From: Gibson, Robin <rgibson>
Date: Thu, 17 Aug 95 12:24:09 CST

Ginny, I liked your observations about the cover art of _The
     Haunting_. I have only seen the hardcover one, and I too found it
     mysterious and hauntingly appealing. One thing that I particularly
     like about it is the back cover--the old black and white family
     photograph. To me it evokes tradition, and at the same time, it is
     clear that one family member is quite different than the rest. I love
     his wild/whimsical hair--it seems to be as uncontrollable and
     individual as his mother found his disposition to be!
     
     Which brings up another subject--we've talked about how wonderful some
     of the parents are, especially the women (Claire/Kate), but isn't the
     great-grandmother just hideous? We are led to understand what has made
     her that way, but I found her quite frightening. (I blamed her for her
     son's "death"-an event she seemed to have no remorse at all about). I
     was very angry at her!
     
     I also like your comments about the pace, Ginny. I was very glad that
     Tabitha found someone to confide in, WITHOUT breaking her promise to
     Barney. That promise seemed crucial to me--he trusted her, and it was
     something that was very hard for her. And yet I was glad to see her
     find someone to talk with--especially one of the family members who
     had seemed a bit remote/distant. Do you think the pace of _The
     Haunting_ is different than that of _The Changeover_? I found the
     latter to be more frightening, I think, because of that difference.
     Again, Mahy has characters for Laura to confide in/seek help from (but
     I am a bit less sure of their trustworthiness than I am of the Palmer
     uncles . . . what about the rest of you?)
     
     Looking forward to hearing your comments!
     
     Robin
Received on Thu 17 Aug 1995 01:24:09 PM CDT