Barrie, J.M. "Peter Pan"

Barrie, J.M. "Peter Pan" - 1904

The book description starts with Peter Pan and his "irritable fairy friend". That could be said about the whole book. While I read this, I thought, yes, it's another children's book, mainly for boys and I am getting too old for these stories. However, in the German description, they say it was originally written for adults.

Well, not my thing. They also compare it with "Alice in Wonderland". And I have to add that these two were my least favourites as Disney movies. And, if I remember it well, my kids weren't too fond of them, either. The only thing I like about the film is the crocodile. LOL

So, why did I not like this? I'm not much into fantasy and this is fantasy for me. I also don't like it when children are portrayed as the biggest heroes, they know everything better than adults. I didn't like that when I was a child, I don't like it now.

But some of the book club members really liked it, so it was a success in the group. Here are some comments:

"I enjoyed the book because of the language and because it was a light summer read, and am able to turn off my critical brain to just enjoy stories for what they are.

I was delighted that the book really divided the group on many agreeing with Marianne, about the book and about Peter. This made for a really good discussion much beyond what we had thought possible before when we chose the book. It was originally suggested because there had been some controversial studies on Peter Pan as a character, so maybe this shouldn't have been a surprise. 

While a few members really enjoyed the novel for its imagination, humour, and writing style, others also found parts of it engaging even if they did not fully connect with the story. Overall opinions were divided. Some members gave it fairly low ratings, with others falling somewhere in the middle. Some struggled with the episodic structure and never felt the novel developed a clear overarching plot, perhaps reflecting the book's origins in stories Barrie improvised for family friends' children. Others simply found the fantasy difficult to engage with and felt that Peter and Tinker Bell were more irritating than endearing.

One of our longest discussions centered on Peter himself. Rather than seeing him as a charming hero, many of us were struck by his darker qualities: his selfishness, emotional immaturity, forgetfulness, and inability to form lasting relationships. This led to a conversation about how some of these traits can also be recognised in people we encounter in real life and even in certain public figures.

Many members were also surprised by how brutal and uncompromising the novel could be, especially considering its reputation as a children's classic. We first explored what Neverland might represent before talking about Captain Hook and the significance of the pirates in the story. We discussed why pirates held such a strong appeal for readers of Barrie's time, ideas of loyalty to the Crown, and how these themes might have been understood when the book was first published.

The portrayal of women and children in the novel came up, especially how much they reflected the values of the time. The parents, especially the father, were seen as exaggerated caricatures, although there was also some discussion about whether this reflects British upper-middle-class attitudes of the time. It was also mentioned that dogs sometimes had a similar 'nanny' role with children in real life, which adds another layer to Nana’s character.

We also talked about Barrie's own life and its influence on the novel. We discussed the death of his older brother when Barrie was six years old, which may have influenced his writing and his ideas about eternal childhood. We also discussed why he wrote Peter Pan in the first place, including whether it was meant as satire aimed at adults. Many of the adventures also originated as stories he improvised for family friends' children, which may help explain why the novel feels so episodic.

Whether members enjoyed the novel or not, there was broad agreement that Peter Pan is far more complex than its reputation suggests. Most of us came into the discussion expecting a fairly straightforward fantasy story, but we ended up discussing far more topics than we had expected, from Peter's personality and Barrie's own life to pirates, symbolism, and the society in which the novel was written.

As we often do in our discussions, we also looked for connections to other books we have read. This time our conversation brought up Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, which we have previously read together, as well as Astrid Lindgren's children's books and Treasure Island."

Thanks to Karin, our group leader, for this report.

And another comment:

"What a pleasure to reread Peter Pan, a book which has followed me all my life. It has taken me through the love of adventure in my childhood, the dawning of second wave feminism in my adolescence, the later growing Canadian awareness of racism against indigenous peoples, the enchantment of my own children , and lately, insight into the characters of those who unduly influence so much of the world. It has always been a challenge for me to embrace the cultural contradictions in this well-loved book that grew up with me even if Peter didn't. Now my book is falling apart, but it continues to reveal. This latest reading showed me an appreciation of Barrie's nuanced comments and attitudes. I think he had a much deeper understanding of prejudices and cultural stereotypes than I had realized."

Lately, I have not been very pleased with our online book club reads, I hope this is going to improve soon. I know our group choses different kind of books from other book clubs but that is the attraction of it, I have found a few interesting ones that I would never have come across without this group.

From the back cover:

"From the moment when Peter Pan and his irritable fairy friend Tinker Bell fly in through the nursery window, the story casts a magic spell. The Darling children are carried away to the Neverland where they meet the Lost Boys, watch shy mermaids playing in the blue lagoon and encounter Capain Hook and his wicked pirate band...

Peter Pan is one of the most popular of all children’s classics.  It blends autobiography, fancy, Oedipal myth and fantasy so satisfyingly that, like Alice in Wonderland, its child’s world appeals and intrigues on many levels."