The French Letter
Viewing comments for Chapter 96 "A Time for Reflection"A Novel
29 total reviews
Comment from Pantygynt
What a great ending. The pink ribbon was a great touch and of course we did not need to be told howv it got there. Some things are best left to the imagination. Will Helen now prove to be a night in shining armour and rescue the poor travel writer from his cell. Is the pen truly mightier than the sword? Perhaps not always, but a neatly tied pink ribbon surely won the day.
reply by the author on 14-Nov-2019
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What a great ending. The pink ribbon was a great touch and of course we did not need to be told howv it got there. Some things are best left to the imagination. Will Helen now prove to be a night in shining armour and rescue the poor travel writer from his cell. Is the pen truly mightier than the sword? Perhaps not always, but a neatly tied pink ribbon surely won the day.
Comment Written 14-Nov-2019
reply by the author on 14-Nov-2019
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Not sure where that pink ribbon came from. Anyway, it seemed to tie in. Thanks very much for the extra star. Appreciated! Tony.
Comment from Bill Pinder
Another interesting chapter in the ongoing saga. Helen definitely knew how to take care of herself. Looking forward to the next chapter. Great description of dealing with the mental processes going on and fighting against losing hope.
Bill
reply by the author on 14-Nov-2019
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Another interesting chapter in the ongoing saga. Helen definitely knew how to take care of herself. Looking forward to the next chapter. Great description of dealing with the mental processes going on and fighting against losing hope.
Bill
Comment Written 14-Nov-2019
reply by the author on 14-Nov-2019
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Thanks, Bill. I appreciate your comments and continued engagement with this tale. All the best, Tony.
Comment from juliaSjames
Tony, this is a very well written chapter. It's quite believable that Charles would be despondent and as he says, concussed. Helen's ability to take care of herself is also plausible.
Two points for your consideration.
Is it likely that Charles wouldn't be worried about Helen? I think not. Perhaps you could edit the clairvoyant paragraph to focus on his concern for her which would morph nicely into her escape.
Second, the pink ribbon is a flourish but in her state of desperation and need to escape fast, I think it's highly unlikely she would waste time with frippery. Women are pragmatic. The ribbon is more of a Charles gesture.
Blessings Julia
reply by the author on 15-Nov-2019
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Tony, this is a very well written chapter. It's quite believable that Charles would be despondent and as he says, concussed. Helen's ability to take care of herself is also plausible.
Two points for your consideration.
Is it likely that Charles wouldn't be worried about Helen? I think not. Perhaps you could edit the clairvoyant paragraph to focus on his concern for her which would morph nicely into her escape.
Second, the pink ribbon is a flourish but in her state of desperation and need to escape fast, I think it's highly unlikely she would waste time with frippery. Women are pragmatic. The ribbon is more of a Charles gesture.
Blessings Julia
Comment Written 14-Nov-2019
reply by the author on 15-Nov-2019
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Thanks very much for these suggestions, Julia. You are absolutely right that Charles would have been desperately worried about Helen, and that this concern should be written into the chapter.
I've amended that paragraph to read:
"I was sick with worry about Helen and couldn?t bear to think what that monster, Habeeb, might be doing to her. He?d left me in no doubt about his intentions However, if I?d been able to see beyond the walls of the prison, my spirits would have soared. She was, as I later learnt, more than capable of looking after herself."
I've also added a short paragraph at the end:
"Had I known this at the time, I would have been better able to bear the privations of prison life, but as it was, lurid imaginings compounded my misery."
For the moment, I'm going to leave the pink ribbon in, but I take your point and I may remove it during the final edit.
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Hi Tony. The rewrite is great. I won't bug you about the ribbon. LOL
JJ
Comment from royowen
Good old Helen, more than able to take care of herself, leaving a rather lascivious, but foolishly beaten and A disgraced senior officer in a rather sad and dilapidated state, but fortunately for her, she was a local girl and more than able to take care of herself, but Charles is, at this stage, in a despondent way, well done, Tony, great scribing, blessings Roy
reply by the author on 14-Nov-2019
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Good old Helen, more than able to take care of herself, leaving a rather lascivious, but foolishly beaten and A disgraced senior officer in a rather sad and dilapidated state, but fortunately for her, she was a local girl and more than able to take care of herself, but Charles is, at this stage, in a despondent way, well done, Tony, great scribing, blessings Roy
Comment Written 14-Nov-2019
reply by the author on 14-Nov-2019
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Thanks, Roy. I appreciate your review and summary. All good wishes, Tony.
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Good job
Comment from Sankey
Well done. You didn't wait till Sunday but then I might have been back to basic by then and could not get OR GIVE the reward. Helen seems clever. This was very graphic but still a great read. No spags.
reply by the author on 14-Nov-2019
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Well done. You didn't wait till Sunday but then I might have been back to basic by then and could not get OR GIVE the reward. Helen seems clever. This was very graphic but still a great read. No spags.
Comment Written 14-Nov-2019
reply by the author on 14-Nov-2019
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Thanks for your comments, Geoffrey. I appreciate your review. All the best, Tony
Comment from Sylvia Page
This is hilarious, the way Helen handled her situation. Poor Charles is still in dire straights unaware of what's going to happen next. Hopefully the British HC might have word on the jungle telephone of what has happened and Charles may even have a glimmer of hope for the better. You are weaving more suspense into the story.
Sylvia
reply by the author on 14-Nov-2019
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This is hilarious, the way Helen handled her situation. Poor Charles is still in dire straights unaware of what's going to happen next. Hopefully the British HC might have word on the jungle telephone of what has happened and Charles may even have a glimmer of hope for the better. You are weaving more suspense into the story.
Sylvia
Comment Written 14-Nov-2019
reply by the author on 14-Nov-2019
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Glad you enjoyed this one. I'm just waiting for the first person to ask me where she got the pink ribbon from. LOL. It's a question that I'd be hard-pressed to answer at this stage.
Comment from JudyE
I'm glad you gave your readers some cause for hope by the end of this chapter. I didn't find anything to query or suggest, except for 'oppo' which I didn't understand but which may not be important. Can you hurry along with the next chapter please? (smile)
Cheers
Judy
reply by the author on 14-Nov-2019
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I'm glad you gave your readers some cause for hope by the end of this chapter. I didn't find anything to query or suggest, except for 'oppo' which I didn't understand but which may not be important. Can you hurry along with the next chapter please? (smile)
Cheers
Judy
Comment Written 14-Nov-2019
reply by the author on 14-Nov-2019
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Thanks, Judy! ?Oppo? is a peculiarly British expression, roughly equivalent to ?mate?. I imagine it?s a contraction of ?opposite number?.
I?d put an author note if it wasn?t fairly obvious from the context.
Comment from lyenochka
Hooray for Helen! I see why you said I needn't worry. But how will anyone be released if all the keys are thrown into the river? Poor Charles. I did like the touch with the cockroach and the existential thoughts that it inspired. Also, I appreciated the remembrance of the earlier characters as I'm sure people must do that when people are contemplating the end of life.
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reply by the author on 14-Nov-2019
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Hooray for Helen! I see why you said I needn't worry. But how will anyone be released if all the keys are thrown into the river? Poor Charles. I did like the touch with the cockroach and the existential thoughts that it inspired. Also, I appreciated the remembrance of the earlier characters as I'm sure people must do that when people are contemplating the end of life.
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Comment Written 14-Nov-2019
reply by the author on 14-Nov-2019
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I appreciate your comments, as always, Helen. Most affirming.
I think Helen only ditched the key of the manacles securing Tarik to the iron bars of the cell. That was my intention, anyway! I've changed it to one key now. You have sharp eyes! Thanks.
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Oh, thanks for the clarification of a single key. That makes her actions even more impressive! I was afraid that Charles would never get out! :)
Comment from sunnilicious
Well thought out. Clearly written. The story unfolded nice. I could handle this novel installment. Glad things are simmering. But we don't really know what could transpire. And thoughts linger...
Edit maybe... snigger or snicker?
Excellent work :)
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reply by the author on 14-Nov-2019
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Well thought out. Clearly written. The story unfolded nice. I could handle this novel installment. Glad things are simmering. But we don't really know what could transpire. And thoughts linger...
Edit maybe... snigger or snicker?
Excellent work :)
This rating does not count towards story rating or author rank.
The highest and the lowest rating are not included in calculations.
Comment Written 14-Nov-2019
reply by the author on 14-Nov-2019
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Thanks, Alicia. I appreciate your comments. 'Snigger' is more common in British English, so I think I'll leave it. All good wishes, Tony
