Customer Reviews

Coot Club

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the fifth of Arthur Ransome's "Swallows and Amazons" tales, although, in fact, it features not a single member of either the Swallows or the Amazons. Nor, indeed, is it set anywhere near the English Lake District. Instead, it describes the Norfolk Broads boating adventures of the two D's (first introduced to the reader in the previous book, "Winter Holiday").

The tale is set in the children's Easter holidays, just a few months after the events of the preceding book. In it, Dick and Dorothea are anxious to learn the rudiments of sailing so that they can take a more active part in the fun when they next meet up with the Swallows and Amazons. Dick is also keen to do some bird watching. It is almost inevitable, therefore, that soon after arriving in Norfolk, they find therefore themselves tangled in up in (and helping out with) the troubles of the Coot Club - a group of local (boat-mad) children dedicated to the protection of the Broads' unique bird population.

Ransome loved the Norfolk Broads with a passion that possibly even exceeded his love of the Lake District. In this book, he paints a portrait of Norfolk, its waterways and the people who live on or by them, making plain his love for this unique environment and its way of life. The story centres on his concerns over their continuing destruction through ever-increasing tourism (and the increasingly thoughtless actions of its visitors), a major problem even 65 years ago. (It is far worse now, of course!) Unlike his Lake District stories, this one uses the real names of the places that feature in it and revels in describing them. Indeed, the book reads almost like a guidebook at times, although you barely notice this, for it is never anything less that engaging in its content. As always, Ransome combines both narrative and instructive content with consummate ease, tempered here with an excitement to the events that unfold. He weaves a tale that is as enthralling and captivating as ever, that will appeal to lovers of good tales whatever their age. The author's own pen-and-ink drawings are as charming as ever, too.

This is one of the few Swallows and Amazons books that can be read earlier in the sequence than it appears (if you really must) without major detriment to either itself or the earlier stories (except, perhaps "Winter Holiday"). You do need to have read it before most of the ones that follow it, however, as the events described here feature heavily in later ones.

In this book Ransome focuses on the two most recently introduced members of his juvenile cast, Dick and Dorothea Callum, who are sent to spend part of their Easter holidays with Mrs. Barrable, their mother's old schoolmistress, along the rivers of the Norfolk wetlands. Eager to learn to sail so they can take part in the adventures planned for the lake next summer, their spirits plummet when they learn that Mrs. Barrable "can't sail her boat by herself" and plans to use it only as a houseboat. Unexpected salvation occurs in the form of Tom Dudgeon, son of a local doctor, who finds himself a fugitive after setting a motor-cruiser adrift to protect a coot's nest being observed by himself and his five friends (Port and Starboard, the twin girls who live near the Dudgeons, and the Death and Glories, Joe, Pete, and Bill). Seeking shelter from the outraged motorboaters aboard Mrs. Barrable's rented craft, he meets the trio and finds instant common ground, and quickly agrees to serve as Captain and teach the Callums "the ropes." Though there's less imaginative play in this book than in the rest of the series, it still features Ransome's splendid insight into juvenile minds and character, plus loving description of the countryside and a strong consciousness of the environment that must have been unusual in the 1930's. Though this volume will never be my favorite of the series--somehow things are never so lively without Captain Nancy Blackett on board!--it succeeds on its own terms and will be a pleasant change of pace for families reading aloud in sequence.

After being introduced in the last book, WINTER HOLIDAY, the D's (aka Dick and Dorothea Callum), have their own adventure.

It's the Easter holiday following their winter adventure, and they're going to the Norfolk Broads to stay with a friend of their mother, Mrs. Barrable, to stay on a boat. The D's are eager to learn some sailing but are desolated to find out that they can't. But soon they're involved with the Coot Club: leader Tom Dudgeon, twins Port and Starboard, and the Death-and-Glories, a trio of youngsters who play at piracy. The Coot Club watches over the waterbirds nesting in the Broads, and after a boatload of crass tourists anchors near an important nest and refuses to move, Tom sets them adrift and ends up being hunted. The D's and Mrs. Barrable come to the rescue, hiding him on their boat and using him to teach sailing.

Ransome's fondness for the Norfolk Broads shines through. I didn't get into it as much as some of the other books, mainly because I miss the Swallows and Amazons as well as the lake setting. But this book is interesting for some of the more serious themes that creep in. This is the first S&A book that takes a strong environmental theme, and it's great to see that in something from the 30s. It also explores the theme of sometimes you have to take a stand for what you believe in, even if it gets you in trouble. We also see the tension between residents of the broads and noisy vacationers who don't respect them or the rules of the area. There are also elegiac glimmers of the passage of time, of how the Broads aren't quite what they used to be, although that might not necessarily be bad. It's also fun to see Mrs. Barrable referred to as "The Admiral" by the crew.

It's a fun book, and easy for me to visualize after visiting places like Chincoteague and the eastern shore of Maryland. It's nice spending time with the D's and seeing some of the new characters, who will make a return appearance later in the series. Next book: PIGEON POST, in which the D's reunite with the S&As and return to the lake.

Like all Arthur ransome's immortal Swallows and Amazons series, a lovely and timeless work. Set in England's Norfolk Broads, it transports one to a better and sunnier world - adventure, sailing, great fun - who could ask for more?

This is one of my favorites of the entire S&A series. It is one of the most sailing intensive books providing great details about sailing through tidal river regions. The Norfolk Broads region described is sort of a sailing paradise. Like all of these books, the adventure is very lightweight, and only really suitable for a child with some degree of patience. Part of the appeal is how realistic the books are. I think children enjoy reading stories in which child characters are doing so many fun things on their own with very minimal adult intervention. In my experience these books appeal most to children in the 9-11 age bracket. The book's theme of nature preservation and activism is one that also is fairly relevant even today.

Another great S & A classic, this time dealing with nature conservation. When Tom sets a noisy boat loose from its moorings in order to save a nest of Coot eggs, whose parents have been frightened off by the boat, he knows there will be trouble if the occupants catch sight of him, but not how much. A wonderful tale of boating on the Norfolk Broads with Ransome's usual blend of adventure and imagined adventure.

The Swallows and Amazons series is great and I think that each book is great on its own but that hey are even better as a series. Who hasn't dreamed of owning an island and these kids basically get to do just that living on their own for the whole summer. Lots of adventures and intrigue, so fun.

Grew up reading this series - Ransome formed my understanding of how family life could be. Coot Club was my first mystery and all others pale in comparison.

If you have read any of the Swallows and Amazons books and liked them you will love this one too. In my opinion they are all good, but this is definitely one of his best!