A quote from the beginning of Spirits of the Sacred Grove. It absolutely is not a how-to book, and anyone picking this up to learn Druidry will have their work cut out to say the very least. Even so, it is a book that has inspired a great many people to find their own way and their own path as Druids. Emma Restall Orr offers a poetic sense of what it means to be a Druid, a tantalizing glimpse of something hard to name, and even harder to pin down or possess. There are a great many contemporary Druid authors whose journey and inspiration began with Emma Restall Orr's work, and a great many Druids who are still questing after something that they first sensed while reading this particular book. It holds an important place in the evolution of modern Druidry.

Sighs.   About a page after the quote of the girl thinking she looked retarded.   Possibly.   This has a lot of horrible shit in it.   A lot of horrible teenagers thinking horrible things.   

And it's, again, disappointing.   Because Shelley is the Frankenstein monster character, and she's absolutely lovely.   Sweet, charming, and the cliché definition of a gentle giant.   But because of her disfigurement and inability to speak, she has distinctions and weaknesses that make her unique - even as she's inspired by another character - and just a joy to read.   She's, if anything, more intelligent and articulate than her predecessor.   

Honestly, I could read a whole book about Shelley, particularly one from her point of view.   The fact that she's a prude compared to the other characters, and gentle, and yet evokes an emotional response from me is proof that this author is capable of coaxing that out of me without resorting to being crude, nasty, and disgusting.   And while I normally like it, I think it's the juxtaposition that's driving me bonkers here.   He's so much more capable, so much more eloquent, so much... more when he's not diving into that shock factor.   

Please, please, just let me get to more of the Shelley parts.   Please?