English Life. Review on Faraway Tree, The - Enid Blyton

When I first read the book faraway tree, I was young a wee toddler of six and filled with imagination fueled mostly by my love of books written by my first unofficial favourite authoress, Enid Blyton. Before I read the book Faraway Tree, I had sampled myself with most of the books, centered mainly of fairies and fantasy worlds, which had always been my staple of choice for books. I never did knew how much my views have changed since the past years, when I first read Faraway Tree, there was a sense of longing once I finished it, my heart ached to be at least a part of the great adventures that Enid had creatively wove and ensnared me with. But that was when I was a child, my fixation of fiction was strong and often I would be found wondering where can I find this enchanted tree. Now that I have officially own critism, I re-read the book and found much wanting. For once there isn't much towards the three main characters, Jo, Bessie and Fanny, we never did knew who was who and which is which. Neither were we told of their background except for the part that they are quiet well off and that they had a traditional and general view towards their new home in the country. We were at once told of how obedient these three children are and were written in such away that they were envisioned as an almost perfect children, rarely arguing and would have been extremely hard to find in the English society today. Once we have gotten a general idea of what these children were, the story began and quickly and immediately were taken towards the focal of the story, the Faraway Tree. Most of the characters residing in this 500+ year old tree, were mostly individuals created in a way that they actually brought meaning towards their given name. Such as Dame Wash-a-lot, or the Angry Pixie and the ever kind but with a devil hidden behind his wings, Moonface. It is maybe that Enid was so more into the adventure that they were about to encounter, that she relatively named the residents with accordance to their behaviour. Simple and it works, since with on glance of the name Angry Pixie, you know that this little sprite own a very short temper and most probably easily irked by others.

Bessie, Jo and Fanny's adventure mainly takes them to the lands, which are built upon clouds that will for a period of time stop at the top of the tree. In the first book, which is entitled the Faraway Tree, we were entertained with an action packed adventure, focusing on the introduction of each characters to one another. In the second book, The Magic of the Faraway Tree, takes us to a more fun filled theme with a visit from the children's cousin Dick, a typical naughty boy who thought that life at the country were dull. But in the last book of the series the Folk of The Faraway Tree, serves a more dark and adventurous tone, with one chapter giving us a bit of history of the tree and its residence. We are also entertained by another typical cousin who is spoilt and fussy and in the beginning would not believe in such things as magics and moving lands. What at first was thought as a nice book, became in the end just another staple from Enid with characters overdone but quite entertaining but in a sense would leave you feeling quite empty in the end. The characters may be well written but not well enough to make us connect with any of them. I would recommend this book as a probable book for a child but not for a growing cynical teen.