To escape Nazi-occupied Vienna, half-Jewish Ruth Berger engages in a (secret) marriage of convenience with an old family friend, British paleontologist and professor Quin Sommerville. They plan to divorce as soon as Ruth is safely in Britain, but of course, things are never that simple, and naturally, they start to fall in love…
Eva Ibbotson is another author I’ve found that’s writes well, but tends to recycle things, to the point where I suspect that all of her characters are the same people, just in different disguises. That said, I really liked The Morning Gift, since it was one of the first of her (adult) novels that I’ve read. (Eva Ibbotson has written several very highly acclaimed pieces children’s fiction–sadly I haven’t had a chance to read any of them yet–but the general word on the street is that she’s slightly more successful with children’s fiction than she is with adult fiction.)
I found the character Ruth almost too saccharinely sweet–she can make everyone around her fall in love with her gentle nature, she’s bright, there’s absolutely nothing she can’t do. Even her “flaws” are written to that they are sugarcoated–I think they’re supposed to make her more endearing, not more “real.” The only people who don’t like her are the antagonists of the story anyway.
Quin was another slightly unbelievable character–he’s a ladies man, all the women fawn over him, he’s a popular professor on campus, everyone fights to be in his classes and research projects. I’m not quite sure exactlywhat bothers me about him–he’s probably a lot more suave than I’m willing to swallow. But hey, just because I don’t like a character doesn’t mean others can’t, right? I don’t think he’s unattractive, it’s just that he doesn’t appeal to me personally. I usually like my romantic leads to be likeable, and in this was a slight disappointment.
The side characters were a little more successful, although they too seemed kind of like stock characters. I found Ruth’s “fiance” Heini absolutely hilarious when he wasn’t being infuriatingly irritating, and Quin’s would-be girlfriend Verena is absurdly proud and full of herself. I really wanted a scene where Verena is humiliated in the worst way possible, just to see what would happen, but alas.
All of this may sound like I don’t like the book, but don’t get me wrong, I do like it! In spite of all its flaws, the story is cute and has lots of music/scholarly/scientific references. I think I may be partially biased because of the academic setting and subject of study (although you could argue that paleontology is not a “real” science). I’m a huge sucker for romances, and this is what the story is, after all. Ibbotson did an excellent job of setting and plot, although I felt like the misunderstanding that led to the final conflict and climax felt too forced and made me want to beat Ruth over the head. Ruth, while academically brilliant, can be kind of naive and childlike about everything else.
The first time I read this book I really really like it–until I started reading more of Eva Ibbotson’s adult works. They all started seeming the same: girl is blessed with skills/beauty/talent/whatever, but due to reduced circumstances is forced into a situation where she interacts with the hero (who is in some way related to whatever she is blessed with.) The girl is sweet, gentle, perfect, while the hero is usually a good decade older, popular with ladies, wealthy, powerful, etc. They fall in love, but some sort of misunderstanding arises that separates them for a while before they ultimately wrap things up with a happy ending. Discovering this kind of cheapened The Morning Gift for me. Maybe if I wrote this review having read only that one book, I would be less bitter?
So I guess my final verdict is: Ibbotson’s books are great the first time around, and if you’re looking for a charming romance with excellent setting (Ibbotson can really draw you into the world–I really felt like I actually was wherever the story was set), it’s worth reading one of her books. I’d recommend sticking to only one or two so that they don’t start feeling old. Of the ones that I’ve read (A Countess Below Stairs, A Song for Summer, A Company of Swans, The Morning Gift) I liked The Morning Gift the best–probably because I wasn’t hit by bricks of deja vu like I was with the others.
