Pirates of the Spring: -1919

by Forrest Reid

Originally published in 1919. This volume from the Cornell University Library's print collections was scanned on an APT BookScan and converted to JPG 2000 format by Kirtas Technologies. All titles scanned cover to cover and pages may include marks notations and other marginalia present in the original volume.

370 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

Forrest Reid was an Irish novelist, literary critic and translator. He was, along with Hugh Walpole and J.M. Barrie, a leading pre-war British novelist of boyhood. He is still acclaimed as the greatest of Ulster novelists and was recognised with the award of the 1944 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for his novel Young Tom.

Reviews

[Martyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is both a prequel and sequel of sorts to The Spring Song, part one being the prequel, part two being the sequel. I was disappointed, apart from a few incidental references to Edward Weston, that the events of The Spring Song didn't feature more prominently though. And in many ways it feels surprising (to me) that Forrest Reid chose to write another book about Palmer Dorset, because he isn't really a character who I can imagine Reid having much sympathy with or interest in. Maybe he just found him a curious enough creation that he did want to explore who he was a bit more. But I'd say he still remains pretty much an enigma even after this second treatment.

Pirates of the Spring doesn't have the same charm for me as does The Spring Song. Maybe it's because the bulk of it all takes place in and around school so it rarely has rural or outdoor scenes in which Reid is at his best. Maybe it's because there are too many boys and we can't feel an affinity with any single one of them. There is no Tom Barber here, no Grif Weston. Instead we have a range of boys and each may have some characteristics we can admire, but none of them is really the hero. None of them come out of it unblemished. None of them are wholly good, none of them are wholly bad. Perhaps for the most part our interests and allegiances are directed towards one boy, and then by a twist we find we have got it all wrong. The last few pages did strengthen the book somewhat after a fairly standard journey. Of all the Reid books I have read, this is perhaps the one which least cries out to be re-read. It doesn't have an atmosphere such as one wants to be immersed in. Nor does the text seem to have enough beauty in it that fresh delights could be found with each re-reading. But I could be wrong. Maybe next time I will read the first part, then The Spring Song, then part two, to read the whole sequence of events in their correct chronological order.

[Paolo · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of Reid's best . So subtle in its meaning.