The Borrowers (The Borrowers, #1) in Never too Late to Read Classics

Dec 21, 2022 Manybooks rated it it was amazing

Shelves: book-reviews, friendship, childrens-literature, favourites-read, fairy-tales-fantasy, little-people, being-frightened

The Borrowers (which won Mary Norton the 1952 Carnegie Medal) tells the story of a family of "little people" (simply depicted and presented by Norton as being diminutive humans and not ever approached or seen as the traditional dwarves, fairies, elves, brownies of folklore) who reside beneath the kitchen floor of a deteriorating English country home, and with the parents, with Pod and Homily Clock caring for their adventurous and also quite educated daughter Arrietty by borrowing what they need The Borrowers (which won Mary Norton the 1952 Carnegie Medal) tells the story of a family of "little people" (simply depicted and presented by Norton as being diminutive humans and not ever approached or seen as the traditional dwarves, fairies, elves, brownies of folklore) who reside beneath the kitchen floor of a deteriorating English country home, and with the parents, with Pod and Homily Clock caring for their adventurous and also quite educated daughter Arrietty by borrowing what they need (and sometimes also a little more than this) from the human “beans” who live up above, but to not arouse suspicion, the Clock Family members, they tend to borrow only things that will generally not be missed, such as sheets of blotting paper and old cigar boxes (and from these items make a life and a comfortable, livable and loving home for themselves).

And the storyline of The Borrowers, it actually begins with a frame narrative of young Kate sewing a quilt with her aunt Mrs May, and Mrs. May telling her niece the (reputedly true) story of The Borrowers, how her younger brother (known in the story as simply the boy) once befriended a young Borrower named Arrietty Clock whilst visiting the house from India (to recuperate after an illness) and how this ended up creating a lot of chaos. For while the boy's (for while Mrs. May's brother's) friendship with Arrietty and her family is wonderfully described by Mary Norton as indeed and definitely being totally genuine, there is also in The Borrowers an ever-present and constant threat and fear, as suspicious and totally horrid housekeeper Mrs. Driver (and yes, as an adult reader, I do think that Mrs. Driver might be a direct link by Mary Norton to creepy housekeeper Mrs. Danvers from Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca) both despises the boy, keeps snooping and is totally freaked out and creeped out by the "Borrowers" when she discovers them and their home beneath he floor boards, and like an absolute fairy tale villain then locks up the boy and hires a fumigator to exterminate the Clocks (whom Mrs. Driver basically considers as rodents and disgusting thieves). And while the boy does finally manage to escape and to break open the grating in hopes of providing his friends with an escape route, we never really know in The Borrowers whether the Clocks have in fact managed to save themselves, since the boy is dragged by Mrs. Driver to a waiting taxicab and taken away (and that even Mrs. May as a girl trying later on to prove the existence of the Borrowers, this still leaves everything rather open-ended, with there being at the end of The Borrowers quite a bit of hope that Arrietty and her family might have managed to escape from Mrs. Drivers' clutches but also there not really being any rock-solid proof and lots of unanswered questions).

Now aside from the obvious themes of friendship permeating Mary Norton's text for The Borrowers (and the realisation that friendship is sadly not always sufficient in a world of adult animosity, lack of understanding, acceptance and often downright nastiness), there is also a sense of smallness and vulnerability present, (and not just for the Borrowers, not just for the Clocks, but also for the boy, for basically anyone who is small, like of course children). And while my adult reading self is kind of a bit annoyed and impatient at times regarding how frightened and how timid in The Borrowers Pod and even more so Homily Clock are generally described as being (and probably mostly because I am often rather impatient with myself) my childhood reading self (who was indeed really shy, timid, always afraid of strangers and of anything new), she really appreciates and adores that Mary Norton obviously never forgets with and by her words for The Borrowers just how vulnerable children can feel, what it is like to be small, timid and scared (and that The Borrowers totally gives voice to this and are a delightful and wonderful kindred spirit reading experience for children and also respectful of their fears and questions).

Five stars, highly recommended, and I am actually also really quite annoyed that I did not experience The Borrowers during my childhood (and I am of course now also planning on reading the sequels). And yes, Mary Norton's story and her textual understanding and appreciation of childhood and of how much there is or can be that is potentially frightening, how this is brilliantly and empathetically presented in The Borrowers, this would have been appreciated bibliotherapy when I was young and often felt really quite at odds with and scared of the world around me. ...more

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Jun 21, 2013 Laura rated it really liked it

Shelves: audio-books, fiction-20th-century, british-literature, children-ya, fantasy, read-2013

FRom BBC Radio 4 Extra:
Adaptation of the children's classic following the adventures of the tiny Clock family. Stars Clare Corbett.

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Mar 21, 2023 Danilo Venticinque rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I read this with my 6-year-old over the course of a month after we watched the Studio Ghibli adaptation together. He loved the concept, characters, and story. I found myself enjoying it quite a bit, too.

Mary Norton wrote this not as a stereotypical adventure for children, with good guys, bad guys, a clear conflict and a resolution. Instead, much like a Studio Ghibli film, this is a slow dive into a rich, open world which she reveals to us in no rush, one bit at a time. No wonder this became a s ...more

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Dec 12, 2008 Pamela(AllHoney) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: children-fiction-young-adult, books-to-movies

I read this during my school years and loved it. I've enjoyed the movies they made too. I highly recommend it for children of all ages. Well, except for those who can't read. lol. ...more

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