Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

And NOW for the book I finished the night before we left for Idaho (that would be Wednesday the 17th!)–Eva Ibbotson’s A Countess Below Stairs.  (It’s lately been published as The Secret Countess, but I far prefer the original title.)  I own this one, but in the interest of actually reading it sometime this decade I opted to listen to it on my phone instead.  (There were a few terms in the book that were different on the audio; my copy of the book was published in the U.S., and clearly Penguin was worried that a few of the most European terms wouldn’t convey the same meaning to American audiences.)  I thoroughly enjoyed it, too, although the build-up to the climax was not a short one.  Ibbotson’s YF (YA?) titles don’t have the same kind of Roald Dahl comedy that her middle grades do, but they retain a beautiful dry wit and an inclusion of (and appreciation of) the absurd.  Countess also had the kind of dramatic love that feels so relatable to the YA crowd, but the setting and length of the novel made it far more believable to my 39-year-old self.  (Believable is relative, of course; it’s still more fairy tale than realistic fiction.)  The supporting characters are an impressive asset to a story that offers a perfect escape from everyday life; if you love historical fiction, love stories, or understated British dramadies, don’t miss this one!