tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post3103068780698416242..comments2024-02-10T19:58:20.327+00:00Comments on Stuck in a Book: Look Back With Love - Dodie SmithStuckInABookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-547153451331902092013-04-07T14:10:11.818+01:002013-04-07T14:10:11.818+01:00Have just re-read "Look Back with Love" ...Have just re-read "Look Back with Love" for the second time, (I have the copy published 1974 by Heinemann, given to my Uncle in 1975) and I enjoyed it even more the second time. <br /><br />Penny Evans 7th April 2013Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-44751451972645025142012-03-08T14:49:33.918+00:002012-03-08T14:49:33.918+00:00how rarely that happens, but how wonderful when it...how rarely that happens, but how wonderful when it does!StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-47053057804190421182012-03-08T14:49:23.065+00:002012-03-08T14:49:23.065+00:00Thanks, Brigitte - aren't the new editions lov...Thanks, Brigitte - aren't the new editions lovely? (Not that I've seen them in hard copy, just the beautiful images)StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-41638394632345596582012-03-08T14:49:03.622+00:002012-03-08T14:49:03.622+00:00Very well put, Tanya -self-interest and yet attrac...Very well put, Tanya -self-interest and yet attractive. Volume Two has now arrived, so I shall enjoy finding out the next step...StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-49883946557304665772012-03-08T14:48:36.492+00:002012-03-08T14:48:36.492+00:00Great, Victoria, both brilliant books. I love rea...Great, Victoria, both brilliant books. I love reading about children who grew up amongst the arts.StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-80690471997233823942012-03-08T14:48:12.200+00:002012-03-08T14:48:12.200+00:00Hurrah! I did love that paragraph so much.Hurrah! I did love that paragraph so much.StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-68078595597838901592012-03-08T14:47:56.010+00:002012-03-08T14:47:56.010+00:00What lovely recollections, thank you for sharing t...What lovely recollections, thank you for sharing them! And how nice when a blog review connects with life in the way (as well as reassuring you about parenting ;))StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-49064004020550004362012-03-02T13:31:15.487+00:002012-03-02T13:31:15.487+00:00Glorious, wasn't it! I read it rather slowly, ...Glorious, wasn't it! I read it rather slowly, to savour the pleasure.GeraniumCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03010199887691558717noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-20001271465134935232012-02-27T01:48:36.733+00:002012-02-27T01:48:36.733+00:00Just wanted to mention that three of Dodie Smith&#...Just wanted to mention that three of Dodie Smith's novels are being re-issued by Corsair, and amazingly enough will also be available for Kindle in the US. Of course I out-smarted myself by pre-ordering from book depository...Still, good news.<br />Brigitte<br /><br />The New Moon with the Old<br />The Town in Bloom<br />It Ends with RevelationsAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-20798995219703831492012-02-25T10:04:03.276+00:002012-02-25T10:04:03.276+00:00I also read this years ago and loved it then - Dod...I also read this years ago and loved it then - Dodie Smith is that rare combination of naked self-interest and attractiveness. The later volumes are also very interesting, especially whichever volume it is that deals with her career as a playwright in the 1930s. I'm delighted to see this back in print - Valerie Grove says somewhere that Dodie produced at least one perfect play, novel and children's novel, and this has to be up there among the best memoirs.Tanya Izzardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05229305256800572696noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-48644392001515155952012-02-24T22:06:51.726+00:002012-02-24T22:06:51.726+00:00Emma Smith - Great Western Beach is simply wonderf...Emma Smith - Great Western Beach is simply wonderful and so is Kisses on a Postcard both of which I have raved about over on Random. I know there were unhappy childhoods around but I really don't want to hear about them. Mine was spent abroad as my dad was in the army and we lived in Malta Egypt and Cyprus and I remember such happy happy days.Elainehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17739410242766153431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-64200530259412397402012-02-24T15:31:37.351+00:002012-02-24T15:31:37.351+00:00I read Look Back With Love years ago and remember ...I read Look Back With Love years ago and remember loving it, thanks to your review I've now got Being George Devine's Daughter and Deceived With Kindness to my wish list.Victoria Corbyhttp://victoriacorby.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-73923306207159118292012-02-24T13:59:34.326+00:002012-02-24T13:59:34.326+00:00Lovely: yes! I started reading that paragraph abou...Lovely: yes! I started reading that paragraph about the art lessons and couldn't stop! On to the wish-list it goes!Alex (The Sleepless Reader)https://www.blogger.com/profile/03083761152675156469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-70906317599503546882012-02-24T12:51:20.258+00:002012-02-24T12:51:20.258+00:00Alas I'm one of those "Never Got Past 101...Alas I'm one of those "Never Got Past 101 Dalmations" readers when it comes to Dodie Smith! Ordinarily I wouldn't have thought that Look Back With Love was my type of book at all. But your enthusiastic thumbs up, coupled with the fact that something in the style of her writing in the excerpts chimed for me with Robert "Ask The Family" Robinson's memoir "Skip All That" (which I loved), have made me decide to definitely give it a try.<br />I like the fact that sometimes random reading in blog world can suddenly connect with my life unexpectedly. Your review did two things for me. Firstly it reassured me that my incessant teasing of my daughter is probably OK (Phew!) and secondly Dodie Smith's recollection of Senior Dancing Class reminded me of my own Country Dancing classes at school in Scotland. I can't recall if we had anybody "left over" like Dodie Smith, but I do recall, whenever we were invited to choose a partner, the boys stampede to one beautiful girl in particular(with the exotic-for-Scotland name of Shairoze!) Being light on my feet I won the prize on more than one occasion! So thank you for the review, the recommendation, the parenting reassurance and the happy memory! ( I think that's what you call getting your money's worth from reading a blog!)ColS61http://www.theonlywayisreading.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-86559795787345770312012-02-24T11:38:09.355+00:002012-02-24T11:38:09.355+00:00Hurrah! I can't see you *not* enjoying this, C...Hurrah! I can't see you *not* enjoying this, Claire.<br /><br />It wasn't until I started making that list, and dashing back whilst writing the review to add to it, that I realised quite what a lot I'd read.<br /><br />Like you, my family gatherings were pretty small - although I have a fair few relatives, none of them lived very close. I think what I like best in family memoirs, whether large or small families, is learning about family inside jokes and sayings.StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-5018807870556984612012-02-24T11:11:55.061+00:002012-02-24T11:11:55.061+00:00You're welcome - I'm sure you'd love t...You're welcome - I'm sure you'd love this too!StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-11639537224590273342012-02-24T00:51:14.384+00:002012-02-24T00:51:14.384+00:00Elaine's review convinced me I would love this...Elaine's review convinced me I would love this and now with you heaping praise on it I'm convinced I need to buy it!<br /><br />And what a lovely list of childhood memoirs in your third paragraph, most of which I've yet to read. I have no desire to read about miserable childhoods but I cannot get enough of happy ones, especially ones where extended family played a large role. Having grown up in a small family (our largest Christmas dinner was seven people, usually only five) I love to read about the influence of uncles, aunts, cousins, and grandparents. But, then again, I love memoirs centering on close-knit families just as much since they echo my own experiences!Claire (The Captive Reader)https://www.blogger.com/profile/07430380065718826213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-13986288616639444742012-02-23T20:10:32.354+00:002012-02-23T20:10:32.354+00:00I just head over heels in love with I Capture the ...I just head over heels in love with I Capture the Castle, so I'm thrilled to hear about Look Back with Love. Thank you!Dianahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02957349442523993974noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-55839710362070814182012-02-23T12:51:45.490+00:002012-02-23T12:51:45.490+00:00You have described, of course, exactly the sort of...You have described, of course, exactly the sort of books I love! I'm constantly surprised by how many like-minded souls there are out there, and that I'm not just blogging about them to myself.<br /><br />I did read Dear Dodie, right after I read I Capture the Castle for the first time, and now remember almost nothing about it... but I do remember being surprised that the play I owned by C.L. Anthony was actually by Dodie!StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-72921575287085595402012-02-23T12:48:01.504+00:002012-02-23T12:48:01.504+00:00I do have Coward's diaries, I think, or perhap...I do have Coward's diaries, I think, or perhaps his letters - will immerse myself one day! And will head off and read your other review... :)StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-2251304643537731902012-02-23T11:14:31.330+00:002012-02-23T11:14:31.330+00:00Dodie Smith holds a special place in my heart. I ...Dodie Smith holds a special place in my heart. I read I Capture the Castle in 2003 also. It was the same year I discovered Persephone Books and realized that there was a type of fiction (didn't even know what to call it) that I wanted to focus on for the rest of my reading life: British, 1930 - 1950, mostly female, witty, domestic, understated, in the Austen tradition, language and character-driven (plot in the backseat) -- you get the picture. @:-)<br /><br />To your review: sounds like a wonderful book. I like that she always thought she was interesting. I'm sure she was right. I have a biography of Smith in my TBR pile. I've skimmed through it but it has been in the TBR for a long time. Have you read Dear Dodie by Valerie Grove?Margaret W.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-13296695460120142172012-02-23T10:40:01.122+00:002012-02-23T10:40:01.122+00:00Thanks for the link SImon and I just knew you woul...Thanks for the link SImon and I just knew you would love this book. I have now read two vols of her adult autobiography and here is my link to my post on those<br /><br />http://randomjottings.typepad.com/random_jottings_of_an_ope/2012/02/dodie-smith-not-just-101-dalmatians.html<br /><br />I, too, love reading about theatre and the growing up in etc. You should try Noel Cowards Diaries or his autobiography. totally fascinating and name dropping everywhere!Elainehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17739410242766153431noreply@blogger.com