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| The Acceptable Sacrifice by Larner | 9 Review(s) |
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| demeter d | Reviewed Chapter: 89 on 2/27/2006 |
| This is the kind of gratitude we who love these stories would wish that Frodo could have received. Sweet, warm and wistful. Author Reply: I agree, Demeter. Frodo deserved a lot more credit than he got, of that I'm certain. That a few like Will and Bard would appreciate that while most would come basically for the food and being around everyone else seemed logical for me. So glad you appreciated this chapter as you've expressed. | |
| Antane | Reviewed Chapter: 89 on 2/25/2006 |
| Doesn't he just look beautiful all dressed up like that? :) Cute that Sam combed his curls and liked him falling asleep against Merry. Namarie, God bless, Antane :) Author Reply: For all Frodo is frustrated with Merry for not listening when Frodo would like to explain he just isn't feeling good, still the two of them remain so close, the cousin-brothers that they were while Merry was tiny. And I think Sam would continue to have things he'd think handy for his Master's benefit. Going to a banquet by coach? Probably going to need a touch up at the other end, you know! And so glad you like the suit and mantle. | |
| Kitty | Reviewed Chapter: 89 on 2/25/2006 |
| I *love* the banquet! Frodo may not have been so very happy with the whole idea, but I was! It was so comforting to see the other hobbits to acknowledge at last what the four Travellers, and particularly Frodo, have done for the Shire. And I had to grin about your remark about Will’s and Frodo’s speech habits :) Although Odo deserves a slap for his rudeness. Sancho is right, he should be ashamed. Well, he got the right answer from Will ... And I can imagine how splendid Frodo looked in his new clothes! Thank you, I truly enjoyed this chapter! Author Reply: For all his skill as a story teller, Frodo knows that when it comes to a banquet in the Shire, the words and purpose are of less interest to most Hobbits than the food, so he tends to keep it short and sweet, where Will is probably getting more and more wordy as the years progress. But I do think Will would greatly appreciate how the return of the Travelers at just the right moment helped to restore the Shire, and would seek to bring together enough of the leadership to have a general recognition of just how much each one meant to the Shire's recovery. But most folk never saw the mountain of paperwork and aren't going to appreciate how what was done behind the scene by the deputy Mayor has affected them all. Odo was outspoken at Bilbo's party, and I suspect he got more and more obnoxious as the years went by, don't you? And he did get the right answer from Will and Sancho. As for Frodo--I think he would look special at any time; and now that he's withdrawing from Shire society he would appear more and more remote. So glad you liked the description of his outfit and the mantle. So glad you liked this chapter. | |
| harrowcat | Reviewed Chapter: 89 on 2/25/2006 |
| Oh poor, stoical, Sam! The parting is happening even before the departure. And I would love to see and touch that fabulous mantle. Joseph and his dream coat comes to mind. The word picture you paint of how Frodo looks at this point is beyond wonderful. The 'mis-understanding' betweens the cousins was too, too, heart-breaking. And the banquet? Very hobbity with some interesting reactions. Good old Mina! Author Reply: Sam, as I see him, is more perceptive than Tolkien made him, and has been recognizing all along his beloved Master needs some aid to hang on in this world; in some ways he is like Frodo in that he does his best to convince his conscious mind that "if only we keep up the athelas" or "if only we do this" we will be able to keep us here in this world. And there is one Roger Whittaker song I love in which he advises "the first time we say hello is the beginning of the last goodbye." So glad you like the Lord's mantle--I've had it in a couple other stories but never bothered to describe what makes it so special--this time it just came out in my mind precisely how it looked. So glad you like it! Misunderstandings of this sort partnered by stubbornness is always heartbreaking, but so much a part of the human condition. And so glad you liked the banquet. And I agree about Mina. | |
| Raksha The Demon | Reviewed Chapter: 89 on 2/25/2006 |
| "Sam nodded again. He was remembering his first impression of Frodo, back when he was a mere lad of ten--Fragile--it was fragile he looked then. And it’s fragile he looks again now, like some o’ that glass as he loves as that Master Celebrion blew in Minas Tirith." Sam's words reminds me very much of Gandalf's thoughts back in Rivendell (October 3019) when the wizard thought that Frodo might become like glass filled with clear light for those to see who could (or something like that, I don't have FOTR in front of me). A sad and lovely comparison. Author Reply: That this reminds you of Gandalf's assessment of Frodo is interesting. But the comparison with the glass could indeed bring it to mind. "...like a vessel of glass filled with light as with water, for eyes to see that can..." Which is the source of the titles for my first two stories, after all. Fragility--the recognition that something is easily lost or ephemeral--is a bit different from the transformation to one whose Light shines before all and who can be recognized only by those who are already predisposed to perceive; and yet at the same time the two are each in its way quite different in nature. Anyway, thanks for bringing the thought to mind, for you've got my brain running again--a dangerous thing when there's a keyboard in front of me. Heh! | |
| Dreamflower | Reviewed Chapter: 89 on 2/24/2006 |
| The first part of this is quite sad, as we see how thin and tired and worn poor Frodo is, and how it is now becoming obvious, not only to those who love him best, but also those who do not know him quite so well--and also love him inn their own ways. I love how impressive all the Travellers look, all gussied up for the banquet--isn't it fun to design fine clothes for them, and make them wear them? LOL! And I was impressed by Will's speech, and the way in which he shamed the hecklers--old Odo's a trouble-maker, isn't he? But he's only saying aloud what many others were thinking. Hopefully Will's impassioned response finally made them ashamed of themselves, and perhaps more willing to give Frodo a bit of credit... And the ending, how sad, as once more he feels constrained to not dance, lest he end up sick again. Author Reply: Some are aware that something serious is going on; others don't notice. And Frodo does his best to hide how he is feeling. But a good deal of what is really going on now is a misunderstanding on the one side compounded by him reacting by refusing to communicate just what IS bothering him in reality. And it is nice to see them all properly dressed and ready to show themselves before society. I agree, we can do what we please in many ways in the way of dressing up our favorites, like fascinating virtual paperdolls in our heads. Odo's just contrary, I think. And you're completely right in that he's the one who isn't too inhibited to say what's on his mind and the minds of many. And I, too, hope that Will's speech got through to many of those present. And I agree about the dancing. So much the Ring robbed him of. | |
| French Pony | Reviewed Chapter: 89 on 2/24/2006 |
| How very Hobbity, to mark the restoration of the Shire with a big formal banquet and some speechifying. It does seem a little ironic that this banquet is in honor of Frodo, yet it's exactly the type of event that he can't deal with any more. Yet another sign that he can't stay in Shire society much longer. Author Reply: Frodo can barely stand the banquet itself; with the additional problems Sam becomes aware of it makes it worse. Yes, the drifing away has begun now. | |
| Linda Hoyland | Reviewed Chapter: 89 on 2/24/2006 |
| I liked the idea of the Hobbits sending Yule gifts to Gondor and the suit like starlight was a clever pointer to Frodo's destiny. Author Reply: I've always seen gifts exchanged at least at Yule and Midsummer, and occasionally more often. So glad you liked the suit, which is indeed intended to indicate just that. He's no longer finding a place in the Shire, and will soon be a distant star for those with eyes to see as can. | |
| Endaewen | Reviewed Chapter: 89 on 2/24/2006 |
| This was just beautiful, especially the last line. Author Reply: Frodo did have a past before Bilbo, after all. So glad you liked it. | |