Tuesday, January 26, 2010

I Willna Eat Green Eggs and Ham

SPOILER ALERT: Dinna read unless you have finished Chapter 63 in The Fiery Cross. 

OK - so Claire and Jamie and the militia are waiting for the word to come down from Governor Tryon about when/if they'll fight. Jamie's pretty sure they will - so in a last ditch effort, he sends Roger (who gets hotter by the day in my book) to see Hermon Husband and ask him to come back to camp with him and meet with Tryon. To this day I'm scratching my head as to WHY Jamie sent Roger - but we'll get to that in a bit, mmmkay?

So out of the clear blue sky, who shows up oh horseback but Gaelic-speaking, quail-shooting, portrait-painting, land-surveying (I'll get to this later) super-daughter-of-the-apocalypse, Bree... much to Jamie's chagrin (although I don't know why as she could most likely fight off the regulators single-handedly.) And of course they have a little spat back and forth in full Gaelic - most of which Claire can't even understand. But Jamie realizes Bree does what Bree wants - and therefore, she's staying.

They then get word that the battle will begin in about an hour... because Tryon could not, would not deal with a mob (aka the Regulators). And it is at this point that Bree and Claire have a private little exchange.... and I find it to be so amusing and endearing at the same time. We'll call it Cat-in-the-Hat Battle Speak:

Claire to Bree: "Could you, would you, in a box? Could you would you, with a fox?"
Bree to Claire: "He could not, would not, with a mob. Could not, would not... do the job?"

And they're both giggling under their breath - because they're essentially shitting their pants about what is coming down the pike. I can relate to this like nothing other in this series. Just ask my mentor sister, Tracey. We come from a family of laughter. Laughter when something is funny - laughter when something is sad - laughter when something is downright terrifying. That's what happens when your parents are children of the Great Depression who were never taught how to properly convey their feelings. They find solace in laughter; and so do I.  So I'm reading that - and Claire and Bree are giggling nervously - and I'm thinking "Wow this would so be Tracey and me"... and I understand.

But I started wondering... "Where the hell is Roger"?

14 comments:

  1. Three words: Just Keep Reading! :-)

    I'm thoroughly enjoying your commentary, btw. Can't wait to see your reaction to what happens next.

    Karen

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  2. Since I listened to the abridged version of Cross, I thought I would pick up a copy at the library and catch up with you. Imagine my surprise when I found 8, yes, 8 copies of Echo and none of the earlier books. Mmmmpphh.

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  3. Someone is starting to come aboard the Tracey mothership when it comes to her feelings toward Bree...

    The "learning Gaelic in two seconds" stuff particularly cracks me up. Supposedly it's not easy to learn to speak--for everyone, that is, other than Miss "Call Me Berlitz" Bree. Mmmmphm.

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  4. Where is Roger??? Oh man you just keep reading cuz you are literally going to @#$! your pants because of what happens next!!!

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  5. Thanks for including this in your commentary Carol. LOVED the whole Green Eggs and Ham bit. Classic Diana, aye? She is clever. I loved it especially because my KIDS love that book.

    As far as Wee Roger.....hmmmm......

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  6. I second what Tracy said. Oh, Roger.......can't say more, but you'll know when you get there!

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  7. You guys all ROCK. I love all this commentary. LOVE. IT. I am actually past the Roger bit but didn't want to put up a huge post (yelled "hhhooge post" in my best Scots). I will be blogging soon. Let's just say I about shat my pantalones when I got to that part. Ohyesindeedy.

    PS - Terry - what's up with that? WOW.

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  8. Love to read your thoughts on the books. Hilarious!

    Tracey R: is Bree not your favorite character? I do not like her. At all. I have tired, but I just can't.

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  9. Dinah--I dinna like Bree in a box, I dinna like her with a fox. ;-)

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  10. So my comment is coming approximately a year and a half after the last one was posted...but for the record, I don't like Bree either. There is NO WAY she could have learned Gaelic that fast - how long has she been in the past anyway? Not more than 2 years if that. And when she comes riding up on the horse - where the hell is Jemmy? Did I miss something? I thought she was still nursing him - did Marsali take over the job? Maybe I'm having a senior moment here....

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  11. Perhaps Bree has her father's gift for languages and the Celtic came verra easily to her.

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  12. All the way in South Africa we have our own Zulu sound - Mncm. That's what I think of Brianna Ellen CAN-DO-IT-ALL Randall Fraser Mackenzie.

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