Right now....PART TWO...goes from Grandmamma's journey to Maude's family to the point where she is getting dressed determined to confront the family with "the truth".
Discussion Thread: A Christmas Guest Part One
- Thread starter Gingerbug
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It still amazes me how seemingly grumpy Granmama has altered her composure to learn more about essential strangers but did not alter her composure to keep her family from dealing with her "grumpiness"!!! I love how back in those days if a guest stopped by with a message and weather keeps them from their return, you are more than welcomed in their home. Can you imagine having a stranger stay at your house for a few days after informing you of the "death" of a loved one you turned away?????
Granmama definitely learned more than she expected about Maude and the family that "rejected" her!!! I can't help but admire her determination along with her willingness to understand a different outlook on life and maybe (just maybe) put that to good use in her own life!!!!
I must add that I have completed all 5 of Anne Perry's Christmas novels and I am reading her 1998 novel Brunswick Gardens. Well Granmama is mentioned in the book as the relative of the police officers wife....haha Anne Perry had come up with the family line and then I guess decided to base this book on those merely mentioned characters from Brunswick Gardens. Of course Brunswick Gardens is a much larger/longer novel but I hope to have it finished over the weekend!!!!
Granmama definitely learned more than she expected about Maude and the family that "rejected" her!!! I can't help but admire her determination along with her willingness to understand a different outlook on life and maybe (just maybe) put that to good use in her own life!!!!
I must add that I have completed all 5 of Anne Perry's Christmas novels and I am reading her 1998 novel Brunswick Gardens. Well Granmama is mentioned in the book as the relative of the police officers wife....haha Anne Perry had come up with the family line and then I guess decided to base this book on those merely mentioned characters from Brunswick Gardens. Of course Brunswick Gardens is a much larger/longer novel but I hope to have it finished over the weekend!!!!
Goody - lets talk about the second part!
It was entirely believable to me that Grandmama was welcomed into the neighbor house as a guest. Remember that Maude had been away for 30 years, and the family had not had time to catch up with Maude before her sudden death. They wanted to learn as much as they could about Maude -- and being dead, Maude was no longer a threat to anyone in the family.
If a close family member had been away from me for 30 years, and one person offered me information about her life during that time - I would do whatever I could to speak to that person and learn the information. Grandmama was a relative from a well-known, neighboring house -- she was not some unknown stranger.
And remember - there was no television or videos for entertainment. People relied more on conversation and story-telling. And Grandmama would be the only source of information on Maude.
As for changing her "grumpy, unpleasant" manner -- Grandmama had used that as a defense mechanism. It would not be "useful" to her at Maudes' family house. And - Grandmama discovered that she no longer needed or wanted that defense mechanism after her life-changing experiences. So - she dropped the "grumpy, unpleasant" mannerisms.
It was entirely believable to me that Grandmama was welcomed into the neighbor house as a guest. Remember that Maude had been away for 30 years, and the family had not had time to catch up with Maude before her sudden death. They wanted to learn as much as they could about Maude -- and being dead, Maude was no longer a threat to anyone in the family.
If a close family member had been away from me for 30 years, and one person offered me information about her life during that time - I would do whatever I could to speak to that person and learn the information. Grandmama was a relative from a well-known, neighboring house -- she was not some unknown stranger.
And remember - there was no television or videos for entertainment. People relied more on conversation and story-telling. And Grandmama would be the only source of information on Maude.
As for changing her "grumpy, unpleasant" manner -- Grandmama had used that as a defense mechanism. It would not be "useful" to her at Maudes' family house. And - Grandmama discovered that she no longer needed or wanted that defense mechanism after her life-changing experiences. So - she dropped the "grumpy, unpleasant" mannerisms.
I just finished the first part. LOL I will hopefully have the second finished by tonight or tomorrow so i'll be able to jump in the discussion a bit more. For now i've skipped the posts dealing with Part Two.
I think grandmama is a pistol. She definitely would drive me crazy but she does have a softer side and she is afraid to show it for one reason or another, whether it be the way she was raised or possibly an event that happened in her life. I'm not sure if we ever find that out further on. Anyway, so far i'm enjoying this book. It's a nice, light read that doesn't take too much concentration. I can't wait to see how it goes telling the relative of Maude's death. I, too, liked Maude but thought she was a little over the top with her descriptions and such. I think grandmama is dying of boredom and was looking for a little adventure to satisfy her need. When a seemingly healthy woman drops dead for no apparent reason, I would be a little worried too. I'm glad she is investigating and interested to see what she finds. I have my own suspicions though.
I think grandmama is a pistol. She definitely would drive me crazy but she does have a softer side and she is afraid to show it for one reason or another, whether it be the way she was raised or possibly an event that happened in her life. I'm not sure if we ever find that out further on. Anyway, so far i'm enjoying this book. It's a nice, light read that doesn't take too much concentration. I can't wait to see how it goes telling the relative of Maude's death. I, too, liked Maude but thought she was a little over the top with her descriptions and such. I think grandmama is dying of boredom and was looking for a little adventure to satisfy her need. When a seemingly healthy woman drops dead for no apparent reason, I would be a little worried too. I'm glad she is investigating and interested to see what she finds. I have my own suspicions though.
Okay, finished Part Two last night. Just as I suspected an event in grandmama's life set her into her rude ways. She was in an abusive relationship that she had to endure until the death of her husband. I think back then there really was no release from such anger and she just carried it with her from there on forward. I'm glad that she seems to be becoming more human in her feelings and letting them out. I also think she enjoys being courteous and respectful to others now because it's such a burden to be angry with everyone all the time. It takes much more energy to be mean and nasty than it does to be nice.
Finding out the background of the family, I most definitely think someone killed Maude. I'm curious to see what happens at dinner and exactly how grandmama is going to drop the bomb on the unsuspecting family.
Finding out the background of the family, I most definitely think someone killed Maude. I'm curious to see what happens at dinner and exactly how grandmama is going to drop the bomb on the unsuspecting family.
I missed the reading of the Christmas Guest and will get it from the library so I won't read anyone's comments about this book until I read it. I did check out "Finding Noel" by Richard Paul Evans who also wrote the book "The Christmas Box". I'll listen to it at work(makes the time go faster too). Sounds like it will be a good read for this time of the year. I hope I can either catch up or join in on the next book that will be chosen. Have a great day everyone. Off to work. jy :thud:
Grandmama's "marriage" shed some light on the origin of her behavior. It's nice to "see" her, step by step, choosing to finally release her past and the negative roles she had adopted and instead embrace a conscious, healthy future. Maybe witnessing the nasty dysfunction in Maude's family has encouraged her realizations on some level. The magic of the season will handle the rest. :snow: :tree:
NOPE....I should change the title of the thread...we just kept going with the part two discussion and then we sort of fell off the band wagon and never posted much about part three.
My main thoughts about Part Three is that is was too abrupt....dinner discussion...of this is what happned many years ago....gasps from everyone.....no denial (much) and then I'm leaving the family...a bit crazy...not that is couldnt happen in real life...but it would was more like the author just TOLD what happened rather than weaving it into a story...
My main thoughts about Part Three is that is was too abrupt....dinner discussion...of this is what happned many years ago....gasps from everyone.....no denial (much) and then I'm leaving the family...a bit crazy...not that is couldnt happen in real life...but it would was more like the author just TOLD what happened rather than weaving it into a story...
I thought the same thing, but I also wondered how ruining all those lives made her feel the Christmas Spirit. I didn't get that part. I know some walked away feeling life again, but overall she was letting go of her personal anger and hard life at the price of someone else.
I'm not sure I'd choose to read her other novels after this being my first read. But for those of you who have read the others, how does it compare in style?
I'm not sure I'd choose to read her other novels after this being my first read. But for those of you who have read the others, how does it compare in style?
I don't think she really ruined anyone's life that didn't deserve to be ruined. The family had treated Maude like royal crap and the sister killed her. The rest of the family was already unhappy and were in the middle of everything. I think by doing what she did she set them all free to be out from under the reign of the older sister and live their lives the way they saw fit. To me, the only life that was ruined was the oldest sister and she was a murderer.
MinnieCo said:
All of her Christmas mystery novels are along the same line but her longer novels I have started reading and they all involve some of the characters from A Christmas Guest. For instance Brunswick gardens has Maude (in a minor role) and her realative that was married to the cop (granddaughter??). The cop and his wife are the key mystery solvers in the novel. They also appear in Ashworth Hall which I am in the midst of reading now. These have much more interesting story lines and some of the endings are VERY SHOCKING!!!
So don't count Anne Perry out fully. I liked that the Christmas novels were easily read to warm me up to her longer novels. She really has a great sense of the time periods she writes about and their local accents these novels.