on Dickon when I first came across this story, and in reading it again, I can tell why. He's such a warm and lovely person. Here are some of my favorite Dickon lines:

• To Mary, when she first shows him the garden and her work on it: Tha' has done a lot o' work for such a little wench.

• I'll come every day if tha' wants me, rain or shine. It's th' best fun I ever had in my life - shut in here an' wakening' up a garden.

Colin
Colin is the son of Mr. Archibald Craven (aka Mary's uncle, and head of Misselthwaite Manor). Mary has no idea he exists, but she hears him crying in the house, Mrs. Rochester-style. When she does meet him, she brooks no nonsense, which cracks me up.

'Go on the moor! How could I? I am going to die.'

'How do you know?' said Mary unsympathetically. She didn't like the way he had of talking about dying. She did not feel very sympathetic. She felt rather as if he almost boasted about it.

Later, when she yells at him: Mary was not used to anyone's temper but her own.

And Colin, speaking haughtily about Dickon coming to visit him: 'A boy, and a fox, and a crow, and two squirrels, and a newborn lamb, are coming to see me this morning. I want them brought upstairs as soon as they come. You are not to begin playing with the animals in the servants' hall and keep them there. I want them here.' hear that! No Playing with them in the servants hall! MINE TO play with! ;)

Food, glorious food.
The food in this book sounds lovely, and I want to eat all of it. One of my favorite parts is toward the end of the story, when Colin and Mary are both really growing healthy and have excellent appetites. They don't want to admit that this is the case, because Colin wants to be in mint condition before his father comes back from abroad, and he knows his doctors will be alarmed if he seems to be getting too much better too quickly, so they try to not eat their meals and sneak snacks and roast potatoes outside with Dickon. They have a difficult time, though. ;)

He made up his mind to eat less, but unfortunately it was not possible to carry out this brilliant idea when he wakened each morning with an amazing appetite and the table near his sofa was set with a breakfast of home-made bread and fresh butter, snow-white eggs, raspberry jam, and clotted cream.

Lines I Particularly liked

• She was inside the wonderful garden, and she could come through the door under the ivy any time, and she felt as if she had found a world all her own.

• She must be careful if she meant to keep her secret kingdom.

• Don't let us make it tidy. It wouldn't seem like a secret garden if it was tidy.

• When th' sun did jump up, th' moor went mad for joy.

• And then the moment came, the uncontrollable moment when the sounds forgot to hush themselves.

Well then. I've rambled on a fair bit, so I'll leave you with just a few of my favorite passages. This first one is a reference to Colin, who spends so much of his youth thinking he's dying any minute, that it rather catches him by surprise when he realizes he's a young boy and has his whole life ahead of him.

One of the strange things about living in the world is that it is only now and then one is quite sure one is going to live for ever and ever and ever. One knows it sometimes when one gets up at the tender, solemn dawn-time and goes out and stands alone and throws one's head far back and looks up and up and watches the pale sky slowly changing and flushing and marvellous unknown things happening until the East almost makes one cry out and one's heart stands still at the strange, unchanging majesty of the rising of the sun - which has been happening every morning for thousands and thousands and thousands of years.

Isn't that lovely? I hope when you look at the sun tomorrow it makes you feel like that. 

The next one is a reference to Colin trying to unlock the secrets behind Magic. I love that the book references capital "M" magic many times, and that's it's sort of an intangible, stunning idea. 

Of course, there must be lots of Magic in the world, but people don't know what it is like or how to make it. Perhaps the beginning is just to say nice things are going to happen until you make them happen.

And I'll leave you with this, Colin's final realization: 

Being alive is the Magic - being strong is the Magic.

I hope you all have a most magical evening and a marvelous weekend, and that you have the kind of day that makes you sure that you will live for ever and ever and ever. I'm headed into the deep blue sea with Monsieur Verne. Cheerio!

He is not well! Why else would Gregor miss a train?

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

Spoiler Alert: Plot Poem

Gregor wakes up and he's not himself,

But how could he possibly be anyone else?

He waits for a bit - could it go away?

He simply doesn't feel right today.

He's late for work, but how can he go?

You can't ride the train as a vermin, you know.

His boss is displeased, this simply won't do,

Surely now Gregor must know this is true.

Out of your room, come now, chop chop!

Sometimes we're sick, but the work doesn't stop!

Gregor comes out but it doesn't go well,

His bedroom transforms to a prison cell.

At first, his sister is still a friend,

But even she resents him, too, in the end.

His father blames him for scaring the mother,

Throws apples at Gregor one after another.

One sticks and Gregor is suddenly lame,

His father, alas, has impeccable aim.

After this happens, things only get worse,

Gregor is seen as a family curse.

He doesn't eat, starts to just fade away,

Till finally, there's no more Gregor one day.

His family delights, their trial is done,

Poor Gregor, forgotten by everyone.

Spoiler Over: Continue Here

Dear Readers, 

Well, what did you think? Did you like my plot poem? I've really come to enjoy writing them, so I don't particularly care if you liked reading it. ;) But it would be a win-win if you did. 

I liked this story so very much! It surprised me, since I knew the very basic outlines, and I didn't think I would like reading about a man who woke up and was suddenly a bug. But it was simply charming. It's exceedingly short (only about 50 pages) so if you haven't read it, I highly encourage you to find a copy and read it. 

I've given you the broad brush outlines in the poem, but I thought it would be fun to do a 'digested' version of the story. Here you go!

It begins...

• As Gregor Samsa awoke from unsettling dreams one morning, he found himself transformed in his bed into a monstrous vermin. Isn't this a fantastic first line? I mean, SO. Many. Questions.

Gregor's response: 

• What if I went back to sleep for a while and forgot all this foolishness. lololololz. 

Gregor in denial: 

• He recalled how he had often felt slight pains in bed, perhaps due to lying in an awkward position, pains that proved imaginary when he got up, and he was eager to see how today's illusion would gradually resolve. that's the spirit, Gregor, this will just SOLVE ITSELF.

Gregor decides he should really get up.

• And now he began rocking the whole length of his body in a steady rhythm in order to pitch it out of the bed. this is image is just so fantastically amusing to me. 

Gregor's family, to his supervisor from work who shows up at their house:

• Mother - "He is not well! Why else would Gregor miss a train?" Why else, indeed? Certainly not because he's been turned into a vermin. Certainly not that. 

Gregor's sister, and how he responds to her (brief) kindness:

• Would she notice that he had left the milk untouched not from any lack of hunger and bring something he liked better? If she did not do so on her own, he would rather starve than bring it to her attention, although he was was extremely hard-pressed not to dart out from under the sofa and throw himself at her feet to beg for something good to eat.

Gregor's sister does him a solid and does try to bring something he'll like better: 

• To find out his likes and dislikes, she brought him a wide selection all spread out on an old newspaper. adorable. I won't list the foods here, because they might turn your stomach, but suffice it to say it reminded me of Gollum's list of what he had got in his pocketses when Bilbo asks.

Things begin to sour with the fam: 

• In accordance with family duty they were required to quell their aversion and tolerate him, but only tolerate. poor Gregor! Only to be tolerated! Probably doesn't help that when he speaks he makes horrible screeching noises. 

On the fam trying to 'keep up with the Joneses':

• What truly hindered them was an utter hopelessness and the belief that a plight had befallen them unlike any other that had been visited upon their friends or relatives.

On Gregor's love for his sister's violin playing: 

• The sister played so beautifully. Was he a beast if music could move him so? He felt as though the path to his unknown hungers was being cleared. Isn't that a great line? Was he a beast if music could move him so? 

The fam, on why they shouldn't be sad that Gregor is dead:

• You have to try to stop thinking that this is Gregor. Our true misfortune is that we've believed it so long. But how can it be Gregor? Sure, sure. No one likes to think their kid is a vermin. 

 I'll leave you with one tidbit, which is that Daniel-ay shared with me that a modified version of this story has been created, wherein Gregor is transformed not into a vermin, but into an adorable KITTEN. I know. Fantastic stuff. Sharing the book cover here. 

I've reached the halfway mark of this second list, and I'm off to the land of secret gardens. Join me if you want a little of your childhood back. ;)

Keep each other safe, keep faith, and happy summer!