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Supposedly a children's classic, this book is quite disturbing, and not at all suitable for young or sensitive children. Perhaps the abridged versions make it more acceptable; the film versions sanitise it somewhat, too.
But this original, written 120 years ago, is not just dated - it's inherently sexist (the remarks about mothers are very bizarre), racist, and extremely violent in places. There's a mixture of 'reality' (in an odd kind of way, with a large dog as nurse) and fantasy, but far too much commentary from the author, and asides that don't fit in at all with the plot - such as the evil Captain Hook reminiscing about his boyhood years at Eton School.
As for Peter Pan, the 'boy who never grew up', he's manipulative, demanding and selfish... not someone I would wish to know.
I still can't get the fairy orgy out of my mind. I mean, even if Tinkerbell and her flickering friends really were getting at it in the forest just to kill the time, did Barrie really have to unveil this to us before the kids had gone to bed? ( )
It’s great when you’ve seen the Disney film before reading the book. Parts of it seem weird when you’re imagining them as the Disney characters rather than the versions of them in the book. Especially with the conflict between Pan and Hook. However in this Pan is completely different to how they portray him in the Disney version (as that’s the only film I’ve seen) because the Book Peter is weird to say.
Despite having a different feel to modern books it was a decent read. Commonly reading it in school also made it a great read.
And still with the 150 page length, I still took a long time to read it. ( )
I started reading this to better understand a more recent novel, Darling Girl by Liz Michalski. Not sure I can finish this. It is so scary and inhumane. I am shocked. The original could not have been written as a children's story. How many people know this?? ( )
"Now," said he, "shall I give you a kiss?" and she replied with a slight primness, "if you please." She made herself rather cheap by inclining her face toward him, but he merely dropped an acorn button into her hand; so she slowly returned her face to where it had been before, and said nicely that she would wear his kiss on a chain around her neck.
Mr and Mrs Darling and Nana rushed into the nursery too late. The birds were flown.
At the sight of his own blood, whose peculiar colour, you remember, was offensive to him, the sword fell from Hook's hand, and he was at Peter's mercy.
"Now!" cried all the boys, but with a magnificent gesture Peter invited his opponent to pick up his sword. Hook did so instantly, but with a tragic feeling that Peter was showing good form.
Last words
When Margaret grows up she will have a daughter, who is to be Peter's mother in turn; and thus it will go on, so long as children are gay and innocent and heartless.
Please do not combine the novel with the original play. The original play was written by J.M. Barrie and first performed in 1904. Peter and Wendy is the title of Barrie's 1911 novelization of it. The novel follows the play closely, but includes a final chapter not part of the original play. The novel is now usually published under the title Peter and Wendy or simply Peter Pan.
Per WorldCat, ISBN 0805072454 is for a book by J.M. Barrie; not a video.
ISBN 1897035128 is a Blue Heron Books edition of Peter Pan.
ISBN 0689866917 is an Aladdin edition of Peter Pan.
The adventures of the three Darling children in Never-Never Land with Peter Pan, the boy who would not grow up.
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Book description
This edition includes the novel and the stories, as well as an introduction by eminent scholar Jack Zipes. Looking at the man behind Peter Pan and sifting through the psychological interpretations that have engaged many a critic, Zipes explores the larger cultural and literary contexts in which we should appreciate Barrie's enduring creation and shows why Peter Pan is a work not for children but for adults seeking to reconnect with their own imagination.*100th anniversary of the play, which premiered December 27, 1904*Includes introduction, suggestions for further reading, explanatory notes, and the original illustrations from the first edition by Francis Donkin Bedford.
Peter Pan, the mischievous boy who refuses to grow up, lands in the Darling's proper middle-class home to look for his shadow. He befriends Wendy, John and Michael and teaches them to fly (with a little help from fairy dust). He and Tinker Bell whisk them off to Never-land where they encounter the Red Indians, the Little Lost Boys, pirates and the dastardly Captain Hook.
The great story of Peter and Wendy. I have in my personal collection a 1914 edition. It is a great story of retaining your childhood feelings of play and wonder of the world. It is an important story for the modern age as I think too many of us loose the heart of a child. A great read.
--jeriahsharin
The classic story of the boy who never grew up, the girl who would be both his mother and partner, and all the wild imaginings of children let loose. Adventure, intrigue, pirates, roughousing, deep dark forests, magic, trouncing the adults on a regular basis, flying, fierce animals, pretty much everything is there. --wendp
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But this original, written 120 years ago, is not just dated - it's inherently sexist (the remarks about mothers are very bizarre), racist, and extremely violent in places. There's a mixture of 'reality' (in an odd kind of way, with a large dog as nurse) and fantasy, but far too much commentary from the author, and asides that don't fit in at all with the plot - such as the evil Captain Hook reminiscing about his boyhood years at Eton School.
As for Peter Pan, the 'boy who never grew up', he's manipulative, demanding and selfish... not someone I would wish to know.
Longer review here: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2024/04/peter-pan-by-jm-barrie.html (