If you were in the habit of vanishing under a hill into a realm where time stood still, then, supposing you wanted to live in the world again -- and after all, one must do something -- you might very well decide to go to college to catch up on what the world had been doing. Adolescents are awkward; they know nothing; nobody is surprised at any ignorance they display. Mingle with college students and nobody would notice you twice. [loc. 6227]
Reread again: I adored this when I first read it in the second millennium (review from 1998) but was less enthusiastic when I next read it (review from 2015). I think I may have attained some kind of equilibrium this time around: I admired and enjoyed the novel while remaining aware of its flaws. And heavens, the protagonists are all so very young: teenagers, college-age students, all dramatic gestures and a propensity for quoting Great Literature at the drop of a hat.
Though not all the teenagers are teenagers, and not all of the Classics department are wholly human ...
I especially enjoyed the frequent scenes of play-going (Hamlet, The Revenger's Tragedy et cetera) this time around, what with having been deprived of live theatre by the plague. And I found myself paying much more attention to the Shakespearean trio, with their odd assumptions and beliefs, and their clothes smelling of herbs ("Janet wished they would wash with chemicals like normal people" [loc. 6526]).
Worth noting that Tam Lin, published in 1991, is set in the early 1970s: reading it in 2021, it's effectively historical fiction. I wonder how the story would work in a contemporary setting ...
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