I was going to suggest the A-M books if you hadn't mentioned them! They are delightful, and even though all the sailing stuff is A Lot, they have glossaries (I definitely used them!), and the characters are awesome, especially Dr Maturin and his love of nature. And his friendship with Captain Aubrey is Life Goals! <3 There's a movie that combines some of the storylines from the books, and it's a delight as well!
Speaking of movies, I second lirazel's rec of the 1990s "Secret Garden" one--I loved it as a kid, and it held up when I rewatched it as a grown up! The book is very sweet, but you're absolutely right about the whole Fresh Air Will Cure You thing being a bit too much, and also overly simplistic--it's a bit like telling sick and/or disabled people that their pain is all in their heads, or suggesting to depressed people that they do yoga and think positive thoughts! But the nature stuff is definitely lovely! And oh, I can totally see the parallels between Dickon and Thomas Godbless! :D
"The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter" is a lot, isn't it? I feel that being kind of plotless is part of the point in many of her books, right? She's so good at showing a bleak but realistic view of people who don't get to do many big things or make many choices in their life. I'm always touched by the quiet dignity of her characters, who basically know from day one that their life is going to be a series of failures, so their only choice is how they will deal with them--and that's also limited. So we have someone like Singer, who ends his life on his own terms, because there's nothing else for him anymore, and then someone like Mick, who steps into the role she is supposed to have in life, hating it but being quietly resigned, also because there's nothing else for her. It's sad, but also very sympathetically shown! And, like you said, her writing really is about that longing for connection and meaningful purpose, and how, more often than not, that's just a wish that never comes true. That search for belonging, for an "ideal friend" that doesn't exist, she gets it absolutely right, every time, and it's especially relevant from a queer+disabled perspective. If you ever want a less depressing book by her that still deals with a lot of these themes, I recommend "The Member of the wedding".
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Speaking of movies, I second
"The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter" is a lot, isn't it? I feel that being kind of plotless is part of the point in many of her books, right? She's so good at showing a bleak but realistic view of people who don't get to do many big things or make many choices in their life. I'm always touched by the quiet dignity of her characters, who basically know from day one that their life is going to be a series of failures, so their only choice is how they will deal with them--and that's also limited. So we have someone like Singer, who ends his life on his own terms, because there's nothing else for him anymore, and then someone like Mick, who steps into the role she is supposed to have in life, hating it but being quietly resigned, also because there's nothing else for her. It's sad, but also very sympathetically shown! And, like you said, her writing really is about that longing for connection and meaningful purpose, and how, more often than not, that's just a wish that never comes true. That search for belonging, for an "ideal friend" that doesn't exist, she gets it absolutely right, every time, and it's especially relevant from a queer+disabled perspective. If you ever want a less depressing book by her that still deals with a lot of these themes, I recommend "The Member of the wedding".