Author: J.M. Barrie
Genre: Fantasy
Audience: All Ages (though honestly, I recommend it more for adults)
B & B Rating: ★★★★★
I couldn't start this blog with any other book. I honestly don't know how many times I have read this book; if I had to guess I would say at least eight times cover-to-cover. (This is saying something, since the first time I read it was six years ago in college.) Of course I saw the old Disney movie when I was a kid, and I didn't much care for it. In fact, I've discovered that a lot of people my age didn't like that movie and some have avoided the book specifically because of that movie (or because of cheesy plays involving grown women pretending to be little boys and flying around on wire contraptions).
Trust me, the book is not the "what makes a red man red" cartoon. It is not a corny stage production. It is, in a word, amazing.
All children, except one, grow up. They soon know that they will grow up, and the way Wendy knew was this. One day when she was two years old she was playing in a garden, and she plucked another flower and ran with it to her mother. I suppose she must have looked rather delightful, for Mrs. Darling put her hand to her heart and cried, "Oh, why can't you remain like this for ever!" This was all that passed between them on the subject, but henceforth Wendy knew that she must grow up. You always know after you are two. Two is the beginning of the end.
From the very first page, this story wraps itself around you and sucks you in. The writing style is wry, tongue-in-cheek, wonderfully conversational. Mr. Barrie is your tour guide on this adventure-by-proxy you've happened upon. Sometimes he's interested in what's happening in the moment, sometimes he's interested in past history that's led up to this point, and sometimes he just goes wandering off on amusing tangents. Sometimes he asks questions, sometimes he gives answers, and sometimes he just leaves you to figure it out for yourself.
One of my favorite things about this book is the layers in it, the depth. I know this book like the back of my hand, but every time I open it I'm surprised by something I read. Every time I read it, I read it with new eyes and a new perspective. I've sympathized in turns with Wendy, with Peter, with Mr. and Mrs. Darling. I've even sympathized with Hook from time to time.
Don't get me wrong, Hook is utterly terrifying. He's dark and unhinged, but he's also complex. Barrie says just enough about Hook's history that it leaves the reader wondering what, exactly, happened and how, exactly, Hook ended up the way he is. The fact that Hook is such an obvious foil to Peter adds even more depth and complexity to the story. Hook is a grown-up version of Peter. In Hook, Peter's impatience, cockiness, and appetites for praise and adventure have been twisted into greed, vanity, cruelty. He is Peter amplified, tarnished-- what the boy could easily become. Peter, in turn, is what Hook once was and what he's lost.
I could honestly (obviously) go on and on and on about this book. I could go on and on about the themes of growing up, of changing, of self-discovery, of the tragic damning that comes from a refusal to go into that great unknown of life. I could talk about every single line and tell you a million things about it, but I won't. I will just whole-heartedly encourage you to go out to your library or local bookstore and get this book as soon as possible.
And don't get me wrong, this book can be read purely for entertainment, so don't be intimidated by the above gushing and overly-detailed analysis. It really is just a dang good story.
Coming up next week: a recipe from Neverland!
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