Alison Lurie (1926–2020)

Engaging to the point of 3.5 stars for fans of children's classics and for scholars. I have enjoyed several other works by Lurie, and so am rounding up my rating.

This one is not as unified or as compelling as the description would have you believe - some chapters were essays not adapted to reinforce the theme but just included so the book would be long enough to sell, for example. The chapter on [a:Tove Jansson|45230|Tove Jansson|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1419249529p2/45230.jpg] and her Moomintrolls was particularly disappointing, as it was mainly a recitation of plots and very little analysis.

I did appreciate that Lurie pointed out something I'd never noted before. Remember the chapter in [b:The Wind in the Willows|5659|The Wind in the Willows|Kenneth Grahame|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1630642716l/5659._SX50_.jpg|1061285] about the (unnamed but obviously) god Pan? Well, Lurie points out that he (it?) was a popular subject in the literature of the time, hence the 'surname' of a magical lad, first name Peter, famed for never growing up...

Lurie also points out what exactly is wrong with the Disney versions of the classics, so read that chapter next time you're trying to articulate your distaste to a fan of the movies....… (more)

It felt a little too on the nose to be reading this novel as brief respites from working intensely to finish my thesis corrections, as it concerns academia gone wrong. (I finished my corrections, though, which is more than can be said of the research study ‘Imaginary Friends’ is centred on.) A senior, famous-in-his-discipline academic invites our narrator to infiltrate a local cult with him. The Truth Seekers, as they call themselves, believe in a mashup of spiritualist christianity and alien conspiracy theories. I found the narrator intermittently disagreeable (when lusting after Verena, figurehead of the cult) and sometimes very sympathetic (when trying to determine whether his PI is insane). Not that much actually happens, when it came down to it, but the dynamics of the close-knit cult group are portrayed in a sensitive and distinctly compelling fashion. I really like the insight that they were more like family than friends as such - people who felt like they had to spend time together and support each other, despite having relatively little in common. The narrator’s dilemmas about the extent to which observing and interacting with the group changed it are cleverly done. Issues of class are handled especially neatly. The psychology of small religious groups is deconstructed at the same time as the study of same, which is quite a trick to pull of this tidily. Overall it’s a clever and subtle novel, therefore probably better read when not so tired and preoccupied with your own research as I was.… (more)

This was better than foreign affairs, but not great. another ipad book. this took place in a very conservative, upper class college environment. Very few people were truly satisfied with their lives, and many affairs were discussed. The wealthy protagonist was such a narcissist that it was difficult for her to really care about others. It was very easy for her to hurt other people, although at times she was supportive. Even though minds were changed, I;m not sure there was any growth in any of the characters.… (more)