Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5912 in Books
• Published on: 1995-01-26
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

Synopsis
It was Friday night. Mr and Mrs Darling were dining out. Nana had been tied up in the backyard. The poor dog was barking, for she could smell danger. And she was right - this was the night that Peter Pan would take the Darling children on the most breath-taking adventure of their lives, to a place called Neverland, a strange country where the lost boys live and never grow up, a land with mermaids, fairies and pirates - and of course the terrible, evil, Captain Hook. Peter Pan is undoubtedly one of the most famous and best-loved stories for children, an unforgettable, magical fantasy which has been enjoyed by generations.

Customer Reviews

Sinister And Dark
Now, at the very mention of Peter Pan, we conjure up an image of a loveable rogue intent on having fun, and not growing up of course. But from this, I don't think Barrie would have approved of our modern day interpretation.
He's actually, a very wicked and selfish lad. Our first sight of this disturbing alter ego is en route to neverland, he is quite willing to let John and the others die because he is too bored or forgetful to wake them up when they fall asleep mid-flight.
They arrive at the said place, and what happens, Tink tries to actually kill Wendy. This was quite a shock to me, but braced me for what was to come. The gruesome and sad demise of the Indians, the brutality and sheer evil of Captain Hook, were all so much a deviation from my expectations that I was slightly stunned.
And its not as if the story is that good. It gives a brief overview of all the adventures upon the Island, without any details as such, and a few insights into how the lost boys live. There is no cohesive story as such, just a few sporadic and random tales, which culminate in the final battle with Hook.
In summation the book is nothing like you would imagine. There is a gritty reality in the fate of those who are slain, and even in the very notion of death, for as Pan himself says 'to die would be an awfully big adventure'. The book is nasty, dark and sinister, and adresses issues which would possibly make it not appropriate to the young audience to which it has been aimed.

Don't judge this book on the disney film
This book is truly amazing. It is not at all the same as the disney film only loosely based around the same plot. It tells the story of Peter and the Darling chilrden and their adventures in neverland. This book finished much too soon and I was genuinely moved at the end. This book should be read by every young person before they grow up too much for it's true meaning and magic to be lost on them.

ALL CHILDREN, EXCEPT ONE, GROW UP!
The story of Peter Pan, the boy who would not grow up, has been vivid in people's minds for many years. In fact, when JM Barrie wrote the story as a stageplay in 1904, I doubt he could have known or even dreamed of the success his character would eventually achieve.

Musicals, musicals, dramatisations (animated as well as real ones) have been made but still the world can't get enough of Peter Pan. Is it because he can fly? Because he stays a little boy forever? It's a tempting thought, yes, but this book shows very well the good as well as the bad sides of eternal youth.

It's true that this is no happy, merry little fairy tale. Of course, bad things happen and villains do have to be sinister and scary! Otherwise children would just laugh at them and that can't be the point. So, Peter Pan may be a little dark at times but, honestly, I think the Grimm Brothers' fairy tales are much scarier and more cruel than this simple story.

The reasons this book is for everyone is that, as a child, you mostly see the adventure and the fight of good against evil, whereas as an adult, you can see the pitiable creature that is Peter Pan. If it's only to think "Well, being grown-up isn't that bad" - read this book!!!