J. M. Barrie
Peter Pan
1911
A surprising read for I had in mind the image of Peter Disney had stuck in there. And while it is safe to say that now I like Peter less, I can also say that after the very first chapter I started wishing the book itself would end up as one of my favourites. It didn’t.
You get a
pleasure in the humorous telling, the writing, that you never really get from what it
tells you. The adventures are more sad than adventurous and the Darling bits
too precious to really appreciate their antagonist, Neverland. The writing style
lost its shine as
soon as we landed on Neverland; it got in the way of the adventures, like an
annoying veil you just wanted to push aside; or else, Neverland got in the way
of our falling enthralled with that style.
It is as if the
author knew he had something good here, and dangerous, hidden within the treasure box of
Neverland, but could not bring himself to uncover it. He let down the critique for the sake of the irony. You get that close to caring for the characters and their stories, but you’re too
busy flying above them all to ever do so. Because Barrie never gets seriously
into the adventures, it’s well easy_ too easy_ for the reader to get out.
A fine book to read, but not perhaps one that leaves a lasting impression. All its best themes ((never) growing up; the unkindness of childhood) are worth much more going into, and you turn that last page with a slight regret. You wanted to know so much more about Mrs Darling's kiss! But then, that would not have pleased Peter...
P.S. positive and less positive racial stereotypes.
A fine book to read, but not perhaps one that leaves a lasting impression. All its best themes ((never) growing up; the unkindness of childhood) are worth much more going into, and you turn that last page with a slight regret. You wanted to know so much more about Mrs Darling's kiss! But then, that would not have pleased Peter...
P.S. positive and less positive racial stereotypes.
Tags: arrogant cocky Peter, utopia. vs dystopia, ironic and cheeky narrator, superego vs. the id, evil or the selfishness of childhood, games and adventures, the everlasting world of children's imagination, unattainable everlasting bliss or Mrs Darling's kiss, growing up into a woman, society made of Darlings, magic dust, stuck at home, stuck on an island, allusions to a whole world beyond the book, nasty but mitigated stereotypes, of crocodiles, pirates and a useless ship, Peter Pan at the crossroads of boundaries
No comments:
Post a Comment