This novella has apparently been described by many critics as the author's crowning achievement in short fiction. I personally preferred Mr Harrison's Confession, though I can see why this more serious work is generally rated more highly. It is well written and presents a good portrayal of life on the Holman farm. But I found it curiously unemotionally engaging. It ended quite suddenly and I thought it felt almost more like a novel fragment than a novella. I discovered subsequently that further parts were planned but never written. ( )

see review of Librivox audiobook.

Read/listened 1-4 June 2015 ( )

Elizabeth Klett gives another wonderful narration in this free Librivox recording. The story itself I found a bit dated: brain fever? I wonder what illness this actually was! I liked Phillis (this is the spelling used in my Project Gutenberg Kindle edition) and her father. ( )

A los diecisiete años, Paul Manning llega a la pequeña población de Eltham como ayudante del ingeniero del ferrocarril. La vida pausada que allí descubre, regida por el calendario de las labores del campo, y el conocimiento de su prima Phillis, una muchacha que le aventaja en altura, cultura y sensibilidad, le iniciarán en un nuevo mundo en el que se adentra con respeto y fascinación.

*** ENG/ITA ***
Read by Elizabeth Klett, excellent LV narrator, this is a quaint, melancholic novella about a young, intelligent girl coming of age in a man's world.

She is too clever for her cousin literally, since he doesn't want to marry her because she too smart!, who comes to love her dearly as a sister and tries to help her trough her experience with first love with his friend, who seems to understand and admire her exactly for her learning, rather that despite it. And then, the second he leaves the country, he quickly forgets her for another... Raise your hand if you wanted to strangle him.

I found myself drawn to this portait even with its sometimes melodramatic twists and slow pace.
**************

Il narratore è un giovane, che dopo ver conosciuto bella e intelligente cugina, Phillis, e esseresi affezionato a lei come a una sorella (la ritiene troppo intelligente per sposarla, prendiamolo come un complimento...), assiste con apprensione all'esperienza della ragazza con il suo primo grande amore.

Bellissima novella, passo lento, qualche angolo di melodramma vittoriano perché le fanciulle rifiutate finiscono sempre per rischiare la pelle per esaurimento nervoso?, ma melanconica e dolce al tempo stesso.

Audiolibro in inglese letto da E. Klett (bravissima)! ( )