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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
J. M. Barrie's style is generally enjoyable, although there are moments when you can see the stage show peeking through, and still other moments when I wonder how his nonsense logic translated on stage or whether it would all be lost - this is a story that I cannot decide if it works better as a novel or as the play. But we're talking about the novel here so let's stick to that.
Barrie has a similar nonsense humour to other children's authors of the early 20th century, see Baum, Grahame and Kipling as examples, and that's lovely (although I have to admit that far more than those other authors, there were times when the nonsense just went over my head), but Barrie seems to deliberately lack their charm, and there is a fairly nasty darkness to his humour that seeps through and makes me uncomfortable. Sometimes the story comes across as plain creepy - such as characters being (romantically) charmed by Peter because he retains his baby teeth, and other times spiteful and cruel - such as this horrible line towards the end: 'Mrs. Darling was now dead and forgotten.'
And here's the thing, this story is absolutely iconic and you have to respect that, and there are brilliant moments of humour and cleverness and imagination, but at its heart, I don't know what I'm supposed to get out of it, because there are no likeable characters in it at all. Barrie constantly swings back and forth, insulting and mocking his characters and then building them up and telling us how wonderful they are or how sorry for them we should feel. Maybe this is an accurate representation of how children see the world - sometimes children are innocent and awesome, sometimes children are selfish and cruel, sometimes mothers are needy and pathetic, sometimes mothers are what you need... but frankly the changeable nature of the narrative kind of irritates and confuses me.
Because there's no real plot, because the characters are all, well, heartless, and because of this creeping uneasiness that the subtext and the text hint at, I struggled to read it this time. Individual moments are undeniably well written, but overall the book just makes me unhappy.
Barrie has a similar nonsense humour to other children's authors of the early 20th century, see Baum, Grahame and Kipling as examples, and that's lovely (although I have to admit that far more than those other authors, there were times when the nonsense just went over my head), but Barrie seems to deliberately lack their charm, and there is a fairly nasty darkness to his humour that seeps through and makes me uncomfortable. Sometimes the story comes across as plain creepy - such as characters being (romantically) charmed by Peter because he retains his baby teeth, and other times spiteful and cruel - such as this horrible line towards the end: 'Mrs. Darling was now dead and forgotten.'
And here's the thing, this story is absolutely iconic and you have to respect that, and there are brilliant moments of humour and cleverness and imagination, but at its heart, I don't know what I'm supposed to get out of it, because there are no likeable characters in it at all. Barrie constantly swings back and forth, insulting and mocking his characters and then building them up and telling us how wonderful they are or how sorry for them we should feel. Maybe this is an accurate representation of how children see the world - sometimes children are innocent and awesome, sometimes children are selfish and cruel, sometimes mothers are needy and pathetic, sometimes mothers are what you need... but frankly the changeable nature of the narrative kind of irritates and confuses me.
Because there's no real plot, because the characters are all, well, heartless, and because of this creeping uneasiness that the subtext and the text hint at, I struggled to read it this time. Individual moments are undeniably well written, but overall the book just makes me unhappy.
Peter Pan is actually quite a manipulative and almost malicious boy...scary.
It's been a long time since I read Peter Pan and it's my first time listening to the story in English. I had forgotten quite a bit of it, especially that the story contained such violent moments considering it's a children's book.
I really enjoyed Daniel Duffy's narration.
I really enjoyed Daniel Duffy's narration.
Cute story that differs a bit from the classic Disney movie. Perhaps my favorite part about reading the book was the level of imagination: pirates, crocodile, fairies, flying, mermaids in the lagoon. All of which captures the imagination of children when they are young (gay, innocent), but then lost to the adults when they grow up. I read another review which mentions how Peter Pan captures the whims of being a child: a penchant for grand adventure, mystical lands, how belief can make you fly (and save fairies) and wishing on dreams.
Barrie does a good job with characterisation: Peter as a mischievous, fun, irresponsible boy who leads the lost boys and comes back for Wendy and her children to show them Neverland; Wendy as the responsible/sensible voice of reason and acts as the mother figure for the lost boys; Hook, the lonely captain who is feared and irascible years for a sense of identity (which is constructed by his feud with Peter). I think reading the book added more layers to the characters, providing more context than the movie.
Interesting thing -- Peter is the only one who never grows up and he comes back year after year to take children to Neverland; perhaps he is the representation of childhood?
I did find some of the "stereotypes" or other elements of the story outdated, but I tried to enjoy it for what it was.
Barrie does a good job with characterisation: Peter as a mischievous, fun, irresponsible boy who leads the lost boys and comes back for Wendy and her children to show them Neverland; Wendy as the responsible/sensible voice of reason and acts as the mother figure for the lost boys; Hook, the lonely captain who is feared and irascible years for a sense of identity (which is constructed by his feud with Peter). I think reading the book added more layers to the characters, providing more context than the movie.
Interesting thing -- Peter is the only one who never grows up and he comes back year after year to take children to Neverland; perhaps he is the representation of childhood?
I did find some of the "stereotypes" or other elements of the story outdated, but I tried to enjoy it for what it was.
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
medium-paced
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No