Title: Peter Pan (Peter and Wendy)

Author: J.M. Barrie

Original Published Date: 1911

Pages: 260 

Edition Language: English

Format: Ebook

Category: Children's, Classic, Fantasy,

 

Review: I do not think there will be any need of a summary. It is the tale we all know, thanks to Walt Disney Studios, about the Boy who Wouldn't Grow Up. First made into a play, later the novel I read and then of course movies. 

I have always loved the Disney movie and I normally love old English children's classic, but not this time.

I don't know... Maybe I wasn't so much in the mood of it as I thought I was. I only know that in many parts of the book I just wanted it to end. I liked the beginning and I liked some passages (e.g. in the mermaid's lagoon), but else... no.

Peter is a bit annoying and John and Michael are vague characters.

Some parts were ... confusing. Maybe because it isn't my own language and I didn't concentrate, but on the other hand - had it been more exciting I would have made a bigger effort. 

But I won't deny the plot was original and if I was any younger I might have liked Peter even more. But right now I just didn't feel the magic...

A great children's book

After reading The Admirable Crichton, I figured I should read Barrie's most famous work. It turns out that Peter Pan is actually a stage play. The novelized version is Peter and Wendy. Much of it seemed familiar from my having read it at my grandmother's house in Kansas, back in the dark ages when I was about ten, from my having seen the Disney cartoon, from having seen a community theater production or two, and so forth. I've probably read a Little Classics comic book as well.

The story is interesting and well told. One flaw for modern readers, I suppose, would be the inherent racism in the characterizations of "red Indians" and the inherent misogyny in the characterization of the proper role of mothers in our lives. I'm old enough that I can shrug those things off. I wonder if I should I be ashamed to say that? I do know that such characterizations are wrong, and I wouldn't countenance them today. But I also know that such characterizations were common to the culture a century ago. I do wonder a bit how I should deal with such things (and the racism in Dr. Doolittle, whom I dearly love) when it is time to read these classics to my grandson.

Barrie had me at page 1.
"All children, except one grow up. They soon know that they will grow up...Mrs. Darling cried,'Oh why can't you remain like this for ever!'...henceforth Wendy knew she must grow up...Two is the beginning of the end."
I can't believe how many children's books I read to myself and my daughter, but never Peter and Wendy, just the Golden Book of Peter Pan. This abridged edition of course, includes the main characters, Hook, Smee, Tinker Bell, the crocodile, etc. but it leaves out Barrie's sarcastic and wise commetary.
The Lost Boys knew,"in what they called their hearts that one can get on quite well without a mother, and that it is only mothers who think you can't." One of the Lost Boys remembers that his mother used to ask his father for a check book of her own.
Peter's cockiness and crowing is a large part of his charm and also an irritant and a stumbling block to his growth and his ability to maintain relationships.
If you've seen Mary Martin flying to Neverland, you're probably hooked on the story, but there's so much more.

2 stars for the last 1/3 of the book, no stars for the first 2/3.I think I would have liked this book more if I had skipped the introduction. I may have ended up seeing things that weren't really there. After reading the intro, I saw this book as nothing more then Barrie writing this story to get over mommy issues.I honestly found nothing likeable about Peter. He was a sadistic bully who found joy in murdering anyone he felt like. We're told while Peter is away, Neverland is a happy place. Everyone keeps to their selves and there is no fighting.In his absrnce things are usually quiet on the island. The fairies take an hour longer in the morning, the beast attend their young, the redskins feed heavily for six days and nights, and when the pirates and lost boys meet they merely bite their thumbs at each other As soon as he gets close to Neverland, all hell breaks lose. But with the coming of Peter, who hates lethargy, they are all underway againI just don't understand why all the inhabitants worship him. Wendy was too perfect to be believable. If she had had even one or two small flaws, I think I would have liked her more. The Darling boys didn't really add anything to the story or make much of an impression. They only thing that stands out was a scene with Michael towards the end. "Let me see father." Michael begged eagerly, and he took a good look. "He is not so big as the pirate I killed" he said with such frank disappointment that I am glad Mr. Darling was asleepThis really took me by surprise. I know they did crazy things in Neverland, but assumed it was something in the water that made everyone believe these horrible acts were ok. But for this kind of thinking to be in the real world shocked me.I hated the narrator. I believe a narrator should pop in here and there as needed. They should play the role of a minor character at best. I'm pretty sure this narrator probably had more page time then Peter. I found him over opinionated and condescending.Surprisingly, Hook was the only character I really liked. He was the only one who was flawed enough to come off as somewhat believable. He was the only one in all of Neverland that actually had something to be upset about.I have loved every movie and stage show version I've ever seen of Peter Pan. I was expecting the fun little care free boy I see in those. I'm hoping this book hasn't ruined future movie versions for me