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Title: Depressing and formulaic
Review: Can't add to the breathless reviews here. Even in 1979 wasn't the tale of the put-upon orphan old? The harridan who cleans too much? The snide, hypocritical "adoptive" uncle? ,The characters do not ring true. I can find no reason for the brother to abandon the other, and (as in so many orphan books) can see no reason they turn out to be nice people when raised by cliches of nastiness.If you like Tale of Despereaux, another tale wherein mindless, contrived suffering is romanticized, you'll love this.
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