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A review by pacific_blue4
Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster
1.0
When an anonymous benefactor takes it upon himself to fund orphan Jerusha Abbott's education, his one stipulation is that she write him to keep him updated on her progress. The one caveat is that he will not answer her letters. Thus, Jean Webster's story begins, and it's a story in letters.
Now, these letters are - from beginning to end - one-sided, as are all of the characters. Are there really characters when everything is merely 'told' and nothing is ever shown at all? Katherine Reay's book, Dear Mr. Knightley (which I absolutely loved), is what led me here. I have to say, it is far, far better than this troubling, strange read.
I found Jerusha Abott to be incredibly childish. Had I not known that she was a college-age woman (18 at the story's beginning), I would have guessed her to be about 12. Her letters are silly and frivolous. In fact, I found the entire book to be just that, silly and inane, with nothing of substance to offer, and not just one, but many areas of deep concern. Because of the more contemporary handling/retelling by Katherine Reay, I had high hopes for Daddy-Long-Legs. Those hopes are dead.
I had seen Daddy-Long-Legs on classic book lists for years, but there was always one thing that deterred me from reading it. I hated the title. It was a major turn-off. Now, I'm finding that I was correct in that assumption based on the title alone. The entire novel was very off-putting. From the creepy way Jerusha addressed her "Daddy" (which never ceased even after the "big" reveal) to the way her "benefactor" continually groomed her and prevented her from doing things she deeply desired to do to the author including and seeming to support socialism (an idealogy which has led to the death of millions around the world), I very deeply, strongly dislike this book as well as the main character. Jerusha doesn't grow. She remains childish and inane and often belittles other people throughout the story and every other character is a mere paper cutout mentioned in passing. I'm not sure why I finished this read - possibly to do a proper review, after having seen every facet of the story. Perhaps because of the high ratings, hoping it might improve (it got worse)?
Overall: Skip this one (yuck!) and head on over to Dear Mr. Knightley by Katherine Reay
Now, these letters are - from beginning to end - one-sided, as are all of the characters. Are there really characters when everything is merely 'told' and nothing is ever shown at all? Katherine Reay's book, Dear Mr. Knightley (which I absolutely loved), is what led me here. I have to say, it is far, far better than this troubling, strange read.
I found Jerusha Abott to be incredibly childish. Had I not known that she was a college-age woman (18 at the story's beginning), I would have guessed her to be about 12. Her letters are silly and frivolous. In fact, I found the entire book to be just that, silly and inane, with nothing of substance to offer, and not just one, but many areas of deep concern. Because of the more contemporary handling/retelling by Katherine Reay, I had high hopes for Daddy-Long-Legs. Those hopes are dead.
I had seen Daddy-Long-Legs on classic book lists for years, but there was always one thing that deterred me from reading it. I hated the title. It was a major turn-off. Now, I'm finding that I was correct in that assumption based on the title alone. The entire novel was very off-putting. From the creepy way Jerusha addressed her "Daddy" (which never ceased even after the "big" reveal) to the way her "benefactor" continually groomed her and prevented her from doing things she deeply desired to do to the author including and seeming to support socialism (an idealogy which has led to the death of millions around the world), I very deeply, strongly dislike this book as well as the main character. Jerusha doesn't grow. She remains childish and inane and often belittles other people throughout the story and every other character is a mere paper cutout mentioned in passing. I'm not sure why I finished this read - possibly to do a proper review, after having seen every facet of the story. Perhaps because of the high ratings, hoping it might improve (it got worse)?
Overall: Skip this one (yuck!) and head on over to Dear Mr. Knightley by Katherine Reay