Posted by Peter H on March 01, 2008 at 13:22:49 from 86.130.124.32 user Peter_H.
In Reply to: Re: Why I Like Certain Books And Not Others! posted by andyb on February 29, 2008 at 22:51:05:
'Pigeon Post' is a fine book but my least favourite of the Lake books; perhaps PH would like to expand on why that book in particular.
Short answer: it's not about sailing!
Longer more serious answer: AR is now at the height of his writing powers. In PP, he manages all 8 of his main child characters in such a way that each one of them is allowed to be themself - they all have their little moments, particularly the younger ones, Dick, Titty and Roger. There are several plots going at once:- the pigeons; the drought; the prospecting; the need for water; and above all, warding off the enemy. This last is one of AR's most brilliant inventions. In PP he didn't use a cardboard villain (eg 'burglars' or even a boy like G OwdOn, a regulation snidey type)- instead he made use of a classic misunderstanding. The enemy turned out at the very end to be a friend. All these strands come together at the end - the fire has got to be the best climax in any of the books. The N Pole in WH, and the 'storm' in S&A just seem pale by comparison. SW just fizzles out. And AR never handles large numbers of children so well in the later books - SW and GN? in particular.
The action is beautifully paced, and the locations are switched just at the right time. Probably my favourite moment in the whole Ransome canon is when Dick comes into the quiet cool Beckfoot, after leaving the frenzy of the camp, and is offered a cold lunch by Mrs B. So he has to eat it, whilst dying to get into CF's study. When he gets in there, he is so absorbed he doesn't hear CH arrive . . What a brave lowering of tension by AR - sheer chutzpah. It's almost Shakespearean.
There's a lot of science in PP, and also dowsing. I suppose that as a non-sailor PP grabs me slightly more than the 'sailing' stories - I like these of course, but PP makes me gasp and marvel every time I read it.
(OK, Duncan, move along the trench - I'm taking cover.)