Bruce Beckham's Blog - Posts Tagged "101-dalmatians"
Required Reading
At this time of year I love to be engulfed by a seasonal novel, the cosier the better, despite that I generally choose rather more hard-bitten suspense. It feels like part of the Christmas tradition, and transports me back to my childhood, the pine scent of the tree, the crackling fire, snow against the window if we were lucky, the sound of carol singers – the all-enveloping yet indefinable sense of mysticism and magic.
Indeed, a well-chosen Christmas story can guarantee all of these things – and walking the dog yesterday morning I was rather rueing that my present reading does not fit the bill. And then there was a small moment of serendipity. My dog is a placid little chap (I mean, if you were called Noodles you wouldn’t be expected to strike terror into anybody), but he will insist on guarding our lunch spot in the woods from canine ‘trespassers’. Yesterday he set up a heck of a commotion, and I was rather embarrassed as he single-pawedly saw off three large Dalmatians (a variety that for some reason also happens to be his sworn enemy – I think he was nipped as a precocious pup).
Of course! The Hundred And One Dalmatians, by Dodie Smith. I used to devour it every Christmas, for years it seemed – until my age was well past its read-by date. And then, successively, I inflicted it upon the kids, timing the staging of bedtime reads so that we always started good old ‘101’ in mid-December. But now our youngest has graduated to Instagram, and it’s several years since I relived the trials and tribulations of Pongo and Missus as they strove valiantly to rescue their puppies and lead them home through biting Suffolk blizzards, their distraught owners the Dearlys waiting forlornly beside the Christmas tree in their cosy London mews house.
If you have only ever seen a movie version, I think you will be more than pleasantly surprised by the book. It brims with nostalgia, is absolutely hilarious at times (most of these jokes plainly intended for an adult audience), and is extraordinarily insightful and yet original. Sure – read it to a small person if you can – if not, well – I’m going to try it on Noodles, I’m sure he’ll appreciate this wonderful seasonal treat! But dare I mention the breed?
Indeed, a well-chosen Christmas story can guarantee all of these things – and walking the dog yesterday morning I was rather rueing that my present reading does not fit the bill. And then there was a small moment of serendipity. My dog is a placid little chap (I mean, if you were called Noodles you wouldn’t be expected to strike terror into anybody), but he will insist on guarding our lunch spot in the woods from canine ‘trespassers’. Yesterday he set up a heck of a commotion, and I was rather embarrassed as he single-pawedly saw off three large Dalmatians (a variety that for some reason also happens to be his sworn enemy – I think he was nipped as a precocious pup).
Of course! The Hundred And One Dalmatians, by Dodie Smith. I used to devour it every Christmas, for years it seemed – until my age was well past its read-by date. And then, successively, I inflicted it upon the kids, timing the staging of bedtime reads so that we always started good old ‘101’ in mid-December. But now our youngest has graduated to Instagram, and it’s several years since I relived the trials and tribulations of Pongo and Missus as they strove valiantly to rescue their puppies and lead them home through biting Suffolk blizzards, their distraught owners the Dearlys waiting forlornly beside the Christmas tree in their cosy London mews house.
If you have only ever seen a movie version, I think you will be more than pleasantly surprised by the book. It brims with nostalgia, is absolutely hilarious at times (most of these jokes plainly intended for an adult audience), and is extraordinarily insightful and yet original. Sure – read it to a small person if you can – if not, well – I’m going to try it on Noodles, I’m sure he’ll appreciate this wonderful seasonal treat! But dare I mention the breed?
