Best Book You Never Heard Of: The Definite Object

[dangermousie]

First off, a fair note of warning: If you have friended me because of drama-related stuff (which is probably most of you), you might want to put me on filter for the next couple of weeks. I am unlikely to be posting on dramas much, if at all, for that time. I basically ODed on them in Australia and also associate them with missing Mr. Mousie and being lonely and cold and homesick. So I need a little break...

Anyway, this post is about books.

I am about to embark on my biannual (or so) reread of Gone with the Wind. Let's see how that goes.

But I want to talk about a different book: one of my ultimate 'tired/cranky so need this' reads, The Definite Object by Jeffery Farnol (you can find it on gutenberg.net here, as the copyright has expired with age).

Written just before WWI, TDO was probably a shopgirl's dream-book, so what it says about me, I don't know, but I love it. Farnol was a fairly prolific (British) author and I like a number of his books (which are usually set in Britain and are period adventure novels), but none with the love of TDO which is neither set in the UK nor period (well, it is for us, but it was contemporaneous when Farnol wrote it).

The story basically combines everything I love in my books: comedy, fights, angsty love story, etc.

The protagonist of the story, Geoff, is a half-British young (early 30s) millionaire and a bit of an adrenaline junkie who is incredibly bored with his life and lack of any possible goal. However his life changes one random evening when (during one of his rare sojourns in his New York house) he catches a scruffy (and useless) juvenile delinquent breaking in with the intention to rob the place. Instead of turning the young man over to the cops, Geoff is caught for the moment by the boy's pleas to let him go because otherwise his older sister Hermione will be distraught. More out of idle curiousity than anything, Geoff makes a deal with the teen. If 'Spike' will take him incognito to the slums and allow him to meet Hermione, he will let him go.

Spike is more than happy to agree of course and does so. But...something happens Geoff did not expect. After the first look at the beautiful, strong (she is the one raising her useless brother), Geoff discovers a definite object for his life indeed: he falls madly in love.

What follows is a delicious adventure-romance tale. He moves into the slum, pretending to be yet another anonymous city-dweller down on his luck. From there on he will try to win the heart (and soul) of Hermione, discover an even better goal for his life in trying to help fellow slum-dwellers in various ways, and also taking on the local mob which makes life down in the slums even worse than it has to be. There are passionate love confessions, beat-downs, death-bed weddings, and some pretty racy (especially considering when it was written) UST. Oh, and Hermione is pretty awesome, too.

Seriously, I love that book SO MUCH.

Guilty Confession: I never thought so before (and I first read the book almost ten years ago, but thinking of it now, I am so totally going to picture Christian Bale as the main male character. Come on, a half-British adrenalin junkie millionaire with angst? So right.

Scratch GWRW reread, actually. I think I just talked myself into rereading The Definite Object.

Comments

[littleredrideme.livejournal.com]

If you like Gone With The Wind, you've probably read the sequel, Scarlett, right? Right? Cause it's good. I've done the opposite. I loved the movie and found out there was a sequel in book form so I ran out to get it (at the tender age of . . .) but I've never read the original. Is it true to the movie? Should I read it?

Also, that book sounds. . . great? lol, I'm thrown by the 'Spike' and 'Hermoine'. When I skimmed the description, I thought it was a fanfic at first. And great. Now I'm thinking of Spike/Hermoine. That's new. And weird.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I actually hated Scarlett, sorry...

But the original novel is great.

It would be creepy to have Spike/Hermione in this canon, too, because they are siblings.

[autumnflame.livejournal.com]

I started skimming the beginning and sampled various bits of the text, since the description caught my eye, and oh! I think I'm going to have to read this more properly, when I have time. *grins* Although I am singularly amused at how, from what I've skimmed, Hermione is the only one in Hell's Kitchen without a 'lower-class' accent. Because you can't be a desirable love interest if you're dropping your aitches and eliding syllables. Unless this is explained later.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

They actually do have an explanation for the accent, thankfully, but yes, that amused me. At least he won't have to play Prof. Higgins :)

[village.livejournal.com]

It sounds awesome but I have to ask, how much on a scale of one to ten will I cringe at the politically incorrectness of it all (racial prejudice/sexism etc.)? I have to ask. ;)

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

There isn't much sexism, unless you find unbearable the whole thing about a man having to take care of his woman and protect her. Geoff is pretty decent on that scale for an Edwardian hero. I mean, he doesn't want her to go out dark slum alleys to look for her brother at night, but that's pretty reasonable. I don't think he ever pushes her mentally, emotionally, or whatnot.

Racism is a bit more of a mixed bag. As far as I remember there aren't any Blacks or Asians in the story so that doesn't enter it at all. There are some casual slurs against Hispanics/Italians/Jews, but they are by characters who would say things like that (e.g. Spike etc. Not Geoff or Hermione). Farnol tries to imitate in print an Italian or Jewish accent which comes out definitely stereotyped, but it's a pretty small part of the book because they are minor characters (and aside from accent, they aren't portrayed too badly).

Since bad guys seem to be the same ethnicity as the good guys, luckily ethnic stuff is kept to a minimum, generally. he mocks butlers something fierce though :)

[fenrir-khan.livejournal.com]

Thank. You.
I needed something to read on my computer screen at work so that I can disguise my slacking off as intent data-perusing.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yay! it's delicious and trashy and awesome.

[akosikae.livejournal.com]

My next book to read at work!

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Heee. Yay!