rachelmanija (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rachelmanija) wrote2023-10-16 09:38 am
rachelmanija) wrote2023-10-16 09:38 am
The Watching Eyes AKA The Winds of Time, by Barbara Corcoran
Back jacket: Who is this strange family Gail has stumbled upon in the middle of nowhere? Why have they befriended Gail so easily - no questions asked? They seem to sense that she's in terrible trouble - and desperately needs a place to hide. Do they somehow know more about Gail than they're telling?
Goodreads: In her desperate attempt to escape custody of her cruel uncle, thirteen-year-old Gail finds refuge with the Partridges, a strange family living isolated in a spooky house in the woods. Mrs. Partridge, like the rest of the family, believes in the lore of ancient Egypt, and seems to live in two worlds at once.
Given the title and blurbs, what do you think the book is likely to generally be about? I will add that the Partridges have no electricity, talk like they're from about 100 years ago, and have basenjis named Isis and Osiris. Please comment now with your guess, then comment again (if you like) after you read the rest of the review.
This was an unexpectedly weird book, and weird in an unusual way at that.
I was expecting an enjoyably spooky story, so I was jarred by the 1974-gritty opening in which Gail's mother is put in a mental hospital and an unsympathetic social worker contacts her one reachable relative, her creepy uncle. (Her father bailed when she was eight, was last seen in Hawaii, and doesn't pay alimony.) The one time Gail met Creepy Uncle, the last time her mom was hospitalized, he offered to take Gail home with him and Gail decided, apparently based on vibes, that he was going to use her as a housekeeper/slave. She said so and he hit her, but no one ever believed her about that so she stopped telling people.
When Creepy Uncle arrives, Gail begs to be allowed to take her cat, Sylvester. Creepy Uncle agrees, but Gail thinks he plans to do something bad to Sylvester. At this point I flipped to the last page to see if Sylvester was still alive. He was!
Creepy Uncle drives her into the snowy woods, drinking from an open bottle of whiskey, offering her a drink, and patting her knee. Sylvester claws him and he crashes the car. Gail climbs out, finds Creepy Uncle unconscious, flags down a car, then flees into the woods, chasing Sylvester.
She finds a strange house where she's welcomed by an elderly man, Sonny, his even older mother, Mrs. Partridge, and their basenjis Isis and Osiris. Their house is very big and elaborate, without electricity or hot water but with beautiful old furnishings. They take in Gail and Sylvester, feeding her delicious home-cooked meals and asking no questions. Their conversation is odd - they talk as if they're living in the 1800s and refer mysteriously to members of the family who are "gone" - and they seem to know things about Gail she hasn't told them. The only books in the house are very old...
A young man shows up who's the grandson, Christopher, who's clearly from the present day but seems very surprised whenever Gail mentions that she saw anything present day-related at the house. He really, really doesn't want her there and repeatedly tries to throw her out.
A sheriff comes by searching for Gail, as Creepy Uncle has provided a description of her and her cat. Gail hides, with the Partridges helping her.
She mails a letter to her father (why didn't she tell the social worker she had his address?) and continues dodging the sheriff. Mrs. Partridge reads Gail's Tarot. The sheriff shows up, recognizes Sylvester from Creepy Uncle's description, threatens to shoot him if Gail doesn't surrender, then shoots at Gail! I know ACAB but she's a 13-year-old girl who's only wanted as a runaway.
Gail flees with Christopher in a passage that really reads like something magical is going on, but maybe she's just really tired and scared. He leaves her alone in the woods while getting help or something. She hears a noise and throws a rock, thinking it's Creepy Uncle. It's Sonny, who she knocks unconscious! He lies on the ground bleeding and maybe dying!
Christopher returns and fetches a doctor. Sonny survives. Nobody blames Gail. Her father shows up and says Creepy Uncle means well (????!!!!) but he (dad) will take her in. The Partridges offer him a job teaching Christopher to draw so he and Gail can stay near them.
The end!
I don't know about you, but based on the descriptions and setup I expected time travel, immortals, or possibly ghosts. It's definitely written in a way that invites you to think that. But nothing ever comes of it. Apparently the Partridges are just eccentric? I'd think it originally was supposed to be supernatural and was rewritten, but I can't think why. Scholastic did publish actually supernatural books at that time period. There isn't even any "this seemed magical but actually magic doesn't exist." It's just never addressed at all.
The bit with Sonny getting beaned by Gail's rock is one of the most random and pointless plot twists I have ever read.
The author is a different Barbara Corcoran than the reality TV woman who writes nonfiction. This Barbara Corcoran appears to specialize in tearjerkers and strange plots. According to Goodreads, she wrote two books about kids befriending wolves in which the wolf dies at the end, Wolf at the Door (wolf gets poisoned) and My Wolf My Friend (not sure what happens but the reviews talk a lot about sobbing.) The Clown, bizarrely, is about an American girl in Moscow who helps a Russian clown defect.
She also wrote May I Cross Your Golden River. Please comment to guess what you think that's about before clicking on the cut-tag.
An eighteen-year-old boy tries to cope with the realization that he has a fatal disease.
Genres: Death
Goodreads: In her desperate attempt to escape custody of her cruel uncle, thirteen-year-old Gail finds refuge with the Partridges, a strange family living isolated in a spooky house in the woods. Mrs. Partridge, like the rest of the family, believes in the lore of ancient Egypt, and seems to live in two worlds at once.
Given the title and blurbs, what do you think the book is likely to generally be about? I will add that the Partridges have no electricity, talk like they're from about 100 years ago, and have basenjis named Isis and Osiris. Please comment now with your guess, then comment again (if you like) after you read the rest of the review.
This was an unexpectedly weird book, and weird in an unusual way at that.
I was expecting an enjoyably spooky story, so I was jarred by the 1974-gritty opening in which Gail's mother is put in a mental hospital and an unsympathetic social worker contacts her one reachable relative, her creepy uncle. (Her father bailed when she was eight, was last seen in Hawaii, and doesn't pay alimony.) The one time Gail met Creepy Uncle, the last time her mom was hospitalized, he offered to take Gail home with him and Gail decided, apparently based on vibes, that he was going to use her as a housekeeper/slave. She said so and he hit her, but no one ever believed her about that so she stopped telling people.
When Creepy Uncle arrives, Gail begs to be allowed to take her cat, Sylvester. Creepy Uncle agrees, but Gail thinks he plans to do something bad to Sylvester. At this point I flipped to the last page to see if Sylvester was still alive. He was!
Creepy Uncle drives her into the snowy woods, drinking from an open bottle of whiskey, offering her a drink, and patting her knee. Sylvester claws him and he crashes the car. Gail climbs out, finds Creepy Uncle unconscious, flags down a car, then flees into the woods, chasing Sylvester.
She finds a strange house where she's welcomed by an elderly man, Sonny, his even older mother, Mrs. Partridge, and their basenjis Isis and Osiris. Their house is very big and elaborate, without electricity or hot water but with beautiful old furnishings. They take in Gail and Sylvester, feeding her delicious home-cooked meals and asking no questions. Their conversation is odd - they talk as if they're living in the 1800s and refer mysteriously to members of the family who are "gone" - and they seem to know things about Gail she hasn't told them. The only books in the house are very old...
A young man shows up who's the grandson, Christopher, who's clearly from the present day but seems very surprised whenever Gail mentions that she saw anything present day-related at the house. He really, really doesn't want her there and repeatedly tries to throw her out.
A sheriff comes by searching for Gail, as Creepy Uncle has provided a description of her and her cat. Gail hides, with the Partridges helping her.
She mails a letter to her father (why didn't she tell the social worker she had his address?) and continues dodging the sheriff. Mrs. Partridge reads Gail's Tarot. The sheriff shows up, recognizes Sylvester from Creepy Uncle's description, threatens to shoot him if Gail doesn't surrender, then shoots at Gail! I know ACAB but she's a 13-year-old girl who's only wanted as a runaway.
Gail flees with Christopher in a passage that really reads like something magical is going on, but maybe she's just really tired and scared. He leaves her alone in the woods while getting help or something. She hears a noise and throws a rock, thinking it's Creepy Uncle. It's Sonny, who she knocks unconscious! He lies on the ground bleeding and maybe dying!
Christopher returns and fetches a doctor. Sonny survives. Nobody blames Gail. Her father shows up and says Creepy Uncle means well (????!!!!) but he (dad) will take her in. The Partridges offer him a job teaching Christopher to draw so he and Gail can stay near them.
The end!
I don't know about you, but based on the descriptions and setup I expected time travel, immortals, or possibly ghosts. It's definitely written in a way that invites you to think that. But nothing ever comes of it. Apparently the Partridges are just eccentric? I'd think it originally was supposed to be supernatural and was rewritten, but I can't think why. Scholastic did publish actually supernatural books at that time period. There isn't even any "this seemed magical but actually magic doesn't exist." It's just never addressed at all.
The bit with Sonny getting beaned by Gail's rock is one of the most random and pointless plot twists I have ever read.
The author is a different Barbara Corcoran than the reality TV woman who writes nonfiction. This Barbara Corcoran appears to specialize in tearjerkers and strange plots. According to Goodreads, she wrote two books about kids befriending wolves in which the wolf dies at the end, Wolf at the Door (wolf gets poisoned) and My Wolf My Friend (not sure what happens but the reviews talk a lot about sobbing.) The Clown, bizarrely, is about an American girl in Moscow who helps a Russian clown defect.
She also wrote May I Cross Your Golden River. Please comment to guess what you think that's about before clicking on the cut-tag.
An eighteen-year-old boy tries to cope with the realization that he has a fatal disease.
Genres: Death
