The Borrowers Afield (alkuperäinen julkaisuvuosi 1955; vuoden 2003 painos)

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Now that they've been smoked out of the home they once had under a kitchen floor, the little Clock family—Pod, Homily, and their teenaged daughter Arrietty—must learn to survive in the daunting and unknown out-of-doors in The Borrowers Afield by Mary Norton.

Well! It's been nearly thirty years since I first read this classic children's fantasy novel, the second in a series. Some parts I remembered and plenty more I didn't.

One line I like most is an early reflection from Arrietty, who's long desired to see what lies beyond the kitchen floor and to learn to "borrow" items from human beings as male borrowers do: "Just because I was a girl, and not allowed to go borrowing, it doesn't say I haven't got the gift..."

Indeed, the Clock family has more to discover about their abilities and mettle out here in a world of birds, bugs, and weather, and how these family members truly feel about each other comes more to light in this book. I laughed out loud at some of the humor, and how happy I was to meet Spiller for the first time—again! I was waiting to bump into that fearless and field-smart little loner.

Now, the story calls a group of traveling people by an old term that should fall out of use. Of course, these novels portray all the anti-borrower villains as horrid caricatures, not just the villains of one culture or another. Doesn't make the use of the old exonym okay, though. That was the only real hitch in the read for me.

The "no going back" theme resonates through the novel, and there's some bittersweet longing at the end—which is actually a beginning. As the first two books are the only ones I read as a child, I'm looking forward to learning more about the Clocks (and hopefully Spiller?) in the following books. ( )

I quite liked the second in the Borrowers series, except for the very unfortunate and fairly central subplot involving gipsies -- the term used throughout the book. The term was pretty standard in the 1950s. Romany was rarely used in popular fiction or movies. But the really bad part is that they are portrayed here in the worst cliches of the era -- dirty, unintelligent, and greedy. It's unfortunate because otherwise this is a strong novel of character and travails, with much more focus on the adults than on Arrietty, the child heroine of the first novel.

Recommended for readers, mostly adult, who would appreciate the characters and understand the historical context in which the novel was written. For young adults, best to skip this one, IMO. ( )

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The 'little people' version of the Swiss Family Robinson, who though not shipwrecked, were similarly creative and ingenious in surviving in a hostile environment.