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Review of the Day: Miss Spitfire (Part Two)
September 1, 2007
(CONTINUED FROM PART ONE)
I did have some questions here and there. As I've said, you get the feeling that Miller was a stickler for historical accuracy. So much so that there is no cleaning up of the real Annie's references to the "little negro boy" who worked in the house. So it was interesting to me that at no point does Annie go about wearing dark glasses ala Anne Bancroft. I assume that this was a theatrical flourish in the stage production of Helen's story that didn't accurately occur at this point in time. I did wish for a mention of it somewhere in the book, though.
And I had some other confusions elsewhere. Miller's book never really clarifies how Annie got out of the almshouse and into the Perkins school for the blind. How was her way paid? We see a brief encounter between her and a man in charge of Perkins, but there's never a full explanation of how that led to her acceptance into the school. I had hoped that maybe the author's note in the back would offer some background, but the only mention of the incident is a cryptic sentence reading, "Annie enters Perkins Institutions for the Blind" without any attention paid to the "hows" behind the sentence.
For me, the book is summarized nicely in the real life quote taken from Anne Sullivan's letters to a Ms. Sophia Hopkins, appearing at the beginning of Chapter Six. "The greatest problem I shall have to solve is how to discipline and control her without breaking her spirit." In the solution we find the heart of the novel. I've read very little historical fiction this year that stayed with me. I like to think that Ms. Miller's book is one of the few worth keeping close at hand. A really enjoyable story.
Notes on the Cover: Simon & Schuster is not the only publishing house to place brail on their cover this year, but it really is a good idea. As for the photo image provided by (who else?) Getty Images, I’m all for it. I like the noticeably childlike hand and the implications that come with apples in literature. The color scheme is tasteful (in a good way) and it just sort of calms a person down. My sole objection is that it’s going to be very difficult to place medals on this thing. You end up covering up something or other. Ah well. A small price to pay.
Misc:
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Go to this site to find selections from the book, the "birth of a book jacket", a chance to dowload said jacket, and a "Miss Spitfire" reading guide.
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You'd be doing yourself a disfavor if you failed to read Sarah Miller's blog every single day. Seriously. It's just that good.
Posted by Elizabeth Bird on September 1, 2007 | Comments (2)
