Tuck Everlasting
by
Natalie Babbitt
read by Peter Thomas
unabridged book on cassettes
children's fantasy fiction
I vaguely remember watching all or part of the movie that came out a few years ago, so I knew the basic plot. From the movie I remember there being a romance, but the original story does not have romance - just a hint of "what if" to it. The main character (Winnie) is only 10 years old, so romance is not appropriate.
Peter Thomas is a veteran narrator, so his voice comes across strong and pleasant. This audio book is unabridged and runs 3:31. I think it could have easily been shortened to 2 hours, however. The description in the book, while rich, picturesque, and thoughtful is a bit dull after about an hour. The entire book takes place in a 3 day time period, so do we really need that much detail? I was especially annoyed when one of the characters pauses to recount what happened to him, in great detail. I just heard what happened to him a half hour ago. I didn't need a reminder!
The plot: They do not say until the very end of the book when the action takes place, but it is about 1880. They never say where, either, but it is in pioneer America. Ten year old Winnie lives a civilized and dull existence as an only child in a prosperous family. She yearns for some kind of excitement to come into her life. She certainly gets it when she discovers in the woods beside her family's home a family of four. She is the first person in many years to figure out the secret to their life. They drank from a Fountain of Youth and now must live until the end of time. There is a great deal of discussion about whether this is a blessing or curse and by the end of the book Winnie must decide for herself if she wants to drink from the spring as well. If you have forever are you obliged to make a positive difference in the world? What would it be like to see your loved ones die - or not die?
The premise of this book is a good one, and it is discussion-worthy, but I would have preferred for it to be shorter. This is on a number of recommended reading lists, but I have read better books. It sold a lot of copies, so I am at least a little surprised that the author did not follow up with a series of books about the Tuck family. They could have had a lot of adventures in their lifetimes. There could be separate books for the father, mother, and the two sons, as well as more than one book apiece for different times of their lives. One could be set in 1840, 1860, 1880, 1900, 1920, 1940, etc. I guess when the book came out in 1975 books in series were not as popular as they are today.
