Maybe This Time: Spoiler Post
Sep12010
Maybe This Time has been in stores twenty-four hours now, and yet my life has not changed. Oh, well, I like my life the way it is anyway. But Jennifer Weiner did a great interview with me–she’s so smart–over on her blog. And the book cover’s still beautiful:
Okay, you’re probably wondering why that intro is up there with the bookcover. It’s because whatever I put here goes up on the website home page, so if I’m chatting with you all, it looks weird. But we’re past the jump now, so I can say that this post is here so people can discuss Maybe This Time without spoiling it for anybody who hasn’t read the book. We’ll be doing a real book club for Maybe This Time on the fifteenth over at Cherry Forums, but for people who just want to chat about the story, this is the place for your comments. For people who haven’t read Maybe This Time yet, GO AWAY. Unless you like spoilers. Then by all means, read on.
Note: THE COMMENTS TO THIS POST ARE SPOILERS. ABANDON ALL LACK OF KNOWLEDGE YE WHO ENTER HERE.
Now watch, people will complain anyway. Sigh.
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155 Comments to 'Maybe This Time: Spoiler Post'
On September 1, 2010 at 12:08 am Ell said...
What? No spoilers yet?
The local Borders say they’re in transit. The guy I spoke with says that might mean in boxes ready for the night shift to put on display. We will see.
On September 1, 2010 at 12:51 pm Micky said...
Are you in New England, because neither our local Barnes & Noble (says it is in store, but 4 people looked, cant find it) or Borders (to busy to bother helping me look) has it as of Wed. noon.
On September 1, 2010 at 1:05 pm Ell said...
Maryland suburbs of Washington DC.
On September 1, 2010 at 4:33 pm Meredith B. said...
Seriously? I’m so sad. To anyone who has gotten bad customer service from a bookseller anywhere, please allow me to personally apologize. If you’re looking at Barnes & Noble, and you can’t find it under C in the Fiction section, here are some places to try looking:
–The “New” bays at the beginning of the Fiction section (This is where it ‘should’ be, although it’s a flexible ‘should.’ Kind of like a ‘could’ with an implied imperative.)
–The “New Arrivals” table at the front of the store (It’s a big rectangular pine table with a bunch of hardcover books on it and a green square sign that says “New Arrivals.”)
–Endcap displays with “New Arrivals” signs
–The Romance section (sometimes Crusies get misshelved.) You can try Mystery too, although that’s a less likely mistake.
–If you’re talking to a bookseller, politely and kindly ask them when the book arrived and whether it might still be in the Receiving room or on a shelving cart.
Good luck! I hope you find it soon!
On September 1, 2010 at 12:31 am Jenny said...
The ship hits an iceberg and sinks.
On September 1, 2010 at 12:34 am Ell said...
Rosebud was his sled.
On September 1, 2010 at 1:32 am marly said...
Ships that pass in the night.
On September 1, 2010 at 1:49 am Jenny said...
Marly, I love your new avatar.
On September 1, 2010 at 2:02 am marly said...
Thanks. Our dog, Emma, is saying: “Faster, Oarboy, faster!”
On September 1, 2010 at 2:00 am marly said...
I think I’m conditioned against spoilers now, even with alerts. Okay, I could say Southie’s motto is: Hips that pass in the night.
Seriously though, I’m listening now, but I read the manuscript a few months back, and the thing I love the most about this book is the way Andie loves Alice and Carter. It’s just luminous.
On September 1, 2010 at 10:40 am Meredith B. said...
I totally agree. It’s really the heart of the book, don’t you think? And it really resonates with me. I don’t have any kids of my own, but my best friend’s children– my fake nieces– are part mine in a way that I never would have expected when her eldest daughter was born.
On September 1, 2010 at 3:52 pm Jenny said...
Thank Sweetness and Light for that.
On September 1, 2010 at 1:33 am JulieB said...
The lovers die in the end.
Romeo and Juliette of course. You have to read MTT to find out about Andie and North. I’m not going to let Borders ruin it for you.
On September 1, 2010 at 1:46 am Jenny said...
If you open the box, the flesh melts off your skull.
On September 1, 2010 at 10:52 am Meredith B. said...
That is fabulous. That is the new definition of ‘Embargoed.’ I’m writing it into the Bookseller’s Manual.
On September 1, 2010 at 3:53 pm Jenny said...
LOL. From now, all my releases are packed in Arks of the Covenant.
On September 1, 2010 at 2:06 am Dayle said...
Darth Vader is Luke’s father.
On September 1, 2010 at 9:50 am McB said...
Mr. Ratchett’s murderer was … everyone on the train.
On September 1, 2010 at 3:43 am toni said...
Old Yeller dies. Bruce Willis is a ghost. She’s a He in The Crying Game.
Got my copy today–the cover is gorgeous. Cracking it open now.
On September 2, 2010 at 11:29 am Terrio said...
I’ve still not seen that Bruce Willis movie and this is the fourth time someone has spoiled it for me. Thank you, Toni.
Good thing my memory sucks. Someday I’ll be surprised by that ending…
On September 2, 2010 at 2:33 pm toni said...
Aw, Terrio… I’m sorry. That reveal had been kinda everywhere.
In other news, damn you, Crusie. I needed to be writing last night, and thought, “You know, I can read a chapter and put it down and finish this weekend.” Nope. Read it straight through, could not put it down. Ended up not going to sleep until God O’clock.
Loved it.
On September 2, 2010 at 2:48 pm toni said...
(Meaning, I thought it was a safe reveal here. Really hate that I spoiled it for you again.)
On September 3, 2010 at 1:23 pm Carol said...
Am I the only person who got it immediately from the trailer (“I see dead people.”)?
On September 2, 2010 at 2:58 pm Jenny said...
If it’s the fourth time, can you call it a spoiler? The movie came out eleven years ago. I think it’s fair game now.
On September 1, 2010 at 4:10 am Kira said...
Stupid question: is a “topknot” what we in NY call a “ponytail”? Or is it more complicated?
On September 1, 2010 at 6:32 am Jenny said...
It’s a pony tail on top of your head instead of at the back. Points straight up.
On September 1, 2010 at 10:40 am Meredith B. said...
Staple of my 1980-90s childhood.
On September 1, 2010 at 12:24 pm McB said...
Ah, the Pebbles Flintstone look!
On September 1, 2010 at 4:13 am Kira said...
I’m enjoying the book very much, especially Alice. I’m getting the feeling that there’s more than a little Fake Aunt Jenny in Andie.
Oh, and for the record regarding similar names, I’ve tripped up a bunch of times having read Andie for Alice and vice versa. Like another poster in the Vi-Vince-Veronica thread, it seems that I read the first letter and that’s it.
On September 1, 2010 at 6:33 am Jenny said...
There’s definitely more than a little Sweetness and Light in Alice.
On September 1, 2010 at 9:38 am Heather said...
I also got tripped up with the first letter thing. This book made me realize all my laziness tricks:
- First letter only (ooops)
- Number of letters in the name (that didn’t work either)
- Last letter of the name (d’oh!)
I have to admit I love Simon (Yay!) so I’m happy when he pops up somewhere. I’d never want to read a romance about him b/c I’d spend the entire book yelling at the woman to RUN! but it’s nice to see him once in awhile.
On September 1, 2010 at 9:59 pm Kelly S said...
I had that problem too. Many times I saw Andie and thought Alice. Makes for a somewhat different story. I know I’ll mess up the 3 V’s. Although, I think it has something to do with both names being the same length and starting & ending with the same letters. There are some sites out there that say you can mess up the letters within the words but as long as the first & last letter are right and all the letters are there, your brain will sort it out. Sadly, mine sorted Andie into Alice.
On September 1, 2010 at 10:49 pm Jenny said...
I know. I’m going to have to give up either Vince or Vi. And then their characters will change.
Going back under the bed now.
On September 4, 2010 at 8:15 pm CrankyOtter said...
Yeah, I normally do fine with names, but A—e and A—e both major major female characters with two syllable names was rough. Mostly I was fine but a few times I got tripped up.
I still don’t think the Vince, Veronica, Violet will be an issue because
Vince and Vi aren’t the same sex, and *to*me* the names are extremely gendered even abbreviated, so I don’t just see V—e and V—-t but male(V) and female(V). Plus Vince is one long syllable with a hissing consonant cluster and Violet is 3 sharp short syllables. Veronica, while three syllalbles, just doesn’t look anything like Violet.
But yeah, Andie and Aclie, I mean Alice. That was a bit tough, even if I understand the reasons for them.
On September 5, 2010 at 7:04 am Jenny said...
Well, Violet is now Periwinkle just because I looked at the Andie/Alice thing and thought, No, they’re too different. And they’re clearly not, so Vi and Vince is just too much.
I still maintain that nobody will mix up Vince and Veronica. A boy and her dog.
On September 4, 2010 at 10:26 pm Kelly S said...
hmm, for me, Violet is only 2 syllables (Vi-let).
Sorry to be one of the people encouraging the name change. I really didn’t want to create more work for you.
On September 1, 2010 at 9:05 am Lola said...
Jenny, in your post do you want to put a link to Jennifer Weiner’s blog interview? Just a suggestion.
On September 1, 2010 at 3:32 pm Jenny said...
Good idea.
On September 1, 2010 at 9:16 am Marcia in OK said...
Colonel Mustard in the conservatory with the candlestick.
Wait – wrong game.
On September 1, 2010 at 10:09 am morningstar said...
I would like to ask why your fictional children don’t use contractions? It’s especially prevalent in DON’T LOOK DOWN and now here. Is that the way Sweetness and Light talk? Because it’s not the way any child I’ve ever known speaks ~ at least not at that age.
On September 1, 2010 at 3:39 pm Jenny said...
Hmmm, never thought about it. I live with an eight and ten-year-old, and their mom beta-ed the book and didn’t say anything. Maybe it’s the way they talk? I do think people tend to drop contractions when they’re very focused on making a point, but it wasn’t a conscious choice on my part.
On September 1, 2010 at 10:10 am Heqit said...
It was the housekeeper, and the hot guy is really her son by the murdered man!
*ahem*
OK, I do have a spoiler-y MTT question, since I got the book las night and devoured it in one sitting (YAY!) (and by the way, I agree about the cover: GORGEOUS). I kind of felt like I had a Chekhov’s carpet letdown, and that makes me wonder if I was missing something. Twice characters experienced the big cold boiling black cloud rising out of the carpet and killing someone (or trying), and then they looked at the carpet and noticed a dried dark material in it. And then they would mention that there was some physical remnant of Miss J and Peter left in the house, that it was something old, something brought over with the house. And I was screaming: the carpets, the carpets! They were killed on the carpets and they weren’t properly cleaned! It’s their blood! Burn the carpets!
And then…it wasn’t. The carpets never came up again, and it was the pocket watch and the locket instead. So was there supposed to be something more significant to the stuff on the carpets and I missed it, or have I merely led myself astray by reading too many mysteries?
On September 1, 2010 at 10:53 am Jennifer said...
I thought it was just dirt, and the ghosts could move it. So they would form a cloud of dirt, and chase people around with it. I wondered about Dennis, though- he didn’t really seem the type to be frightened to death. Maybe he was actually suffocated, and then Peter just sort of retracted the dirt from his nasal passages and lungs?
My question was, if they can move dirt, why can’t they move other things? You know, like knives, or fire pokers, or other deadly weapons? I hardly think Peter or Miss J were going to be concerned about how it looked to outsiders. If people got upset, more people would come, more energy, all the better, right?
On September 1, 2010 at 4:02 pm Jenny said...
Dirt isn’t heavy. It’s almost microscopic. So moving tiny particles of dirt isn’t like picking up a pocket watch. Plus they could move anything they wanted if they possessed somebody, so why do heavy lifting? I always thought of the dirt bit as not so much lifting anything as disembodied rage sucking in everything around it. It only happened when Miss J went berserk because she saw Alice threatened or thought she was going to lose her.
On September 1, 2010 at 3:42 pm Jenny said...
They weren’t killed on the carpets. I can’t remember what made it into my book and what got cut, but Peter was found dead on an icy path, and Miss J either died in childbirth or killed herself. The stuff in the carpet was just a century of dirt that fury pulled up and shaped. It is odd I only used it twice. Usually I do a three-beat. Huh.
On September 1, 2010 at 3:55 pm Jennifer said...
Miss J had a still-born baby and drowned two days later. You didn’t say it was suicide, but I assumed it was.
On September 1, 2010 at 3:56 pm Jenny said...
I put that in there? Or that was James’s version?
I couldn’t have them killed in the house because they were James’s ghosts, they had to die the way he’d said. But he was nicely vague on them, just very clear that they’d died elsewhere.
On September 1, 2010 at 4:01 pm Jennifer said...
It’s in Simon’s report to North, pretty sure. Yep, found it, page 247.
On September 1, 2010 at 4:06 pm Jenny said...
Good for me again. James was annoying vague on that. Glad I cleared it up.
On September 9, 2010 at 2:19 am Verona St. James said...
Ok, has no one linked to this yet? Because it’s kind of perfect for this post:
http://www.threadless.com/product/844/Spoilt
On September 1, 2010 at 4:03 pm Heqit said...
Technically it was a 3-beat: they did the dark cloud thing to May, to Dennis, and then to Andie. May’s be-clouding just happened pre-book, and was described secondhand by the kids.
On September 1, 2010 at 4:05 pm Jenny said...
Ooooooh, good for me, it was a three-beat. Thank you.
On September 4, 2010 at 2:08 am Amy said...
You did use it three times. It killed May, then it killed Dennis, then it tried to kill Andie.
On September 6, 2010 at 4:25 pm Marjanna/zjazjabee Betty said...
well, it killed May off screen, but told by the Carter, it killed Dennis off screen and then we saw it in action with Andie. So, technically, 3
On September 1, 2010 at 10:01 pm Kelly S said...
See I thought it was their ashes in the carpet, but then accepted the statement someone made it was just dirt.
On September 1, 2010 at 10:05 pm Kelly S said...
Well my previous reply to this post went elsewhere, so don’t know where this will end up. I knew from my arc that Miss J lost a child during birth but missed the drowning 2 days later. I don’t remember anything on Peter’s death being mentioned.
Also, I remember 3 times Miss J’s dirt killing happened – May, Andie, and Dennis.
Again, I read an arc so things may have changed.
On September 1, 2010 at 10:56 pm Jenny said...
Things did change, but I’ll be damned if I can remember what. I think I have the galley e-mail somewhere.
On September 4, 2010 at 8:18 pm CrankyOtter said...
you aren’t the only one.
On September 1, 2010 at 10:11 am Flamingo Cherry said...
LOVED it. Got it yesterday, finished it last night, and it is possibly my brand new favorite of all your books.
You did the “paranormal creepy gothic yet still Jenny’s very distinctive voice” thing very well. You got an excellent mix of creepy atmosphere, serious peril, and humorous tone. It wasn’t scary so much as unsettling, and that sense of unease (even with the happy ending) stayed with me after I finished it. To the point that I listened to old Bill Cosby comedy routines to help ease my “ruffled senses” so I could sleep easily (since I stayed up an hour past bedtime to finish it because I could NOT put it down).
You ROCK. Thank you so very, very much.
On September 1, 2010 at 3:42 pm Jenny said...
Thank you. That’s a terrific review!
On September 1, 2010 at 10:41 am donna said...
Can I just say, PLEASE keep writing books like this. It may also be one of my favorite Crusie. Finished it this AM. SMALL SPOILER Can I just ask, North’s guy is England, is he someone we know from a previous book? Or just a name that got reused?
On September 1, 2010 at 12:17 pm Shannon said...
I thought it was Simon in Faking It, maybe.
On September 1, 2010 at 3:43 pm Jenny said...
He’s Simon from Faking It. Digging up bodies and burning them just seemed like something you could hire Simon to do. The book takes place before Faking It, though.
On September 2, 2010 at 8:58 am donna said...
Thought so. Thanks!!
On September 1, 2010 at 10:44 am Jinx said...
But right alliteration…
On September 1, 2010 at 10:50 am Meredith B. said...
Heqit, I wondered about the carpets, too.
Okay, and the sweater! The one that go shoved down inside the couch! That loose end was never tied up. Was that intentional? Just to give that omniscient reader vibe that good mysteries often have, and leave the story not-quite-entirely-resolved? Because that makes some sense– in real life it might not be resolved. (Perhaps particularly in Andi’s life.) But my friend and I are arguing about the likelihood that the sweater would have been found in the move. She says Oh surely, and I say But maybe not!
On September 1, 2010 at 3:45 pm Jenny said...
It was shoved down into the couch? I thought Dennis had just taken it off to work and left it there, and the she found it and took it upstairs to pack it.
You know, I wrote this a long time ago. I’m going to have to go look some of this stuff up.
On September 1, 2010 at 4:37 pm Meredith B. said...
I could be wrong. It’s been a couple of months since I got the ARC. I should go back and check my facts before I post. Sorry!
On September 1, 2010 at 4:06 pm Heqit said...
Re: the sweater — I kept wondering if it was stuck in the couch too, like maybe Dennis was tied to the sweater, and not the couch, and just hadn’t figured it out yet? Or [GROSS ALERT] I suppose he could have, um, leaked when he died, and that would be enough of him to tie him to the couch?
On September 1, 2010 at 4:12 pm Jenny said...
LOL on “leaked when he died.”
I don’t know why Dennis is stuck to the couch. Maybe he dropped a cough drop. My working theory was Isolde’s: he’s just too damn timid to let go. I made sure they took the couch cushions so that they could later convince him that a cushion was as good as a couch, and then they’d have to take the small round cylinder cushion (what do you call those?) with them if they want to take him out. Something about Alice hauling around that pillow (looks like a neck roll but isn’t) make me laugh.
On September 1, 2010 at 4:18 pm Jennifer said...
Bolster pillow. My grandma loves those, in fancy upholstery with tassels.
On September 1, 2010 at 11:08 am Jennifer said...
So yesterday, 8AM, my copy arrives from Amazon. Damaged, but of course I read it anyway. Last night, I requested a replacement (I have 30 days to return the 1st copy). This morning, 8AM, a new copy is on my doorstep!! I open it with much excitement- and it’s damaged. Sigh.
Now, more spoilers. How is it that it took me this long to notice the whole attic obsession? The symbolism is Agnes and the Hitman is the most in-your-face, but it’s really all over the books. Tilda lives in the attic, too, and isn’t the attic where they end up in Getting Rid of Bradley? Now North and Andie are getting it on in the attic in Columbus. I read about this so much I find myself canoodling with husband and thinking, “God, if only we had an attic, that would be so hot!”
I can’t believe you gave up your attic.
On September 1, 2010 at 11:45 am McB said...
An Min has all those stairs up to her apartment, it’s practically an attic.
On September 1, 2010 at 4:04 pm Jenny said...
I think that actually was an attic.
On September 1, 2010 at 11:57 am Meredith B. said...
And gave it up to the kids, at that! Well, maybe it’s just that she wants to play with the people in the basement a little more. And there’s also the vampire theory…
The interesting thing about sex in the attic is that you can start to associate sex with the super-ego as opposed to the id. That could lead to some interesting and profitable analyses.
But I think probably the best explanation is also the nicest– if you go up high in the attic, it’s the closest you’ll get to escaping from everybody else, and the world in general. The pressures of all of the insane (wonderful, but insane) characters that clutter around in a Crusie novel would make any protagonist long for escape and seclusion. You can also do things with your head in the clouds that you might not do with your feet on the ground. And as far as a space for the heroine to discover things in–
Oh my gosh, there are so many places to go here! Do you realize that never, that I can remember, has an attic in a Crusie novel been used for the typical storage of old family items that have any bearing on the protagonists of the book? (Now that I say that, someone will remind me of one.) Instead the attic is constructed as a specific space with a specific purpose for the narrative and the protagonist.
I have an overwhelming urge to go chase a thesis statement and write an essay, but I have several minutes of choreography to set for a student company rehearsal tomorrow night. Argh!
On September 1, 2010 at 12:54 pm Jennifer said...
All the “typical storage of old family items that have any bearing on the protagonists of the book” is in the basement. The Goodnights’ paintings, the mobsters den in Agnes and the Hitman, Bradley’s recliner.
On September 1, 2010 at 3:58 pm Jenny said...
Well, basements are the subconscious. But really, I think it’s because somebody’s alway living in attics in my books. I love being up high, so I put a lot of my protags up there. Well, two that I know of.
On September 3, 2010 at 2:21 pm Electric Landlady said...
The chest freezer in Fast Women: basement again. Although the walk-in freezer with the vital documents was on the main floor, correct? (And I got an atticky vibe off Gabe’s apartment, too.)
On September 3, 2010 at 4:44 pm Jenny said...
I thought Riley was in the attic. I could be wrong on that, it’s been years since I read that book.
I think the basement at the agency was full of old files, though, wasn’t it? The walk-in was on the main floor because it really belonged to the tea shop.
On September 1, 2010 at 4:05 pm Jenny said...
I still think it’s the tree-house effect. But then I’d be the last to know. You can’t really do literary analysis on your own stuff.
On September 3, 2010 at 12:08 am Meredith B. said...
Oh, Jenny, Jenny. Didn’t you know? Reading is a Creative Act. The reader’s part as they interact with the text, and what they see in it, is really far more important than the author’s intent. After all, Authorial Intent is Unknowable, even to the author herself. So all we can really do as Critical Readers is to completely disregard authorial intent, as well as the text’s biographical, historical and literary context, and create our own Interpretation based on our Life Experiences and the experiences of the people groups that we observe. Since all Life Experiences are different and unique, all of them, like all Reader Experiences, are equally valuable. (But only a few will be Cool enough to get published and be discussed in classrooms.)
God, sometimes I hate external analysis. It is beyond time for that pendulum to drop back to a more balanced approach. You are right, however. But don’t worry, I’ll analyze it for you! But nobody will ever publish it.
On September 1, 2010 at 4:00 pm Jenny said...
Well, Lani needed it.
Come to think of it, the attic is getting more action than anywhere else here, too. Thank Scotland.
On September 1, 2010 at 4:46 pm colognegrrl said...
TMI?
On September 1, 2010 at 5:50 pm Jenny said...
Oh, honey, go to the Lucy March blog and read up. She’s shameless.
On September 1, 2010 at 11:41 am Jennifer said...
To go along with the attic comment, I’m also intrigued by Tilda and the closets. I once asked my husband whether he would consider doing it in a closet, and he said, “That’d be great! You’d have to start by cleaning out the closets.”
On September 1, 2010 at 3:06 pm Meredith B. said...
Wow. Did he get any at all for the next week? Because housekeeping criticism is right at the top of my list of Things That Earn Retaliation.
On September 1, 2010 at 4:34 pm Jennifer said...
He was joking. He knows perfectly well that if he wants his closet cleaned, he has to do it himself, and he doesn’t care about my closet.
On September 1, 2010 at 3:59 pm Jenny said...
Well, she had a lot of secrets including her identity so coming out of the closet was big for her.
On September 1, 2010 at 11:43 am Mary Stella said...
Soylent green is people.
The judge isn’t really dead. He’s the murderer.
Hey, we have a new game. Guess the movie from the spoiler.
On September 1, 2010 at 4:03 pm Jenny said...
He leaves her but she knows tomorrow is another day.
On September 1, 2010 at 12:10 pm Ginny said...
Luke is Leia’s brother. Keyer Soze is really Kevin Spacey. Brigid O’Shaughnessy actually shot Miles Archer.
Got the book yesterday. Stayed up way to late to finish it. Sigh. Thanks.
On September 1, 2010 at 12:25 pm Bonnie C said...
I cry every time Bruce Willis dies.
My quest for MTT:
Went to the B&N after work to pick up my shiny hard copy (Crusie’s are keepers, so no download for me!) and wandered to the general new releases: no MTT. Wandered to the fiction new releases: no MTT. Stalked to the romance new releases: no MTT.
WTF??
Cruised the non new release shelves in case it got stuck there by mistake. NO CRUSIES AT ALL IN ROMANCE. I repeat – WTF?? Apparently my B&N has decided that all Crusie is general fiction and they have a lovely selection of the new white covered re-releases but… no MTT.
Moseyed back to the help desk. Had to spell C-R-U-S-I-E three times (“I’m sorry, miss, I don’t see anything under ‘Jennifer Cruise’…” argh.). The computer swore that MTT was there and in fact should be up front on the new release 20% off octagon (nice placement SMP!), but clearly it was not there. At one point I had 3 bodies wandering around the store and the back searching for it. I was finally told that they couldn’t find it but to come back tomorrow because it was probably out on a cart being stocked “somewhere”. I said ok and planned to head to Borders when on a whim I rechecked the fiction new releases: SUCCESS! Someone had in fact been out there stocking it “somewhere”.
I promptly purchased it and took myself off to KFC and devoured the first 5 chapters (only a couple of gravy spots along the way – I was being careful
) before I felt ready to face the commute home.
Totally worth the effort.
On September 1, 2010 at 3:21 pm Clever Cherry said...
This has been my experience everytime I drive an hour to the nearest BAM (which is the nearest major bookstore of any kind.) It’s never actually out on the same day it’s released. Someone will always go look in the back, but they’re not always successful. So this time I just paid the extra amazon shipping to receive it same day. It was worth it. And as an added bonus I got Louisa Edwards new book that came out yesterday also, Just One Taste.
I just now got CJ Barry’s book Body Master that was released forever ago because of BAM troubles.
On September 1, 2010 at 10:27 pm Jennifer said...
I can also second that the book was found easily in Borders new releases and I grabbed it on day one.
On September 2, 2010 at 9:18 am Flamingo Cherry said...
I’m seeing this problem more & more in my local Borders. I went yesterday to find 3 new releases. One was an easy find. One (Gail Carriger’s Blameless) is nowhere to be found & apparently hasn’t even arrived in the store & they have no idea when they are getting it. One involved 30 minutes of searching by me, two clerks, a customer service person & a manager. We finally found it on the new paperback table (although I suspect it had to have been either buried under other books or shoved in the way bottom because at least 3 of us looked there at least twice each).
This is not the first time I’ve had this happen. Drives me nuts to go in on new release day and my new releases aren’t there. Usually I have to order the book, but I’ll go through an indie bookstore.
But now I have a kindle app on my phone. 30 seconds & it’s mine. Talk about gratification. The only reason I’m holding off on rabid downloads is I don’t want to fill up my phone memory. There’s a Kindle in my future at Christmas.
I didn’t even look yesterday to see if MTT was stocked at my Borders. Love the clerks, love the vibe of bookstores, but the new release stocking issues are common enough that I’m losing my trust in the chain stores and that is rapidly pushing me closer & closer to going all electronic.
On September 4, 2010 at 6:04 pm glee said...
You know rabid downloads are possible because Amazon keeps track of what you bought so you can toss from your phone and download again when you’d like to read it again. A great feature, imnsho.
I have both the Kindle app (delivered automagically on day 1) and the physical manifestation which I picked up on Day 1 at Target and felt only marginally guilty because there is a boycott and I feel conflicted.
I did enjoy the book., very very much. thank you. I wish you could write them faster but boy are they worth the wait,
On September 1, 2010 at 1:52 pm nitya said...
yaaay…was my 30th bday yady when MTT released…and both my husband and bff got me the same gift..now i have to read and one to loan…
On September 1, 2010 at 3:14 pm Diane (TT) said...
My book was there when I got home and I opened the box – but, like the dedicated professional that I am, I took care of a piece of work business while the public library was still open (for reasons too stupid to mention, this piece of work could not be done at my actual work). Then I went home and began reading and eating gazpacho. Then I kept reading, but switched to steak and potato salad (both are yummy!). Then I read without eating, calculating that I could finish the book by bedtime, due to Jenny having posted about the first 40 pages already.
Then a friend called and – are you impressed by what a good friend I am, or do you despise me for being an insufficiently devoted fan? – I let her talk to me for an hour. Some measure of consolation could be found in that I managed to get the dishes done, and got a box or two unpacked (this has been a terrible move – not nearly enough room for everything).
When she finally signed off, I knew that I would be up late, but I did manage to only stay up to about an hour past my bedtime.
This morning I, like Louis, began reading it again. Lovely!
I
On September 1, 2010 at 4:16 pm Jenny said...
Thank you!
On September 1, 2010 at 4:14 pm Jenny said...
Thank you all for braving bookstore slacker staff to get the book, and thank you to all the bookstore staffers and librarians who got it out on time. But mostly thank you to everybody who did me the great favor of reading the book. I owe you.
On September 1, 2010 at 4:35 pm Marge said...
I scrolled quickly through all the comments because I don’t want to know ANYTHING..!! Ran to B&N last night for the book and am about a third of the way through and loving every bit. If I didn’t have to sleep last night, and work today (talk about a spoiler!), I would have finished already…. Thanks Jenny for another great read. From the very page that read “This takes place in 1992. Because.” You had me…
On September 1, 2010 at 10:28 pm Jennifer said...
I’ve decided that “because” was partly “so I can have other character cameos going on.” Also to avoid the ease of the Intarwebs.
On September 1, 2010 at 10:55 pm Jenny said...
Actually, it was because I wanted to write Alice’s story without doing science fiction. If I set this one in 1992, I can do Alice in 2012. Or whenever. Then it turned out to be really interesting doing it in ’92 and I was glad I had.
On September 2, 2010 at 12:55 am Jennifer said...
I am now intrigued to eventually find out what Alice is up to then…
On September 1, 2010 at 4:39 pm Carol Anne said...
My pre-ordered book arrived today. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
On September 1, 2010 at 4:54 pm Star Betty said...
Got it this morning, spent the day reading it.
Oh freelancing, you with your open ended work-at-home deadlines, you make it hard for a girl to concentrate on working when there is something SO MUCH MORE FUN available.
Add me to the chorus of the ones who loved Alice. I swear to you that I nannied for that child, only her name wasn’t Alice. And there were no ghosts. Otherwise, same kid. Waifish looking little blond with hair always in her face and a will of steel that could make grown men weep? Yep. Lemme tell you, she also broke me before she decided I was acceptable. Also, she has the forceful personality, and idiosyncratic fashion choices as well: http://imgur.com/Awu34.jpg
I had always privately called she and her sister Sweetness and Light in my head – this little one is certainly not sweet, but she is so very very much HERSELF that she brought light. (It’s the older one, the sweet steady one doing her best to be the reliable and dependable one and hold everyone together that breaks my heart a little.)
Anyhow, loved it. LOVED IT. And the end, when North knew Andie, *really* knew Andie? Wow.
On September 1, 2010 at 10:29 pm Jennifer said...
Wow, that kid REALLY is Alice!
On September 1, 2010 at 5:38 pm Sierra said...
God, I’m hooked on this book. I’m having to fight to keep from reading it at red lights. My random words for found poetry in my creative writing class today were all stuff like “stone,” “vines,” and “ghosts.” It’s sitting a foot away in my bookbag while I’m in Forensic Psychology right now, and I desperately want to cut the rest of this class so I can go read it. I don’t even want to wait the time it takes to drive home to pick it up again. Boyfriend may suffer from little to no cooking for dinner tonight.
Damn you, Jenny. You’ve done it again. This is an amazing book. Thank you.
On September 1, 2010 at 6:07 pm Ellie said...
Sounds like I am not the only one who had to fight Barnes & Noble to get a copy! In truth, they were very nice. However, they did not have MTT on the however-you-spell-that-damn-shape-thingy up front like they said they did, so they’re automatically evil. Hate to say I am almost to the end…loving every page. Will shut up and go back to reading now. Thank you, Ms. Crusie!
On September 1, 2010 at 10:21 pm Kelly S said...
You’ve already answered my spoiler question of how May could have Kelly visit South and Will for relations when they shared a room. I really think you should go with Dennis studying or falling asleep on the couch he ends up attaching himself to, instead of being in the same room with Bill when she visits him. I think it would be odd for the men to each visit her since she was only sleeping with them because May possessed her.
BTW, I love the happy ending part – that they have 2 ghosts. Although, it was something of an ick factor thinking he watched them have sex on the desk. Any chance of a sequel? The very last bit with May and Mrs. Crumb was kind of sad though. I don’t like the thought of May losing her humanity and what happens when Mrs. Crumb dies? I’m hoping May possesses her and has the last bit of hair burned before Crumb passes.
Oh, and that leads me to the hair holding a spirit here. I know there are envelopes in an attic or baby book somewhere of my hair that got cut when I was young and HATED getting my hair cut, so we’d save some of the cuttings. I really don’t like the idea that I’d have to hunt them all down to move into the light. So, here’s me hoping for a nice pleasant passing.
On September 1, 2010 at 10:30 pm Jennifer said...
I think you have to end on a spooky note…
On September 1, 2010 at 10:51 pm Jenny said...
No, Kelly would have slept with all of them. She was already double-timing Southie and Bill, and Will was a local celebrity so she had her sights on him.
I think Dennis would have preferred the couch to sharing a room. Of course, now he’s sharing a couch with anybody who comes to the law office but that’s only during the day.
On September 2, 2010 at 3:27 am Kimberly said...
*SIGH* Loved it, loved it, so glad to have another solo Crusie to read. I love your solo books best of all. I have to say that while it took awhile for the spookiness to really set in (although I did jump visibly when my daughter surprised me by walking into my room after I had put her to bed), by the time I had reached the end, I definitely had a spooky feeling that was hard to shake. I think what REALLY set the mood for me was when they all left the Archer house, but it was really obvious that something more was going to happen. The sense of foreboding and apprehension was pervasive, and even after the story had concluded happily, I was waiting for another shocker. I guess my expectation wasn’t totally off, given the revelation of those last couple of pages.
And I loved how you explained Mrs. Crumb playing gin by herself.
On September 2, 2010 at 5:41 am Jenny said...
I was so afraid the ending dragged. And the beginning. Good to know it worked for you. Thank you.
On September 10, 2010 at 3:31 pm McB said...
heck no it didn’t drag. Just when I’m thinking “okay and now for the HEA” you snuck in a “gotcha!” Very sneaky. And most excellently done.
On September 2, 2010 at 11:47 am Bonnie C said...
I’m *notquite* done yet (I moved on Saturday so am still trying to find my life and kids’ underwear as we sloooooooooooowly unpack) but I have to say this: I LOVE ISOLDE. I would bold that if I knew what tags to use. She is so Very Awesome. Oh, and Lydia? I had no idea I would like her so much. Absolutely fabulous. I’m only just past the second seance but OMG when North showed up? I know this isn’t *tehcnically* a romance, but SWOOOON.
On September 5, 2010 at 6:23 pm Merry said...
I liked Isolde best when she was with Harold, who beats the heck out of Tristan for entertainment value
On September 2, 2010 at 12:12 pm Briana said...
Loved it. It arrived on Tuesday from Amazon and I read it all the way through all at once.
Stayed up too late to read it, yet school still started at the same time on Wednesday. That was sort of a bummer. Plus, while my kids don’t mind sleeping in class, they really won’t let me sleep when I’m supposed to be teaching.
I thought you hit the right notes of creepy and comic; I felt awful for Carter the whole way through; and I really loved the whole thing.
So, I’ll probably read it again this weekend.
On September 2, 2010 at 1:24 pm Mary Stella said...
No, the ending did NOT drag! Holy hell. What a book. I love, love, love it and am thrilled at the idea that you’ll do Alice’s book in a few years.
On September 2, 2010 at 1:29 pm Chris in NY said...
Really enjoyed the ARC of MTT. Put the hardcover ve4rsion on my Christmas List (a real tribute if you only knew).
Oh- and “Soylent green is people.”
On September 3, 2010 at 7:55 am CT said...
I was so hesitant (ghosts? ehhh) about this book that I almost didn’t even buy it.
I am so, so, SO glad I did.
It was a Crusie (TM)! With ghosts! And German Village! And Victorian Village! And GABE MCKENNA! And ghosts!
I have walking pneumonia, and I can easily say that this book was the highlight of my week.
I just realized that kinda sounds like a back-handed compliment considering how sick I was, but it’s really not. I’ve read six books and watched a season of SONS OF ANARCHY (which is really good), so I mean it. So good I’m thinking about reading it again. Right. Now. Well, not right now. Now I need to catch up on all the stuff I wasn’t doing when I was reading MTT.
Maybe this weekend.
But the question is this: So do I like ghosts now? Or do I just like Crusie ghosts? I feel like I’m having an identity crisis, because I was pretty confident in my disdain for the supernatural. Crap.
On September 3, 2010 at 1:29 pm Carol said...
GABE McKENNA, indeed! I squeed when he showed up.
On September 4, 2010 at 10:47 am skye said...
I stayed up late reading it last night. Yeah, I got it on the Nook a few days ago, but life kept intervening. So yesterday I finally got into the bits I hadn’t read on this blog yet then I finished it last night. Yummy!!! Creepy, scary. Lovely points of funny, because there are funny bits in life if you can see them, even in weird, difficult times. The kids were great, but I kept seeing Carter as older. But then, the kids that have too much responsibility put on them do tend to age a bit. Loved Alice. Loved Andie. North wasn’t as solid for me, but then it wasn’t his book. Love Isolde!! Maybe she’ll have some sort of weird old-lady cameo in Alice’s book?
Thanks Jenny.
On September 4, 2010 at 9:12 pm CrankyOtter said...
While I started reading thursday night, there were competing things and I fell asleep before getting past the stuff I’d already read online. Last night, I made good inroads and got to page 276 before both my eyes shut (signal to stop reading…). Then I woke up at 5am to the idea that something was really creepy, had to turn all the lights on to hit the bathroom (normally I just wander around in the dark), and tossed and turned after so I started reading again and finished after the sun came up. So it was like I read it in one fell swoop with a 4 hour nap in the middle.
As you can tell from my turning on lights I usually don’t, I found it unnerving. But it was also funny. Much of the dialogue I found myself reading out loud. The Crusie touch of incorporating any non-malevolent being as family really made the ending.
A lot of people in reviews seem to feel that North was unknowable, but I think he spoke a lot through his actions. He really analyzed what was going on and what people needed from him and did that. But he’s not a perfect mind reader, he needs clues. Now that Andie finally told him why she was unhappy, and he realized that he was excluding her from family business, and I do trust that she will give him more to work with and he will include her more in the future. So that’s good.
I was worried like Lydia about Andie giving more attention to Alice. But that was natural: Carter seemed more self assured, and Alice was louder and more fragile looking. I’m glad she clued in to the fact that Carter needed more help from her, and that she listened to Lydia.
I’m not sure how I feel about May’s end, but having Mrs. Crumb continue to live in the house seems fitting – no one else wants it but her anyway.
Did you once have a contractor named Bruce? I loved how not only did the housekeepers show up on time, but they *all* came. Andie’s ability to work over/around Mrs. Crumb felt a lot like justice, which is probably why Carter paid attention. The things Andie used to bribe Alice were great because while they were bribes, they were things that made her life better, not worse (like the candy). And little things like giving a kid the freedom to do something ordinarily not allowed – like drawing on walls – can really make a difference especially for someone like Alice who felt like she was trapped and under external control. With the wall art and the decorating, Andie gave her little bits of control that she previously didn’t have, and they both exerted that control over the whole house, not just Alice’s room, which was really brought into focus for me when someone made the observation that they’d never moved into the full house. That was also when I realized that leaving the house wasn’t going to be wrenching for them, which I worried about with an Ancestral Home.
Really enjoyed it, including the creepiness. Loved that Isolde wasn’t a fake. Liked the way the good folks learned to work with each other. Very satisfying read. Now to snag the audiobook because that dialogue was fantastic.
On September 4, 2010 at 9:40 pm bernie said...
LOVED THE BOOK! Of course now I am sad because I read it in a day (Amazon finally got the book to me by snail mail on FRIDAY!) and will have to wait just a bit to truly appreciate and sink into the re-read. So when are the Lavender books coming out? Oh wait I only have to wait until November for Trust me on This..
Really enjoyed Gabe showing up, mentioning Chloe, and did a double take about Simon in England before I caught on it was Davy’s Simon.. And no the ending did not drag at all! I thought it built the sense of forebodding very well waiting for something to happen but not really sure what…
This was the perfect treat for my holiday weekend. Thank you for your book! Will patiently wait (drooling) at the thought of new books… because really what choice do I have but to be patient even though it is so not a strong suit of mine.
On September 5, 2010 at 1:15 pm mindy said...
Finished the book last night. I liked it a lot. I saw some similarities with characters in this story with some of your other ones (like Dennis and Fun from Wild Ride, and crazy mothers and mothers in law, Andie and most of the heroines . . . I like her). I love the charm of the characters. I liked how everything was set up. I liked the kids. I wish we could have learned more about Carter, but who knows about teenage boys anyway. Thanks for the fun read, Jenny! Can’t wait for the next one.
On September 5, 2010 at 10:24 pm Kat said...
This is my first post here, and I am not be able to repress my need for a bout of fan-gushing. I’m going to go with it to get it out of my system, and then I promise brevity and on-topic remarks from here on out. Really.
Here goes. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you for these wonderful worlds full of people I’d want to hang out with. How could I not love characters who adopt the likes of Fred, and Steve, and Rhett, and Wolfie, and Milton, and Frankie? Oh and Lassie and Elvis too. I discovered you via the recorded edition of Agnes and the Hitman borrowed from the library (and so well-loved it was subsequently purchased). I really hope you like the recorded versions of your books; I spend way too much time in the car (traffic, argh) and audiobooks are the only reason that I haven’t chewed through the steering wheel. And.. sometimes I think my emotional IQ is a bit dim– audiobooks help me get the tone right. I would have gotten Fun all wrong, Joey too. Thank you also for the popcorn dialogues. I’m a scientist, yes that’s a professional nerd, and sometimes the data analysis process can be kind of tedious even for me. With a large data set in need of clean up and checking before me it has been very nice to have you chatting in my ear, not to mention the you-inspired John Hiatt fest on the iPod. Thank you. Thank you very much.
OK, about Maybe This Time: really enjoyed it, first book purchased from iBooks for my new ‘Pad (love this thing), read it in a single sitting because I couldn’t put it down (dug out the Clapton CDs for a sound track– great idea). I thought the romance was as charming and lovely as any you’ve written, and I appreciated the way both of the main characters arced (learned that term from you).
Thought Isolde was great. Her no nonsense all-business approach had me laughing out loud. She put me in mind of the successful academic woman of a certain age who’s earned her tone from years of dealing with patronizing male putzs (…I mean colleagues).
I especially appreciated the doubt and tension that the idea of hallucinations caused by drugs created. Nicely done.
I caught the drugs in the brandy early, but I was sure that the moldy doll would be more important, and I also ascribed more meaning to the dirt clouds. But let me just say that extracting the the dust out of the carpets by working up a fury has such potential. Getting the housework done by working up a good snit– therapeutic in oh so many ways.
Thank you so much for the wonderful book (all the wonderful books). Aloha.
On September 6, 2010 at 1:48 am Jenny said...
Welcome out of lurk, Kat! And with such a great post, too.
The doll was, in theory, a symbol of Alice’s life, moldering away, so when she dropped it for the white rabbit that North brought her and followed it and him out of the house . . .
Actually it was little more serendipitous than that. I found the bunny for my granddaughter and it was so amazing (and a white rabbit) that I gave it to Alice. So there were a lot of reasons that doll got lost in the shuffle. If she goes back to Archer House, and I’m pretty sure she’s going to, she’ll find that doll again, but there wasn’t anything left out of the book.
It reminds me a little of the Venus de Milo in Agnes. We were going to put something in there and then didn’t and it’s always been a loose end. It’s a great symbol and it does its duty in the story, but we could have put ANYTHING in there. Dropped the ball on that one.
On September 7, 2010 at 6:10 pm Absolute Cherry said...
LOVED everything about this book! I picked it up on the release date and left it locked in the trunk of my car (I am not kidding) until Labor Day weekend because I knew that once I cracked it open there would be no work or sleep until I finished it. Good call, as it turned out. Please write faster, we want Alice’s story.
PS: I wouldn’t say you dropped the ball on the Venus de Mildew….. you just rolled the ball out there for the Cherries to kick around!
On September 6, 2010 at 2:37 am Merry said...
There’s one problem with listening to MTT on audiobook for 11 hours.
Well, it’s not a problem for me, but it will be for anyone who attempts to oppose my slightest wish. The next time I feel thwarted, I just know I’m going to find myself saying:
no — No — No — No — NO
On September 6, 2010 at 1:39 pm McB said...
Oh, yeah. I am now defining my mood swings as “doing an Alice.” Love Isolde and would love to see her show up in cameos in the future.
With the doll, what I picked up on was that Alice was always dropping her, and Andie was always picking her up. As if subconsciously Alice started letting go of her when Andie showed up. And the bit with North giving her the white rabbit was perfect. It was so right that North be the one to do that.
On September 6, 2010 at 1:51 pm Kim said...
I stayed up all night reading MTT, and absolutely loved it! When Andie returned all of the alimony checks, she said this was all of them for the past 10 years starting with Nov 1982. Is there any chance you will be doing more stories with these characters? Say Carter and Alice as adults?
On September 6, 2010 at 2:50 pm Jenny said...
Yep. I’ve already talked it over with Jen and she’s all for it.
But first, the Liz books. Four of them.
On September 6, 2010 at 5:54 pm Kira said...
I savored it over several days. Excellent, on every level. The ending did not drag at all, it gave us just that extra bit of closure. I got all the characters (including North, I don’t see why anyone would say that the romance was abrupt), except possibly Mrs. Crumb. I just couldn’t “recognize” her, not in any of the scenes. The rest were completely realistic and three-dimensional (even Harold).
As a mother of twin Scorpio girls and several Taurus boys, I felt that the children were written beautifully. Clearly Carter wouldn’t say anything, until one day it all came out at once. That’s how they are.
The ghost story was just the right level of creepiness and fully internally consistent. I love what you did with James’ story. I feel much better about it now.
Gabe and Simon gave just the right touch of background without going over into info-dump. The “silva” thing pushed up the tension several notches.
Seriously, we know how hard you worked on this, and it shows. Thank you!
On September 7, 2010 at 12:46 am orangehands said...
Thank You! Loved the story. I love your characters, but special mention should go to Isolde. When I get a little more time I shall reread it so I can pick up more details and the storytelling (craft) behind the story. Curious about the original now so I may read read that before the second reading of yours.
I was very worried about Carter because I didn’t think he was getting enough attention (it’s easy to overlook the silent kid over the loud kid but the silent kid is still hurting) so I was very glad when someone pointed that out to Andie.
On September 7, 2010 at 11:02 am June said...
It’s true that the relationship between Andie and the children was one of my favorite elements. But I also really loved watching North learn to be a part of their lives. I loved that Alice calls him Bad Uncle. I laughed out loud. I noticed that once North decided that he need to do better, his first impulse was to start to provide “things” and trying to protect everyone because buying and fixing is inside his comfort zone. The drawing table was so touching for me. And I love the white rabbit. It sounds wonderful. I also loved that he took the pinky swear so seriously that he added a caveat about their safety. He knew that he could never promise if it meant leaving Andie, Carter and Alice in danger. I think that Alice must begin to trust him at that point. Because he doesn’t blindly make a promise.
On September 7, 2010 at 11:58 am McB said...
I liked the moms. Two very different women, and I was prepared to find one or the other to be flawed, but even when they got it wrong, they were doing it for the right reasons – protecting their kids; and they both had wisdom to share with Andie and North.
On September 7, 2010 at 3:23 pm Kiersten said...
Stayed up till 5AM reading MTT – that’ll teach me to start it at 11:30PM much less to believe my own delusional assurances that I would stop after only a few chapters. Yeah, cause that’s gonna happen.
I really, really enjoyed it and most especially enjoyed hearing your voice throughout the entire book once again. When I turned out the light at 5 AM, I kid you not, I was instantly a little creeped out. And then the cat walked across my belly.
I can’t wait for more Alice and Carter (but please, a little Riley and Nadine first?) and I loved seeing Gabe pop up and knew Simon instantly (hence the Riley and Nadine requests – its your own fault for whetting my appetite.).
My heart broke when Peter went after Carter and how Carter was curled up, trembling, desperately trying not to be afraid, convinced he was on his own. And then there was Andie, stepping into the fray.
I expected Lydia to be much like Phin’s mom and was delighted to be wrong. And I thought Flo would be a inhibitory ditz and again, was glad she wasn’t.
A total treat from end to end. Thanks so much!
On September 9, 2010 at 2:19 am Verona St. James said...
My comment had a link in it. I do believe the spam filter has snatched it up.
On September 9, 2010 at 5:14 am Micki said...
I finally got the book last night, and finished at 2 a.m. So wonderful! So many great touches to it too. I love the fact that the ghosts are laid to rest. So much “great” literature seems to tell us, “There are ghosts, they’ll never be laid to rest, and there’s nothing you can do but suck it up and bear with it.”
Just not very populist American, IMO. The Can-Do spirit that says, things can be done, and not trying is worse than rolling over and taking the kicks of fate.
I’m very tempted to start it all over again this evening . . . but I probably should sleep. (-: Maybe I could take it slow this time, though.
Oh, and if you can do this with a ghost story . . . I really wish the muses would put a space opera in your head (-:. (end wishful thinking, LOL) You don’t really tear out the guts and turn a genre inside out, but you subtly twist it and make it entirely your own. (-: thanks for writing this!
On September 9, 2010 at 7:56 pm Alex said...
I finished it late last night/early this morning in one sitting. It was great. And really spooky. Way spookier than I expected, but still totally a Crusie.
I’m going to read it again, but I wondered if anyone could elighten me about Peter, I didn’t really get him. He wanted the house, but did that mean he would kill the owner? If so, why go after Carter? I felt like that part needed more…
But – I read it quickly and might have missed something. I’ll reread it next week.
On September 10, 2010 at 10:06 am McB said...
Peter was the owner, back before the house got shipped across the pond. I guess he didn’t think that changed just because he was dead. My thinking on why he attached to Carter is that Carter was (a) the male child, and (b) the oldest. Keeping in mind that Peter was from a different era, he would have considered Carter the natural heir. That made him, in what was left of Peter’s mind, the most likely candidate for possession if he, Peter, wanted to continue playing lord of the manor.
On September 10, 2010 at 10:24 am Merry said...
I thought Peter was the valet, a servant of the master of the house. Which does put him in a position to be resentful — I find picking up someone else’s socks tends to cause such feelings — and fuel his desire to own the place himself and let the socks fall where they may.
On September 10, 2010 at 11:33 am Jenny said...
Peter Quint was the valet to James’s guardian in The Turn of the Screw. The guardian left Peter in charge, and the Mrs. Grose the housekeeper tells the new governess that Peter acted as though he was the master, and then goes on to describe a man who basically thinks he deserves whatever he wants. So the last remnant of Peter is that need to be the master of the house. Carter is the only male in the house for most of the book, and he inherited it with Alice, so if Peter controls him, he controls the house. Then North shows up and is clearly the one in charge and Peter goes after him.
The dead governess in The Turn of the Screw is Miss Jessel. The governess who tells the story of The Turn of the Screw is never named.
The subtext in The Turn of the Screw is pretty clear that the ghosts are perverting the children, acting as child molesters. I didn’t go there, but I didn’t have to since Quint and Jessel had devolved to their single basic need, Quint to possess the house and Jessel to keep Alice.
On September 10, 2010 at 3:04 pm McB said...
Ah – I missed the part where he’s the valet … I was doing the audio while awaiting my hard copy.
Glad you didn’t go there. It was creepy enough when they went after Andie and North. The kids would have completely squicked me out. Carter broke my heart as it was.
On September 9, 2010 at 8:15 pm Barbara said...
My local bookstore [Chapters... I'm in Canada] STILL doesn’t have any copies! Is it a conspiracy? I should have ordered on-line…
On September 11, 2010 at 11:35 pm Merry said...
I’m confused. (Yes, more so than usual.)
Andie teaches high school English, right? She mentions that when she goes back to the city she’s going to be listening to teenagers talk about Shakespeare, so she’s still planning to be a teacher.
So… how does a teacher drop her classes in October to take a month off? Was she on some kind of sabbatical?
On September 12, 2010 at 12:33 am Jenny said...
Andie never stayed in one place for long, so she taught for a year, maybe two, and then moved on. She met Will in New York when she was teaching summer school there, then came back to Columbus with him and picked up adjunct work at OSU for the winter quarter to come, since she hadn’t made any plans ahead of time to teach in Columbus. She’d probably have subbed for the fall in Columbus schools, but North made her an offer she couldn’t refuse.
It’s the kind of back story that you can’t easily get into a story, so I just left it out.
On September 12, 2010 at 12:55 am Merry said...
Oh, thank you. That was bugging me; I kept trying to figure it out.
On September 12, 2010 at 1:59 am Verona St. James said...
Did the ghosts kill Alice’s mother? It seemed from re-reading that part that Alice’s mother died and THEN they came to the house, but I thought it was just fuzzy enough I wanted to ask…
On September 12, 2010 at 11:47 pm Jenny said...
Nope. Died in childbirth.
On September 14, 2010 at 7:17 pm Muria said...
Finished the book at 12:40am last night, after picking it up from the library yesterday afternoon.
Loved it, far more than I expected to (I’m a skeptic about ghosts).
I did think the huge crew of housekeepers would have prevented the whole carpet dirt thing, though too late for May, of course. Was it May or Mrs. Crumb who was cooking for the kids? May seemed flighty enough to feed the kids processed junk without thinking about it (when you’re 19, you don’t think about things like fiber or vitamins). Even my grandmother (who emphatically did not cook) had canned soup and vegetables in her house (mostly creamed corn).
I admit, I’m tempted to re-read just to see if I can tell which Mrs. Crumb dialogues are her, and which are May.
By the way, I ran across some typos while I was reading. Probably they’re all reported by now, but is there someone to report them to, should I re-read and write them down this time?
On September 22, 2010 at 11:50 pm Beki said...
Had to add in here, though I’m late, I finished the book today and I loved it. Rich got it for my birthday Saturday, I started it yesterday, let all my work pile up around me and just kept reading it. It’s fabulous. Also, I want a Dennis couch of my own. The line about you’ll be the only person with an Encylopedic couch was hilarious to me. Mostly because my own couch sits in front of a wall of crammed bookshelves and the idea of having talking intelligence in front of the printed intelligence was appealing. Also, did I pluck it out of the clear blue sky or was Lydia reminiscent of the mother in Arrested Development? I dearly love that woman and Lydia, while not so much a caricature as all that, was so neatly developed. Actually, all the older women characters were layered with personality instead of being “the career woman” or “the hippie mom” or “the crazy seance lady.” I loved them all for the different wisdom they brought to the story. And while my own teenage boy has NO PROBLEMS making his feelings and every opinion known, Carter reminded me very much of my brother during those years. I just loved this book and thank you for doing it!!!
On September 23, 2010 at 2:40 pm Jenny said...
Thank you!
For my sins, I have not yet seen Arrested Development although I bought the DVD of the first season. I was channeling Murphy Brown for Lydia.
On October 14, 2010 at 1:58 pm Jan DeBellis said...
I’m just now reading MAYBE THIS TIME. I’m entranced and it’s your fault that I’m not able to sleep!!! What a great story and I absolutely love the characters. North needs a kick in the pants, but I’m hoping that as I get further into the book, he wakes up!
Love your style of writing (where the heck have I been?) and have 3 more books reserved at the library. And I think I’ll stalk your blog tomorrow when I have time.
BTW, I was a Nancy Drew fan in my childhood and keep thinking I should go back and re-read some of her stories.
Since I can’t get to a book signing (I’m in Colorado), I’ll have to keep in touch via the Web. Don’t you love technology?
My best,
Jan