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10/15 c3 17Alinyaalethia
What’s nice here is we get Esther a bit more fleshed out. She’s Una-like yes, but what goes unsaid I think is her talent for downplaying the monumentally obvious. No, she’s not the first person to unnecessarily say I come besting tea while holding said tray but the way it’s done here makes me smile.

She’s also clearly one of these quiet observer types because her insights into Faith are right on point. London is very much Faith’s running away spot, and understandably so, given what’s happened. Though what happened could yet turn out to be a game of broken telephone. I’m not really holding my breath on that one, but I suppose the option exists.

Anyway, you write an appropriately grey, grim London. It’s excellently atmospheric and that comes through here, as in other chapters. We also see a bit more of the Faith that was through the Faith that is, and I have faith we can somehow merge those two. Jem vanishing seems to have understandably quashed a bit of her spark but there’s nothing like an opinionated child to hide you into acting without thinking, especially Faith.
10/15 c3 DogMonday
This was a revealing but somewhat long-winding chapter, some of the more interesting lines almost hidden among tea, biscuits and crumbles. Add to that the cold, grey and damp season. Very English indeed. No wonder Faith is grumpy! Luckily Esther, quite a personality so different from Faith, but a really loyal, steadfast and insightful friend since 10 years, is there to challenge Faith. And through her insistence Faith realises to face her past. All of a sudden we also see one of Faith’s so characteristic streaks from her youth ”she’s never excelled at thinking before she speaks”.. With that line my hope for Faith returned.

What I don’t understand is whether Faith has broken all ties with her family? Maybe it didn’t happen at once? The only family Meredith member that has been mentioned by name so far is Una, but at least once in this chapter it seems as if she is no longer alive? She has a brother married into the Blythe family. Faith must have been in touch with someone after the war, she seems to know that Rilla and Ken got married, that Rilla is dead, and while Faith really could not possibly have recognized Jims from 1916 (he was a toddler then, while he is a young teenager when this story takes place) she knows that he stayed with or came back to Rilla. So there seems to have been early contacts. Were they broken later on?

This brings us to the story of Jem. Faith believes he is dead because a soldier said so. Sounds neither official nor necessarily trustworthy. The family Blythe must know what there is to know. So the family Meredith should know as well? It remains a mystery. But possibility that Jem is alive increases here.

Through all the tea, biscuits and crumbles in this chapter Faith goes from grudgy to somewhat more brave and prepared to start facing her past. That’s a good way to suggest that the story now will move forward? Does that mean the Zoo next?
10/12 c3 Andrea1984
Wow, was für ein Kapitel. Was hat Faith gegen Ken? Was hat er ihr getan? Ist er wirklich unschuldig oder l?sst Faith ihre "Laune" an Ken aus? Ist Ken etwa für Rilla's frühen Tod verantwortlich? Oder hat sich Ken um eben diese Verantwortung gedrückt d.h. er ist weit weg gewesen z.B. beruflich auf Reisen, als Rilla gestorben ist?

Aha, Ken hat Jims also adoptiert bzw. ihn in die Familie aufgenommen. Das freut mich sehr.
Jims und Ava verstehen sich gut, was ich so herausgelesen habe.

Ob Faith wirklich ein Treffen mit Ken wagen kann? Oder hat sie Angst um ihren guten Ruf?
Jem ist also tot, oder vermutet Faith das nur?

Faith wird wohl kaum einen engen Kontakt zu Rilla gehabt haben, schon aufgrund des Altersunterschieds.
Oder "hasst" Faith Rilla deshalb, weil Ken aus dem Krieg zurückgekommen ist und eine Familie gegründet hat und Faith genau das wohl nie erleben wird, weil Jem vermisst (oder schon tot?) ist?

Es w?re nett oder zumindest h?flich von dir, mir auf meine Review zu antworten. Ich finde es unfair, dass du es bei den anderen Leserinnen machst und bei mir nicht. Das ist nicht zuviel verlangt. Danke.

Herzliche Grü?e

Andrea
10/10 c2 Alinyaalethia
Ken! Well, I might have guessed given all our chat a while back but it was still a surprise here. And Jims was definitely a surprise and in the best possible way. I do love how protective he is of Ava, who I notice has a name at least as extravagant as anything I dreamed up for the Maple St cherubs. Good to know it’s catching ;) (I approve. Obviously.)

There’s an awful lot of Rilla in wee Ava, isn’t there? That same stubbornness and take no prisoners pride. But that was Faith at a certain age too, so it makes sense that she cuts through all that to talk to her in her own language. Probably a Ken-with-Rilla could too...but there is no Rilla so of course Ava and Jims become his world and any kind of actual discipline gets scrapped.

And I love the idea that there was a summer where an exasperated Faith at least toyed with entertaining Ken’s unlawful charm if only to make Jem notice. She was always a take action type and desperate times, etc etc.
10/8 c2 DogMonday
Of course you deceived me, and probably many other readers as well, as to the identity of the visiting father in the previous chapter! So Rilla is dead? Why, when? How devastating, not only for her own family, but also for Anne, who obviously still is alive, and Gilbert, whom I certainly hope is alive. Please don’t kill off Jem as well - that would mean 4 out of 7 kids who barely reached the age of 25-26! Irrespective of who Faith’s love interest is going to be, let Jem live! Yes, I’m sure there is a romance for Faith here, but I dare not guess as to whether the endgame is Ken, or Ken is just a means to get back in touch with the Blythe family, making Jem the endgame after all.

Faith seems to have a grudge against the whole Blythe family, most of all to Rilla, of course, but also the spoiling of young girls, the ”clueless idiot” (presumably Jem), and the Shirley nose, and even to some extent, hazel eyes, are details that seem to irritatate her. What role did Ken Ford play in her past ? Was he a summer infatuation while she was waiting for the clueless idiot to come to his senses or did Ken simply abandon Faith when he saw Rilla? B t w, laughed at ”Kenneth sodding Ford” as opposed to ”goddamn Kenneth Ford” in a previous story! This womanizer is now a single parent with two kids, What a change! And Jims! More perceptive than his father (stepfather?). What happened to Jim Andersson and his new English wife?

So far your story is almost like an oldfashioned detective story, in the style of e g Agatha Christie, with lots of important clues here and there but too many pieces missing to make it possible to get an overview. yet. Hopefully no murders though. But already so interesting.

One detail beyond these characters and their connections in the past, present and future, really moved me. The woman, who sought medical care because of ”her heavy bleeding during her periods” but in reality had undergone an abortion, becomes a very strong symbol of the situation of many women. Abortion was after all basically illegal up to the 70- or 80-ies in many western countries, and in many other countries it is still more or less forbidden. And in some countries like the US and Poland, we see a backlash. Women still have to fight for their rights ho their own bodies. You were spot on with that small subplot.

Thanks for a chapter that was both fascinating, puzzling and enlightening! Really looking forward to the development of the key characters and of the story of course.
10/7 c2 audiotrope
My first thought was that Faith was not acting like herself in this chapter. But then I remembered that in canon she was sometimes rather a judgy bitch, lol. She's actually coming across better and more 3 dimensional here where she feels regret for her words (but is still in a huff!) and forces herself and Ava to deal with the situation.
10/6 c1 audiotrope
It's been a long time since I read stories here, but the writing seems to be doing well. I don't have a clue who the girl and her family are yet, but I want to find out.
10/6 c2 Andrea1984
Es ist Ken, ist ja krass.
Arme Kinder, die ohne ihre Mutter aufwachsen müssen. Wie ist Rilla gestorben?

Nur 10 Kapitel? Vielleicht werden es doch mehr.
Ich lese n?mlich gerne lange Geschichten.

Und bin auch schon sehr auf deine n?chste, 2022, gespannt.

Herzliche Grü?e
Andrea
10/5 c2 10Excel Aunt
Holy crap, I was way, way wrong. Kenneth Ford? I guess I thought as your intro didn't say Jem had died that he was still stuck in Western Europe-by choice?

I had a flash for a moment that maybe Ken was abusive to Ava, but no I'm not so sure. I tell you what that, Ava Evangeline Ford is a name Rilla would choose. And I had no idea that Winnie the Pooh was based on a real bear. Funny how its mention makes Faith recall letters (from Jem) in the past. Or, maybe it's not funny at all, maybe it's sort of sad and grounding.
10/5 c1 Excel Aunt
Wow, this is an incredible start. I admit, I don't know canon very well and I never really connected to the Merediths/Blythes as much as others, but golly, I couldn't stop reading after the first few lines.

I'm guessing that the man is Jem, or, what the war has left of him. I think that's a fair assumption. What really hooked me as how well you put me in that place of wonder, where curiosity and hope collide with the the unknown. Faith seems to sense her future and feels the circular nature of time, what was true in the past will be true in the future.

I do hope the kids are alright. The boy reminded me of elizasky's Shirley, with his silent doubts about Mom being an angel.
10/5 c2 Asianprincesss
Wowwwwww! Not who I was expecting lol, very interested to see how it pans out, and to learn about faith and Ken’s history?! And learn what has happened in the interim, like how did Rilla die, or is Jem still alive, even though he never made it out of Germany in 1018. Excited!
10/4 c1 17Alinyaalethia
Very different indeed. But it has all your hallmarks. Interesting premise, lots of differently voiced characters, and excellent internal monologue. Third limited is new (at least reading you in English it is) but I like it as a way of differentiating Faith from your various Rillas.

The atmosphere is excellent too. It feels cold, wet, miserable and sort of downtrodden in a very specifically grey and English way.

You have a compelling opening and the children are intriguing. I’ll be interested to watch all your pieces fall into place as we discover how we got here.
10/4 c1 AnneShirley
Hi! (Okay, I know, bit rich of me to show up here after so long with just that, but let's just say that it's been a - ride. I started college, realised I'm nonbinary, and also got an ADHD diagnosis, which was probably something that explained all the ups and downs of the past few months.) But I'm here now, and sauntering in late as usual (what can I say, I'm predictable.)

So the premise, as I'm understanding it, seems to suggest Jem died, or stayed in the prison camp longer to the extent that dramatic changes occurred. Faith did not marry him, is a doctor with some very cool roommates, and well.

As for the identity of the children's parents, which I'm sure is the first clue to understanding this world order, I'm guessing that there's only two choices. They're half Blythe for sure, and one obvious choice is them being the children of Rilla and Ken, having inherited her hazel eyes and all that. But that'd be far too simple, so is the tall man Jem? And the children's mother, who was hardly an angel as Faith puts it, was someone he met as a result of the changed universe. Which is also why Faith says later on that she met a ghost from her past, but refuses to deny that it's an old flame - hardly Ken Ford, I should say, but almost indubitably Jem. I shall hold onto this idea till the next chapter.

But the most interesting part in this chapter, for me, apart from the little detective story of whose kids those two are, is Faith's living arrangement. Obviously like Patty's Place, but with less glowing hope than simply making do. I particularly liked the part about "a kind of humour born of shared experiences and shared hardships overcome," a beautifully pointed description of a beautiful feeling. And I also loved how you painted the heterogeneity of the women - Pearl may be a little disreputable by the standards of the day, Faith is still an anomaly for her day and age, Esther came from the same VAD background and is now working for an organization that aims to grieve the dead appropriately, Mabel is a factory worker and that cot in the kitchen speaks volumes.

(Also, I sapphic code everything these days, so Esther and Pearl...?)

Your characterisation is something I am always in awe of, really. Faith's already a force of nature, the doctor and independent woman in an era when both are judged harshly, but even the minor characters are so finely done. I mean, only a genius would have thought of Quadruple F.

I think I can tell where this is going, and that's one thing I love about your stories. They definitely have clear ends (and I just know what this one will be), but in getting to A to B, it's often such a winding and fulfilling journey, one that I really hope I'm able to continue on. I already have so many ideas in my head for what I think will happen here, but I'm waiting for the next chapter to see what comes next!
10/2 c1 3DW.618
Hi! I'm so thrilled to have this new story to devour and savor...as well as the next story you mentioned. Quadruple F, Mabel, Pearl, and Esther all seem to have very interesting ppersonalities and I look forward to getting to know them better. I've never really been that interested in Faith, but I can already see that your Faith has a lot more depth than I've considered so I welcome aeeingbthe world through her eyes.

Your writing is a pleasure to read - both from the way you weave words and emotions together but also because of the research you do in order to set the story in its place. For example, I never considered the issue of running out of coal, riding on a double decker bus, or the existence of a hospital for women/children being operated only by women. Your stories ALWAYS open my eyes in unexpected ways.

Will this story be on a weekly posting schedule on Saturdays?
10/2 c1 DogMonday
Welcome back, kslchen, you have been thouroughly missed. In your absence I have been browsing around for other older good stories in the AoGG universe. There are certainly some. But I have come to realise something about your writing. In addition to writing amazing stories, vibrant dialogues, developing characters etc, always based on meticulous research you are also reliable in your writing. You deliver what you promise to deliver. Your previous stories but also your notes to this new story proves that, this story is already written and you are working in the next beyond that. Far too many stories out there are rarely updated or not at all in spite of lengthy notes suggesting stories continuing one, two or even more years. Seems many writers are undertaking too big Projects. There are some really good stories in the range of appr 5 k - 30 k, that is sometimes enough. So to all your other virtues I now add reliability.

Now to this story. I’m so glad Faith is a doctor already back in the 1920-ies. She is apparently single and she has seemingly cut all ties with her childhood and youth in Canada. The only person from that time mentioned by name is Una, maybe with some reluctance? But the children in the waiting room are a connection to her past. She has never seen the six year old girl, but the brother (one-two years older?) she saw when he was a baby. I guess all your readers, including me, think we can guess the identity of the father in the reception, but I assume you could be deceiving us. I guess the clue to the family and its connection to Faith lies in the identity if the ”Mummy angel”, (presumably dark haired?). And Faith does not quite like the mother, right? You have certainly planned enough question marks as well as clues there making it so interesting already to follow the story. The biggest question mark is maybe the changed character of Faith, something really devastating must have happened in the years following Armistice.

A quick word on Bye, bye blackbird. A really nice song, I associated it with the Beatles but I realise now I danced to a cover with Ringo Starr only in my youth. It’s a sad song, but with a streak of hope? Your use of the lines in this song will be very interesting to follow.

See you next Tuesday!
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