Light reading was on the agenda last week beginning with
Mary Poppins. No, I never read it but the buzz about the new movie piqued my interest. The Disney version was the first movie I ever saw that combinesd animation with live action. I still wonder how those penguins learned to step in time with chimney sweep, Bert. I did my best not to compare the book and the movie; instead, I decided to simply enjoy this old-fashioned story of the whimsical, quirky, and crisply demanding nanny.
Mary barks orders like a drill sergeant and the Banks children jump to her call, except on "bad Tuesday" when Michael exercises his right to be surly. The enigmatic Mary simply appears on the Banks doorstep after the naughty Banks children have driven off their previous nanny. With little regard to the wishes (or approval) of Mr. and Mrs. Bank, Mary whisks the kids off on adventures that exist only in dreams. They go on adventures - or do they? Here is where some people get all philosophical about this book, diagnosing what slipping into Bert's chalk drawings mean, analyzing what's in the magical medicine Mary gives the kids upon meeting them, and what on earth could that levitating tea party possibly mean? To me. it all added up to tons of silly fun. Pleasant surprises leap from each page, and yes, the movie did come to mind, especially when it was time to sing a song - which I did - with reckless abandon. Tell me, did Disney give you the impression that Bert and Mary were in love? I never picked up on that, but author P.L. Travis weaves a gently subtle loves story between the imaginative romps. I am happy there are several sequels.
Since I didn't have a
Mary Poppins sequel handy, I picked up M.C. Beaton's
Death of a Liar. Beaton also wrote the Agatha Raisin mysteries, but I have to admit I have a big book character crush on Hamish Macbeth, the lead detective in Beaton's 30+ books in which he is featured. Hamish, a bit of a Casanova, finds himself distracted by nearly every woman he encounters during an investigation. His actions are never rude, and he is mostly a failure when it comes to love. I'm still in the opening chapters of
Death of a Liar, but basically, Hamish neglects to answer a call from a woman who everyone in the Scottish highlands village identifies as an adroit fibber. Only problem is, this time her calls for help are real, and when Hamish decides to do his professional duty and call on her, he finds her dead. This comes on the heels of a dead body in a garden, and another in the trunk of a car.
Oh sure , this isn't heady stuff, but it's fun and it's a nice winter distraction. I think I'll do a deep dive into the Hamish Macbeth series.
Thanks for stopping by.
