Just William
(Just William #1)
by Richmal Crompton
humour
copyright 1922
read in November 2019
rated 7/10: well worth reading
Light, enjoyable, entertaining... well worth reading.
It must be 50 or more years since I last read a William book. When I suddenly remembered the character I couldn't resist -- I bought a set of the first ten. And started reading from the very first William book.
I must admit... I was a bit disappointed. The first few stories (the book is a series of short stories) had William as the centre of a destructive whirlwind. There were some chuckles but not much more. Fun, funny, not wildly enjoyable.
Then the writer hit her stride.
The last three stories are just what I (vaguely) remember: adventures of a boy who sometimes means well but who causes chaos and destruction all round. An irresistibly likable trouble-maker. An independent spirit who makes you smile as he makes you groan.
It rates at least six out of ten. I added a point because... well, because I enjoyed it :-) After a slow start -- this is the William that I enjoyed in my childhood.
Should I -- as I plan -- pass it on to be read by a child? Probably better suited to a child who cannot yet read on their own. Read this book aloud and be prepared to explain so much of what was the normal way of life -- in small, fictional English villages -- way back in the 1920s.
Or read it as an adult. Enjoy a happy and simple story, set in an idyllic era which, most likely, never was near to reality.
Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
... Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved
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"Experience is the comb life gives you once you're bald" … per Ginger Meggs
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