I have read a few children's classics for the first time as an adult now, and the practice can be very hit-or-miss. As an adult, I find I am too logical and pragmatic about things that, as a child, I would have accepted without question. The suspension of disbelief is a lot harder when you're an adult, and that can make reading children's stories tough going. This worries me for the possibility of me ever having my own children. How will I be able to share all of the important stories with them if I myself do not even know all of the important stories that exist?! I don't want these hypothetical children to miss out on a glorious story that could change their life just because their mom didn't even know it existed. Sigh. I suppose I shall just have to be vigilant.
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase is a book I really liked as an adult, but I think if I had read it as a child, I would have been absolutely enchanted, and I'm sure it would have stuck with me for YEARS as a favorite. Now, I enjoyed it and am glad I read it, but I don't think any great life-changing action was to be had from it. This makes me sad, but I console myself by knowing that I have read many other books that rocked my world.
The story centers on two girls, Bonnie and Sylvia. Bonnie is the daughter of extremely rich, quite indulgent parents. They are off to the tropics for Bonnie's mother's help, and so enlist the help of a very distant relation to become Bonnie's governess. Miss Slighcarp (How many people out there have an undying love for the names of villains in children's stories? Because I do.) comes and is horrible from the very first, but it's too late for Bonnie as her parents are off. Luckily, her cousin Sylvia comes to stay. But woe are both of them, because Miss Slighcarp has soon taken over the running of the house and dismissed all the servants and sold all the horses and Bonnie and Sylvia get stuck outside in the dark cold, desperate to escape from wolves, but then luckily are saved by Bonnie's intrepid friend Simon. And then they are sent to boarding school and everything is such a mess and will they ever get back home and set things right?
Luckily for everyone, they do, and in a very exciting and breath-taking way! Now that I look back on the story, I am not *quite* sure what the purpose is of the plotline about wolves chasing trains and attacking people at night. But who cares? It adds to the sense of danger and breathlessness of the book. And really, if I were ten, I think I'd love that there were wolves, whereas at 30, I'm all, "What is the symbolic reason for the wolves' existence in this novel, as they don't add very much at all to the plot?" And I just need to understand that this book was not written for 30-year-old Aarti, it was written for 10-year-old Aarti. And 10-year-old Aarti wants the wolves.
Anyway, what is hard as an adult to fathom is all of the breakdowns in the system that occur in this book and just how implausible that makes the plot. But if you were a kid, you wouldn't know that parents would not just leave you with some random relative they had never met. You wouldn't know that there could be just one copy of a will, and that it could be torn up and put into the fire by an evil nemesis. You would easily believe that a will could be forged, and that some horrible person could send you off to boarding school. When you think back on it, childhood is a really terrifying time because all you know is that you do not have control over anything, and everything you've experienced implies that anyone who is an adult can control everything. Even if that adult is named Miss Slighcarp. It's a shaky state to live in, and Joan Aiken plays with that belief brilliantly in this novel, writing a fantastic adventure story that will really draw you in and encourage you to leave your logical adult mind at the door.
Another positive is, yay! So many intrepid/kind/sweet young ladies in this book! Yes, many of the adult women are not so great, but the children are, and they are all so very different and show that you can be a heroine not only by being a demure and quiet lady who doesn't complain about ice skating much further than she would like, but also by being a brave and quick-thinking tomboy who can think quickly on the spot. Hurray!
It can be so hard reading a book like this as an adult, been there, and other times it works
ReplyDeleteYes, you just never know going into it and have to hope for the best.
DeleteI just LOVED this as a child, my copy is rather battered and I also had it on audio tape. Reading your review bought back happy memories :)
ReplyDeleteHurrah!
DeleteI read this as a child probably about ten years after it came out (yes, I'm THAT old) under pressure from my father who had read a review of it somewhere I guess. Judging from the cover, I thought it was historical fiction and I DID NOT LIKE historical fiction. But, yes, when I finally did read it, I did love it!
ReplyDeleteIt does look like it could be historical fiction, and it FEELS like it is, too, but I think the story is universally appealing to children of all ages, so glad you gave it a go!
DeleteI read this as an adult quite recently and was very charmed. I so agree about the names of the villainous in these books - totally spot on and delightful!
ReplyDeleteYes, so much fun!
DeleteYay! I think the wolves attacking the trains thing is all part of the longer-form alternate-England that Joan Aiken was setting various of her books in. I don't know what purpose it served particularly in this book. Serious question: Did you think it seemed convincing? Like that was a thing wolves might do? Because seriously it seems very real to me.
ReplyDeleteI could see it being very convincing if I read the book as a child. Even now, if I didn't know much about wolves and just thought of them as more WEREwolves than regular wolves, then yes, I could definitely see it happening.
DeleteAarti, I love having your headlines pop up in my feed. I almost spit out my coffee when I saw "Geese!" I missed this one as well, but it sounds like it would be fun to read with my daughter.
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoy the headlines :-)
DeleteI remember this book, and love this review! I am still finding good children's books, but there is always that pang that it would've been a life changer as a child instead of just entertaining.
ReplyDelete"When you think back on it, childhood is a really terrifying time because all you know is that you do not have control over anything, and everything you've experienced implies that anyone who is an adult can control everything."
ReplyDeleteYes, exactly! I loved how the book captured that. I was thinking just today that I need to finish this series. Even though I also think I'd have loved it more as a child, I had a ton of fun with this book.