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Runaway  by Lindelea 3 Review(s)
HaiReviewed Chapter: 7 on 9/27/2003
Faramir doesn't have enough work at the Smials it seems ;) Maybe he needs something of his ows to take care of......Wonderful, as usual! I would be very difficult for Faramir not to talk to the other lads! Looking forward to mroe, thank you!

MirielReviewed Chapter: 7 on 9/26/2003
It seems as if FArry's taking to farm life very easily. Of course, the Bolgers do make it easier, being so cheerful.

Poor Ferdi...he always seems to have something wrong with him...*Sigh*.

Nice chapter.

Author Reply: Yes, the Bolgers represent all that's best about hobbits, I hope.

You're right, poor Ferdi. He has the luck of the Tooks, I'm afraid.

FnatasyFanReviewed Chapter: 7 on 9/26/2003
What is the matter with Ferdi's head? I don't remember him having headaches or dizzy spells before, though Rosemary does. It won't be a good thing if he's laid up in the midst of this mess with Farry, as the timing of his scheme is likely to be dicey enough.

It's very good for Faramir to see that not everyone lives as he does in the Great Smials. At ten years old, most kids have a very ego-centric world view. It's all about them, and with their limited experience, they can hardly imagine anything is possible outside of the way it's always been. Servants are something Farry takes for granted. He also takes his parent's preoccupied attitude and emphasis on appearance for granted. This experience will most likely open Farry's eyes to his blessings. It also has the possiblity of creating more resentment as he also recognizes some of the disadvantages of his priviledged place. What will his reaction be to the attention and open expression of love in the Bolger family? By the way, we know Ferdi isn't fooling Hally and Rosemary, but the kids are going to put two and two together as well, even if Farry doesn't talk. Only a gentlehobbit's son wouldn't know how to milk a cow, or lay a fire, and they have met Farry before. Still don't know how you're going to get Ferdi out of this one. Has he considered sending a note to the Smials, to at least let them know he and Farry are alive?

My views on young Frodo don't come from any particular story, just my own thoughts on what he must have been like, projecting a bookish orphan who tended to be a dreamer back into childhood. His adoption by Bilbo could have been precipitated by many things, the most likely among them would be genuine affection between the cousins, but also there could have been the suggestion that he required a little more attention than he was getting in Buckland. The impression I got from reading LOTR was that he was viewed as a 'young scamp' but with affection rather than serious worry - the only incident specifically mentioned in canon is the beating he got for raiding Farmer Maggot's mushroom fields. When thinking of the formation of Frodo's character I am always struck by the fact that he remained so close to Merry, who was only 7 when he left Buckland at age 21. Pippin wasn't even born then, so I would expect his inclusion among Frodo's close friends to imply that Merry dragged him along whenever he visited Frodo (or possibly that Pip was always with Merry when Frodo came to them), and that the visits were frequent. Something had to inspire the fierce emotions expressed in "the conspiracy unmasked," where Merry admits to being terrified (the acutal word Tolkien uses) that Frodo would escape without them, and Frodo is happier than he can imagine that despite the peril, his friends will be with him.

Author Reply: What is the matter with Ferdi's head? You may recall in "Flames" he had two serious head injuries, one from a ruffian's club, and the other in the pony race near the end of the story. It mainly bothers him when the barometric pressure is low. (I got this from the experience of a brother who had a serious head injury at age three. He stuttered as a child, grew out of it, but when the barometer plunged, or when at high altitude, he started stuttering again, was short-tempered, and suffered head pain.)

It didn't come up in FirstBorn, not really being a plot point there, but is important to the plot in this story and the one following it on the timeline ("Solid Ground"--in the works at the moment, and due to begin posting after the last chapter of "Truth" goes up).

Thank you for the insightful analysis of Frodo's character formation (as well as your always-though-provoking comments on the current chapter). You have a real gift for mining nuggets of meaning from reams of material.

Author Reply: Ooops, I meant the head pain is important in this story and in the one following "Truth" on the timeline. Sorry about that.

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