Synopsis: Really, now. If you don't know the story of Peter Pan... A girl and her two brothers travel to Neverland with The Boy Who Never Grew Up, and adventure ensues.
This book was an absolute delight to read. The writing is sketchy--it's obvious it is a novelization of a play. The scenes and lines of the play are strong, but then weak links connect them.
It was especially nice to see Barrie's script for myself and not someone else's interpretation. One of the things we learn is that Peter Pan is not the selfless hero he's made out to be in pretty much every interpretation I've seen. He is the embodyment of little boys. Good and bad. Remember those kids who picked on you in third grade, Peter partakes of them as much as he partakes of your idealized best friend from that time. Sure, he saves the day regularly, but only because it's a game to him. It's just as likely that he'll lose interest and let you die.
It's also amazing how much of what I "knew" about Peter Pan wasn't true. Example: Neverland does not, in fact, lie at "Second star on the right and straight on till morning." First, the actual line from Peter is "Second to the right and straight on till morning." Second, the narrator explicitly states that it is not true. It's just something Peter says. The actual flight to Neverland takes an indeterminate amount of time greater than a couple of days.
The "Clap if you believe in faeries" line was the weakest I've ever seen it. And understandably so. The key to that scene in the play is the interplay between the actor playing Peter and the audience. On paper, it just doesn't have power. Of course, I've always had a soft spot for that scene, considering my own mild Peter Pan Complex. Oh, and Peter is addressing the thousands of sleeping boys and girls around the world in that scene. When children dream, their minds come close to Neverland. So that means the 2003 movie Peter Pan is the most true-to-the-original version I've seen.
Another interesting note--a lot of the scenes from the movie Hook actually come from this book. Also...wow. I haven't seen a body count like this outside of Hamlet.
It's not every year someone writes a story (for children or adults) that has the originality and power that Peter Pan has. Makes me wish more modern writers had the devotion to the sense of wonder that Barrie had. Especially those who write for children.
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