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We take great books that have stood the test of time and make completely new recordings of them Add this podcast to your collection so you always have something amazing to listen to.
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Dorothy awakes to the melody of Toto's playful skirmishes with the woodland fauna, and beside her, the ever-patient Scarecrow remained—a steadfast guardian in a realm of ceaseless wonder. They sought the modest comfort of water, a reminder of the mortal demands even in a world so steeped in magic. For in the pursuit of the extraordinary, L. Frank Baum never lets us forget the humble necessities that bind us to our human condition; the need for sustenance, the rejuvenating power of clean water...
1In Franz Kafka's classic story of alienation, we open to Gregor Samsa, travelling salesman, who upon waking realises that he has been transformed into an insect. Since that family has been completely dependant on Gregor to pay for their lifestyle, including paying off debts his father owes, it's clear they'll need to change to cope with their new situation. We follow the family as they respond and undergo their own transformation, while Gregor, in his own way, is still trying to ...
Gregor is incarcerated in his room and his parents try to work out how to manage now without Gregor's income, while his sister Grete does what she can for his situation despite her revulsion. Gregor escapes from his room and this sets up a confrontation with his father.
Gregor, injured from the last encounter with his father, retreats to his room while experiencing family life only as a voyeur. His family adjusts to their new financial circumstances, including taking on tenants. But it is upon hearing his beloved sister's violin playing that Gregor makes his presence known and causes his family to decide that they must be rid of Gregor, once and for all.
Strikingly different to the Disney version in our memories, J.M. Barrie's novel, rich in allegories and metaphors, is as much for adults as it is for children. The novel opens by introducing us to the Darling family. Exploring the what it means to be young and free to imagine your own world, we see already that the Darling children's view of the real world is translucent. It is Mrs Darling that first meets Peter Pan in our story, as she wakes from dreams of her own childhood.
The chapter opens with Mrs Darling working out what to do with Peter's shadow that was left behind after his abrupt exit. The Darlings recall the never-to-be-forgotten Friday evening. where all the usual aspects of the night-time routine are present, except for the clues the author gives us that this evening doesn't end up the way they usually do.
Peter returns to the nursery to get his shadow, and can't find it. His sobbing wakes Wendy, and they meet in real life. Peter enchants Wendy and promises her all of her play-dreams if she would come to Neverland and tell stories to him and the lost boys. Wendy won't leave without Michael and John, so Peter teaches them all to fly. The Darling parents rush home when Nanna works out that there's something strange going on, but will they get home in time before the children le...
After flying over several seas and perhaps days and nights, Wendy, John and Michael work out how to eat and sleep on their long flight. Finally, they have their first view of Neverland island. Tink gets an opportunity to create mischief for Wendy when she is separated from the others.
With Peter returning, the island awakens. We learn of Hook's pirates, the background to Hook's anger at Peter and the ticking crocodile. It's no wonder Hook has plans for revenge on Peter. But wait, have the pirates discovered the Lost Boys' underground home? Meanwhile the Lost Boys, and particularly Tootles, are tricked by Tink into shooting Wendy out of the sky now she is separated from the others.
Discovering that the "kiss" has in fact saved Wendy from Tootles' arrow, and Tinker Bell suitably scolded, the Lost Boys build a house for Wendy. Having found a place in Neverland, they ask Wendy to take care of them as their mother. We learn how the real world and the imaginary one are fluid and interchangeable on the island.
We learn about the Lost Boys' home under the ground, with it's giant bed that everyone sleeps in, save Peter, Michael and Wendy. There's a tree trunk that grows in the middle of the room which they set a door on top of to make a table at night, before sawing it off at floor level so it never grows too tall. We learn that food might be real - or not - but that pot needed to be watched just the same in case it boils over. John and Michael are beginning to forget the "real" world, and what thei...
While enjoying a nap after lunch at the Mermaids' Lagoon, the pirates come to the lagoon to leave the captured Tiger Lilly on Marooner's Rock to be drowned at high tide. Peter impersonates Hook and engineers her escape, but while the rest of the boys get away, Wendy and Peter are themselves are left on the rock and the tide is rising.
The Never Bird was always grateful that Peter had declared that its nest should not be disturbed despite falling in the water. In this short chapter, the bird gets the chance to return the favour. Despite their struggle communicating, the Never Bird works to save Peter from his precarious situation on the Marooners' rock.
After the adventure in the lagoon, the Redskins dedicate themselves to protecting Peter and the boys. Inside their home under the ground, Peter and Wendy try to determine what they are to each other while the boys prepare for Wendy's bedtime story.
In telling her regular story about her parents and the flight to Neverland, and their eventual return to the real world, John and Michael realise what is in fact at risk living in their fantasy land. They beg to return home and the Lost Boys join the plan, much to Peter's frustration, not that he would admit it. Tink agrees to lead them over the sea, and the Redskins get them safely across the island. But it was at that exact moment that the pirates had chosen for their long expected a...
Though Hook used dubious tactics, the surprise attack of the pirates happens at last and the guarding Redskins do not fare well. The Lost boys and the Darlings await to find out the result of the battle and are delighted to hear - they think - the Redskins signalling their victory via the tom tom. In a stroke of brilliance, it is actually the pirates that are beating the tom tom, and the boys and Wendy prepare to exit the home under the ground. But there is a pirate waiting at every tr...
The children are taken away by the pirates and in the process, Hook discovers Slightly's secret - that he had been hollowing out the tree used to reach the home under the ground, and that even Hook could fit down it. Of course Hook takes advantage of these and lays a trap for Peter who is sleeping down below. Tink is the unexpected saviour, but only you, the listener, can save her now.
Hook ruminates on his lonely life as a pirate captain, before offering two of the boys a job as a pirate themselves. Ultimately, John and Michael refuse, preferring to "die like English gentlemen". So Hook's men prepare the blank and our merry band of children appear doomed. Except, what is that ticking sound coming from the water? Could it really be that the crocodile is finally coming for Hook?
In chapter 15 we reach the climax of our story. The boys and Wendy are tied up aboard the pirate ship, but Peter is planning a rescue. Still making a crocodile-like ticking sound, he sneaks about and begins to take the pirate crew one by one. Peter and the pirate captain have their final confrontation. Will this be Hook's final battle?
Back at number 14, Mr Darling is asleep in his kennel - his self-imposed punishment for not having kept Nana tied up and thereby losing the children. In fact, he spends all his time in the kennel, being taken in it to and from work - and become a minor celebrity as a result. This particular evening, he asks Mrs Darling to play him to sleep on the nursery piano, which she does so. It is just as this moment that the children return, and indeed the window is open despite Peter's initial p...
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