Wendy Darling and her brothers, Michael and John, are taken to Neverland by Peter Pan the boy who never grows up. Peter is the head of the Lost Boys, a group of young boys who have lost their mothers. They live in a big room under the ground and spend their time fighting pirates led by Captain Hook and the Pickaninny Indians.

Wendy becomes the mother to the Lost Boys and takes care of them. Together they have several adventures with Tinkerbell the Fairy, Mermaids and Tiger Lilly the Indian princess. Long ago, Peter cut off Hook’s hand in a fight and fed it to a crocodile. Hood has sworn revenge. One night he leads his band of pirates on a raid that wipes out most of the Indians. He captures the Darlings and the Lost Boys and tries to poison Peter. Tinkerbell saves him by drinking the poison herself and she begins to die.

Fairies can be saved if children believe in them, so Peter appeals to children in dreams and asks them to clap their hands to show that they believe. They do and Tinkerbell is restored. Peter sneaks aboard Hook’s ship, rescues the kids and they wipe out the pirates. Peter sends Hook overboard into the jaws of the crocodile that ate his arm. The Darlings go home from Neverland. Peter comes once a year (when he remembers) and takes Wendy back to Neverland for a week of spring cleaning. Wendy grows too old for this and gets married. Peter still comes, but takes Wendy’s daughter Jane instead.

The book was strange. Clever, but strange. I suspect I would have liked it more when I was 10, but alas!

Why I read the book: It’s on the Carp 500 but I didn’t remember much about it. Craig read it recently and had nothing good to say about it.

What the book was about: Peter Pan, the boy who never grows up, shows up at Wendy Darling’s house and convinces her to come with him to his island. Wendy’s two brothers, John and Michael, tag along. The fairy, Tinkerbell, is in love with Peter and jealous of Wendy. She tries to kill her by tricking Peter’s band of lost boys to shoot her down, but Wendy is saved by an acorn shell Peter gave her. Wendy moves in with Peter and the lost boys and becomes their mother.

The cruel Captain Hook and his pirate band cruise around the island in their ship, the Jolly Roger. A band of Indians lives there, as well as packs of wild animals. There’s also a crocodile, the one that ate Hooks arm, and it has a hankering for the rest of Hook, but the clock in its stomach gives it away.

After many adventures, Wendy decides she wants to go home. But that night the pirates attack. The Indians are defeated and the lost boys and the Darling children are captured and taken to the Jolly Roger. They are about to walk the plank when Peter sneaks aboard. The pirates are defeated and Hook, rather than be killed by Peter, jumps overboard and is eaten by the crocodile.

Wendy and her brothers go home, taking the lost boys with them. Peter comes by once a year to take Wendy back to Neverland for spring cleaning. When Wendy grows up, it’s her daughter Jane who goes with Peter, then her daughter Margaret. But Peter himself never grows up.

What I liked about the book: I don’t really like anything about it, but I think I understood it better this time. Barrie is portraying Peter as the fantasy of young boys — fighting pirates and Indians, rescuing damsels, always playing. He captures boys well, with their occasional perverseness and conceit. There’s even a hint of sex — threatening to look at Tinkerbell in her negligee, mermaids giving kisses and so forth. Wendy’s behavior is what Barrie imagines little girls’ fantasies to be — playing mother and cleaning things. Even Hook is worried about showing “good form,” perhaps portraying Barrie’s own concerns as a man.

What I didn’t like about the book: It was a big deranged, cleverly written in places but to disjointed to be very interesting.

Recommendation: It’s part of the culture, so it should be read for that reason. I gave it a six the first time I read it, and I guess I’d give it close to that this time.

When Craig reviewed this book recently, it occurred to me that I didn't remember much about it, so I reread it. I think I understood the book better this time. Barrie is portraying Peter as the fantasy of young boys — fighting pirates and Indians, rescuing damsels, always wanting to be independent but always needing the security of their mothers. He captures boys well, with their occasional perverseness and conceit. There’s even a hint of sex — threatening to look at Tinkerbell in her negligee, kissing mermaids and so forth. Wendy’s behavior is what Barrie imagines little girls’ fantasies to be — playing mother and cleaning things. Even Hook is worried about showing “good form,” perhaps portraying Barrie’s own concerns as a man.

Having said that, I still find the book a bit too disjointed for my taste. I gave it a 6 the first time I read it, and I guess this time too.