Swallows and Amazons
I had no idea that Arthur Ransome's 'Swallows' and 'Amazons' were two families of children - so called because they sailed small boats of respectively the same names.
Reading a book that I ought to have read in the Sixties has been an interesting experience - but an enjoyable one nonetheless.
Swallows and Amazons is elegantly crafted, and conjures a marvellous sense of what life may have been like in 1920s Lakeland Britain.
Despite being a kids' book, there is a wealth of contextual detail - and everything you need to know about how to sail a small dinghy! - in other words, plenty to enjoy while the happy little adventure unfolds.
Sure, there could have been a couple more twists in the tale to build the tension at times - but I don't think this was the author's purpose. I understand he wrote it with a particular family in mind - and to please them. So who am I to question a man who played chess with Lenin!
Reading a book that I ought to have read in the Sixties has been an interesting experience - but an enjoyable one nonetheless.
Swallows and Amazons is elegantly crafted, and conjures a marvellous sense of what life may have been like in 1920s Lakeland Britain.
Despite being a kids' book, there is a wealth of contextual detail - and everything you need to know about how to sail a small dinghy! - in other words, plenty to enjoy while the happy little adventure unfolds.
Sure, there could have been a couple more twists in the tale to build the tension at times - but I don't think this was the author's purpose. I understand he wrote it with a particular family in mind - and to please them. So who am I to question a man who played chess with Lenin!
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