من برش داشته بودم که همون شب تمومش کنم. ولی پنج روز طول کشید. اینقدر بی‌جاذبه :))

برای کتاب به این کوچکی خیلی کُند پیش رفت چون حوصله‌م نمی‌اومد بخونمش. همه‌ش احساس می‌کردم نویسنده می‌خواد مراحل رشد رو از زبون بچه بهم حالی کنه و رفتار بچه‌ها رو برای آدم بزرگا با توجیه منطقی توضیح بده.
تو بعضی داستان ها خیال می‌بافت، تو بعضی خبری از خیال هم نبود..

This is a children’s novel but really can be read as short stories (and can be read by adults for a quick read

SOGNI A OCCHI APERTI


Il protagonista Peter Fortune, daydreamer.

Lo si trova negli scaffali e stand della letteratura per l’infanzia: proprio come succede con quell’altro tentativo di libro per bambini di un’altra scrittrice molto per adulti, Elena Ferrante e il suo La spiaggia di notte.
Anche questi otto brevi racconti firmati da Ian McEwan sono considerati per lettori minorenni, addirittura proprio bambini, e invece sembrano piuttosto indirizzati a un pubblico maggiorenne.
A vantaggio della nostra, se così si può dire, c’è che le illustrazioni del libro inglese per quanto belle impallidiscono confrontate a quelle di Mara Cerri a corredo della ‘fiaba di Elena Ferrante



A vantaggio dello scrittore inglese rispetto alla scrittrice italiana c’è che McEwan non dimentica mai il suo buon sense of humour dannatamente 8e meravigliosamente, britannico.
E neppure il suo lato ‘macabre’, gotico tendente al nero. Due aspetti che almeno per gli adulti sono piacevoli e divertenti anche se in una lettura per bambini.

E penso che per leggere appena uscito un libretto per l’infanzia come questo, è la dimostrazione che ero nel pieno del mio periodo McEwan, quando lo leggevo in modo continuato e massiccio.

English title: The Daydreamer

“And behind all this human movement the ocean bobbed and folded and slid, for nothing could keep still, not people, not water, not time.”

I loved this reread of The Daydreamer just as much as the first, almost twenty years ago.

There's something special and magical about revisiting books one loved as a child.
It feels like digging up a treasure chest full of childhood memories you thought you had lost, but that's only half the beauty of it; the other half is being able to see the book in a new light, and noticing bits that as a kid you overlooked.

I might have wept a little through the last chapter. Just a little.

Jedna od onih knjiga s kojom se mozda i ne bih tako sazivila da mi nije dosla u pravom trenutku, i jedan Makjuan koji me vraca u davno zaboravljeni svijet: pun igre, maste i topline.

A collection of related stories/chapters, telling incidents from the life of a boy of 10 - 11. Peter is a daydreamer and thus the boundaries between fact and fiction are often intriguingly blurred.

Three of the seven stories are body-swaps and you guess the gist of the one called “Vanishing Cream” from its title, so although the characters are quite good and the storytelling somewhat original, the stories themselves are not.

The one called “The Bully” would work well as a standalone piece and could make a useful talking point for children involved in (either side) of bullying.

This collection could easily be read by children Peter's age and a little younger, but is meant to be profound enough to appeal to adults. Although I would have enjoyed reading it to my kid, they're now too old, and I wouldn’t really recommend it as an adult book.

The illustrated version of this title was not available when I looked for it... highly disappointing. This takes Ian McEwan's versatility to a new level. Honestly did not realize that was even possible. We start with an introduction to Peter, our narrator. McEwan writes with a very convincing child's point of view, a child's imagination, playfully constructing stories through the schooldays, daydreams, fantasy worlds, concocting interesting yet often intelligent vignettes that, in the end, like the best bedtime stories, teach us all a lesson.

"The Dolls" is abut exactly what is seems, his sister Kate's sixty dolls come to life (think Toy Story, with not-so-cute Lotso); "The Cat" tells about Peter switching roles right before he passes away to fight his last battle with a neighboring black cat, with aids Peter's mourning process, as he is very close to Old William; "Vanishing Cream" tells about Peter wanting to have his entire family disappear, realizing in time that he really loves them; "The Bully" is the classic story of Peter realizing all the power lies in the other students letting this big guy rule them, eventually befriending Barry Tamerlane; In "The Burglar" Peter single-handedly catches the eponymous old lady for fun; "The Baby" teaches us that we should take a moment to walk in another's shoes; "Th Grown-Up" is Peter's final story, revealing a sort of maturity, as he admits he has never experiences a greater satisfaction nor fulfillment than his kiss with Gwendoline (in his daydream as an adult). He realizes at first with regret/sadness, then with excitement that he will soon be a new person when he becomes an adult, with new things to learn, new things to discuss, new things to explore.

When a novel starts out rather dreadfully but gradually and steadily improves I am never really sure if it is the author who is finding their footing or if it is me who is subconsciously lowering my expectations.

Children’s books aren’t McEwen’s usual stock and trade and it shows. His early chapters, each a foray into the imagination of a nine year old boy, feel a wee bit stilted and contrived. Still, I like what McEwan is trying to do even if it is, at times, unwieldy and off the mark...

“..the burglar struck again, and carried off a box of expensive perfumed soap and a silver-topped walking-stick... The stick had belonged to her great-grandfather, a famously fierce missionary. He used it to beat African children when they didn’t study their Bible lessons.”

This book was one of the strangest book I've encounter. I liked it too because it taught me new phrases and vocabulary.

Sort of like a fable for all ages. Sort of like the movie "Big." Definitely written by someone who is appreciated by the Booker award givers. I quite liked it, even though I highly doubt I'd like any of McEwan's works for adults. Anthony Browne's illustrations are a perfect fit - if you're a fan of his books, especially his Willie stories, you might want to give this very short episodic novel a try.

precious. had a splendid night by myself reading this and being no less of a daydreamer than Peter...