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A review by duncanshaw
Puck of Pook's Hill by Rudyard Kipling
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
I thought this book was truly ok.
I must preface this review with the acknowledgment that this is a children's book so is therefore not supposed to be particularly sophisticated and is not written for me per se.
So, the story essentially follows two children from Pevensey in England. They meet the fairy Puck several times, and each time he has with him a person from the past who has a link to the area. This person then tells the children a story of their life. These stories are adventurous and slightly fantastical. You can clearly see whose taste Kipling is catering to here.
However, I like an adventure as much as the next guy, and still, this book lacked something. I think the writing style wasn't quite up my alley. The whole concept of different people telling stories to these kids being the bulk of it didn't feel great for me. It felt clumsy at times and a little unnecessary (and don't get me started on the incessant quotations inside quotations inside quotations). Honestly, although I know it is to add relatability to the target audience, I saw no reason to have the two children characters. They seemed to add nothing but occasional interruptions.
I did like the general concept of stories from throughout history based on a certain local area, but I don't think it was executed as well as it could have been. I felt the stories were slightly inconsistent in quality and entertainment, but that can happen in any book of short stories. This is essentially what this is: a book of short stories interrupted by a random fairy and some children.
The stories were fairly loosely connected, despite being a continuous novel. There were some threads throughout, including a couple of reoccurring characters and, of course, the fact that they have some connection to Pevensey. Although even this geographical thread (which is essentially one of the main points of the book) felt loose sometimes and only added into the stories as a token feature.
Overall, I did enjoy some of the stories, and the addition of related poems was often a nice addition. However, I found myself not enjoying many of the chapters and certain aspects felt like they only added awkwardness to the reading experience. This is a shame, as ultimately it is a good concept for an adventure story compilation.
I must preface this review with the acknowledgment that this is a children's book so is therefore not supposed to be particularly sophisticated and is not written for me per se.
So, the story essentially follows two children from Pevensey in England. They meet the fairy Puck several times, and each time he has with him a person from the past who has a link to the area. This person then tells the children a story of their life. These stories are adventurous and slightly fantastical. You can clearly see whose taste Kipling is catering to here.
However, I like an adventure as much as the next guy, and still, this book lacked something. I think the writing style wasn't quite up my alley. The whole concept of different people telling stories to these kids being the bulk of it didn't feel great for me. It felt clumsy at times and a little unnecessary (and don't get me started on the incessant quotations inside quotations inside quotations). Honestly, although I know it is to add relatability to the target audience, I saw no reason to have the two children characters. They seemed to add nothing but occasional interruptions.
I did like the general concept of stories from throughout history based on a certain local area, but I don't think it was executed as well as it could have been. I felt the stories were slightly inconsistent in quality and entertainment, but that can happen in any book of short stories. This is essentially what this is: a book of short stories interrupted by a random fairy and some children.
The stories were fairly loosely connected, despite being a continuous novel. There were some threads throughout, including a couple of reoccurring characters and, of course, the fact that they have some connection to Pevensey. Although even this geographical thread (which is essentially one of the main points of the book) felt loose sometimes and only added into the stories as a token feature.
Overall, I did enjoy some of the stories, and the addition of related poems was often a nice addition. However, I found myself not enjoying many of the chapters and certain aspects felt like they only added awkwardness to the reading experience. This is a shame, as ultimately it is a good concept for an adventure story compilation.