Listen-Through/Discussion of Famous Five Audio Books
Posted: 15 Jan 2017, 18:28
Split from 'What Enid Blyton book are you reading right NOW!'
I want to listen to the Famous Five in audiobook format, and I recently finished the first one, Five on a Treasure Island (1942). I thought I might not be able to put myself in the right mindset to enjoy it. The wonder of childhood is impossible to replicate, but fortunately my inner child rose up to the challenge and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
This one is special because it introduces the characters that will accompany us throughout the series, and it makes a good job of it.
Like what happened to me when reading the Harry Potter books, these books have two complementary sources of pleasure for me: the character/setting work and the adventure itself. The adventure provides the excitement, but I would not want it to start right away. The character/setting work is at least as important. I would not care about the action if I didn't care about the characters, and the setting is enjoyable on its own and it's necessary to establish the mood of the story and to give individual flavor to what could become too formulaic adventures.
The character work here is excellent. Yes, this is not Hamlet, but you can't ask more from a children's adventure series: I feel like I know each of the individual characters and I understand how they are likely to react in every situation. And they are likable. That's one of the things that makes Blyton stand above her peers.
Unlike later books where the friendship between the characters is taken for granted, here Julian, Dick and Anne have to befriend George, and it's not easy because she is fiercely independent and moody, used to be on her own. The patience and kindness the other children show and how they quickly get to understand her is a pleasure of this first entry in the series. And what child doesn't love how scary Uncle Quentin is, with his fierce moods and his absent-mindedness.
Random thoughts (spoilers):
While the adventure is perfectly adequate and exciting, it does depend on the incredible coincidence of the wreck being thrown up precisely when the children are there.
Also, there are a couple of moments when the children act weirdly because the plot requires it. For example, the rationale for making a copy of the map and leaving the original in the box that Uncle Quentin has confiscated, instead of just taking it, is rather weak. The plot required them to do this, though, because otherwise the bad guys wouldn't have learnt where the gold was. Another example is when the children try to block the door of the dungeons to prevent the escape of the bad guys. It's mentioned that they are not strong enough to carry big stones, so they just place three smaller ones and then go to the well to wait for Dick. However, they could have used that time more productively by carrying more small stones so that the total weight is enough to trap the bad guys. It was necessary to let the bad guys get out of the dungeon, though, to make the children's escape from the island more exciting.
I want to listen to the Famous Five in audiobook format, and I recently finished the first one, Five on a Treasure Island (1942). I thought I might not be able to put myself in the right mindset to enjoy it. The wonder of childhood is impossible to replicate, but fortunately my inner child rose up to the challenge and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
This one is special because it introduces the characters that will accompany us throughout the series, and it makes a good job of it.
Like what happened to me when reading the Harry Potter books, these books have two complementary sources of pleasure for me: the character/setting work and the adventure itself. The adventure provides the excitement, but I would not want it to start right away. The character/setting work is at least as important. I would not care about the action if I didn't care about the characters, and the setting is enjoyable on its own and it's necessary to establish the mood of the story and to give individual flavor to what could become too formulaic adventures.
The character work here is excellent. Yes, this is not Hamlet, but you can't ask more from a children's adventure series: I feel like I know each of the individual characters and I understand how they are likely to react in every situation. And they are likable. That's one of the things that makes Blyton stand above her peers.
Unlike later books where the friendship between the characters is taken for granted, here Julian, Dick and Anne have to befriend George, and it's not easy because she is fiercely independent and moody, used to be on her own. The patience and kindness the other children show and how they quickly get to understand her is a pleasure of this first entry in the series. And what child doesn't love how scary Uncle Quentin is, with his fierce moods and his absent-mindedness.
Random thoughts (spoilers):
While the adventure is perfectly adequate and exciting, it does depend on the incredible coincidence of the wreck being thrown up precisely when the children are there.
Also, there are a couple of moments when the children act weirdly because the plot requires it. For example, the rationale for making a copy of the map and leaving the original in the box that Uncle Quentin has confiscated, instead of just taking it, is rather weak. The plot required them to do this, though, because otherwise the bad guys wouldn't have learnt where the gold was. Another example is when the children try to block the door of the dungeons to prevent the escape of the bad guys. It's mentioned that they are not strong enough to carry big stones, so they just place three smaller ones and then go to the well to wait for Dick. However, they could have used that time more productively by carrying more small stones so that the total weight is enough to trap the bad guys. It was necessary to let the bad guys get out of the dungeon, though, to make the children's escape from the island more exciting.