Lamb in Love [Paperback]

 

 

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This book is so offensive with regards to mentally challenged people, that I wanted to stop reading it after a few pages. But, I read on, and finished it, hoping that it was just to show the ignorance of the times (set in 1969). It wasn't. At the very opening, one of the two main characters is watching the moon landing, wishing she had company. Manford, her adult mentally challenged charge, was "better than nobody." Later, she wonders, "What goes on in the empty space of his mind." He's referred to as a vegetable, spastic and a ret****, with no apparent apology. And even though she has been Manford's only caretaker since he was born, she worries that he will get terribly violent and hurt her--even though he has shown only the sweetest disposition. The other main character asks, "Is he like a dog? Not understanding that he is a dog?" And these two characters LOVED Manford. Unfortunately, by the end of the book, she illuminates an amazing talent in Manford that translates to, "Now, he's special, has something to offer, so he's okay." OMG! I found another book on Amazon by this author, and it, too, apparently features a mentally challenged person. In view of that, I gave her the benefit of the doubt and thought she was trying to show the reader our prejudices, but by the end of the book, I decided it was her ignorance and stupidity that was shown. It perpetuates a lot of BS. And it was so unnecessary to the plot. If it wasn't for this, it would be a charming book.

The golden promise of Carrie Brown's debut novel, Rose's Garden (1998) is more than fulfilled with Lamb In Love, an affecting tale of two very ordinary people transformed by the power of love.
Choosing Hursley, a small English village as her setting, Ms. Brown again writes with eloquent grace in spare, prismatic prose - an intriguing glint here, a revealing glimmer there as she artfully sketches the emotional terrain of her characters.
Fifty-five year old Norris Lamb is the village postmaster, a position he undertakes with the utmost respect and solemnity, viewing the mails as "a marvelous system of common trust," keeping "his postal scales highly polished," and employing "a new rubber stamp frequently so as to avoid smudges."
He is also a philatelist, the volunteer organist for St. Alphage,, and a self-described "...stick whom his neighbors consider a confirmed bachelor. Terrified of women, perhaps? [....](So careful with his appearance, etc.)"
But then, on the night of the 1969 American moon landing when Norris walked outside to get a closer look at the galaxy, he saw an even more remarkable sight - 41-year-old Vida Stephen dancing nearly naked in a garden. Norris had known her all his life, "But he'd never seen her like that before. He'd never seen anything like that before." And, quite suddenly, "He is Norris Lamb in love. Lamb in love."
Vida lives at Southend House, a derelict mansion, where for twenty years she has served as nanny for Manford Perry, a retarded young man who is also mute. His mother dead and his architect father often gone, Manford is totally dependent upon Vida who is devoted to him. Never having had a holiday or ventured far beyond Hursley, the routine of Vida's life is relieved only by letters from her one living relative, Uncle Laurence, who lives on Corfu, a seemingly unbelievably beautiful locale of which she can only dream.
Old enough now to be considered a spinster, Vida is viewed by fellow villagers with pity.
"But Norris knows - he believes he alone knows - what is there to be rescued and revived. He imagines that he sees what others, lacking the wondrous prism of his passion, cannot."
The question that torments him is how he will win her.
Unable to declare himself in person, Norris enjoins fellow postmasters to help him - he pens love letters which are posted to Vida from foreign lands. He leaves bouquets of flowers on a bench that she frequents. Finally, he ventures beyond Hursley, to Winchester where he buys Vida a gift - a nightdress an intricately patterned robe of Oriental silk.
Norris finds himself emboldened by love. Not allowing "reason to interfere with the anticipation of adventure, even danger, that accompanies the matter of delivering his gift," he sneaks into Southend House and artfully arranges the robed gown on her bed.
At first puzzled then frightened by these unfamiliar attentions, Vida confides to Norris that she feels stalked. He is desolate, "utterly undone." Later thinking, "Oh, you're a bungler, Norris Lamb. Nothing but a bungler. Go on, step aside. Give it up. She won't look twice at you!"
But look twice she does, and in an unexpected way.
With a warmly wise and uplifting denouement, Carrie Brown reminds us of love's transcendency and the unquenchable strength of hope. A writer with luminous gifts, not the least of which is a painterly attention to detail, Ms. Brown has imbued the heartwarming Lamb In Love with whimsy, passion, and noble spirit

I don't know how I missed this lovely book when it was first published! American author Carrie Brown has done a masterful job of portraying life and love in a small English village far removed from the hustle and bustle of London.

Brown has populated her novel, set in 1969, with a cast of endearing, lovely, yet "odd" characters. Norris Lamb, 55, the village postmaster, falls in love with Vida Stephen, the 41-year-old caretaker for Manford Perry, a young man who is both mute and retarded. Vida has cared for Manford for 20 years in the absence of his wealthy American father, who travels most of the time.

How Norris falls suddenly in love with someone he has known all his life is told in loving detail by the author. This is a slow, engaging, delightful book without the silly conflicts or sickeningly sweet narrative of modern romances.

The way in which Vida cares for Manford, and her fears, compassion, and aspirations for him, are portrayed in a totally captivating manner. When Norris becomes a part of their lives, you will be touched by his actions toward both Vida and Manford. Norris' bumbling attempts at love are so endearing. As he said to himself:"I have a gift for being in love, but there are technical difficulties".

I highly recommend this book.

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5.0 out of 5 stars An absolutely STUNNING book, one of my all-time favorites!
If you love books where you feel you've entered a believable world with vivid characters (and you like a good love story as well) this is a book that shouldn't be missed. Read more

Published on Nov 29 2000 by K. Corn

5.0 out of 5 stars A Pleasure to Read/An Even Greater Pleasure to Hear
This is my first encounter with author Carrie Brown, but I doubt it will be my last. I do most of my "reading" on audio cassettes because I have a long commute each... Read more

Published on May 12 2000

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