Find-Outers Readathon

Lenoir · Post by **Lenoir** » 14 Apr 2007, 16:37

Yes, they are aimed at the younger readers! I must have read them, and had them read to me when I was about 4 to 6.
I still have my 8 Noddy books.
When I was paging through them recently, after decades of neglect, it brought some very old memories back and I found myself quite intrigued again by such characters as the curious wobbly man and Bert Monkey!
I never see these books in bookshops, they seem to be totally extinct.

ps. Poor old Noddy, all bandaged up like that - I don't suppose he'll be getting many "get well soon" cards from members of the forum!

Ming · Post by **Ming** » 14 Apr 2007, 16:58

lenoir wrote:ps. Poor old Noddy, all bandaged up like that - I don't suppose he'll be getting many "get well soon" cards from members of the forum!

He'll certainly get one from me... (I'm pretending to be Big Ears

)

Lenoir · Post by **Lenoir** » 14 Apr 2007, 20:45

That's nice of you, Ming. He might like some bull's eyes too, while he is ill in bed - and that reminds me of the Mystery of the Strange Bundle again.

I like the way Fatty manages to disguise himself when he is supposed to be ill! Chapter 3 "That Afternoon" has a nice feel to it, as others have said. It is a great way to start the book, and makes a change from not meeting Fatty at the station.

Interesting one-off remark from Pip in chapter 5, when Daisy says she likes feeling hungry:

"It wouldn't be any fun being hungry if you thought there wasn't going to be even a bit of bread to chew for days!"

Nobody could think of an answer to that remark! It's a bit unusual.

Moose · Post by **Moose** » 15 Apr 2007, 12:05

I finished it just now

. Loved the ending, with Goon and Fatty burying the hatchet temporarily! This is the one book of the series that I could remember very little about so it was fun to read it as if for the first time.

Goon certainly behaved very badly though. No matter how provoking Fatty was, what he did to him was an assault.

Moonraker · Post by **Moonraker** » 15 Apr 2007, 15:09

Great, Anita!

I think it's Advantage Mrs Bensoussane at the moment!

Ming · Post by **Ming** » 17 Apr 2007, 14:29

Are we ready for Banshee Towers? I haven't still read it, but can remember enough to write a screed!

Okay, so Banshee Towers is not like a Find Outers book at all, it has more of a Secret Seven feel to it. However, it did feature some good subplots (I found the main plot pretty boring) like Ern's dog, his observations, etc.

Was Bingo a mongrel? I don't remember off hand

but if he was, it is of great surprise to me that Fatty didn't make fun of it! Remember the other book in which Goon says "That nasty yapping little mongrel!", and Fatty goes "Calling Buster a mongrel!" Considering that, it's surprising that he likes Bingo!

I liked the bit about the paintings, the descriptions, I mean. Just great, especially The Feary of the Storm. (Reminds me of the terrible hail storm we had here today!)

And another thing, when Fatty and Ern were locked up, and Fatty use his newspaper and wire trick to get out, Ern is very surprised. Come on, Ern, forgot Vanished Prince?! A bit of a poor memory.

The man at the turnstile was a bit boring, and in my opinion, rather an interfering character. Hardly played a significant role.

The plot is too fairy-like for me. Banshees! What are banshees? It's an Irish word for female fairy, isn't it? I don't know.

Lucky Star · Post by **Lucky Star** » 17 Apr 2007, 16:47

Banshee Towers is the shortest book in the series. Written four years after the previous book it does feel a bit like an afterthought on Enid's part. Several of the familiar aspects of the FFO series are missing here. Firstly Fatty does not disguise himself at all though he does a bit of ventriloquism. Some of the most humorous scenes in the series occured while Fatty was in disguise so I wonder why Enid did'nt create such a scene in this book.

Next is that Mr Goon never really gets in on the mystery at all. Goon is amazed when Jenks and the kids go to tell him about the case and Ern's part in solving it. Thus the usual race between Goon and the FFO is entirely missing from the book.

The cosy atmosphere of Peterswood is somewhat changed as well. For a start the village has acquired a Police station. In all the other books Goon's house served as the station. Goon also states the he only allowed Bingo in his house so that he "..could borrow him at nights when I go down into the rough part of town"

Peterswood now has a rough part, and requires it's own station? Has the place grown and gone downhill then? Those things kind of detract from the warm, genteel village scenario which is such an integral part of this series.

This is also the only book to use a secret passage which is more Famous Five than Find-outers.

The plot is actually not that bad. It was fairly obvious that the paintings were being switched but the bit about smuggling them out in pipes kept me guessing a bit longer. The target audience of children would probably have enjoyed it a lot more and perhaps not noticed the inconsistencies quite so much.

This is usually said to be the worst FFO book and indeed it is so but it does have some saving graces; it features Ern again (though I cant see why we needed Bingo, he adds nothing to the plot) and the descriptions of the sea pictures are very nice. There are also some humorous touches albeit some of them are clearly trying to be funny. I would have to say though that I'm glad Enid Blyton decided to leave it here, a sixteenth book would probably have been a total disaster. Definitly not my fave FFO book.

Moose · Post by **Moose** » 17 Apr 2007, 16:54

I always liked Banshee Towers

. I was surprised to realise many fans didn't. I like to see Ern back and I liked the edition of another dog - yes, a mongrel

. The only real shame to me is that the series didn't end with a reconcilliation between GOon and the children. It ALMOST did but then at the last minute it faltered. Shame.

Kitty · Post by **Kitty** » 17 Apr 2007, 17:16

BT is a bit of a curate's egg. I do love the early part of the book - I like the lists that the fathers have made out. And I think Banshee Towers is a good place for the mystery to happen - a classic Blyton location really. But afterwards - a bit of a disappointment - not enough Goon, not enough of the other Find-Outers - not enough plot! Especially after Missing Man, which is such a strong title. BT seems quite melancholy, though of course I might just be projecting that onto it, because I know it's the last one.

Oh, and I'm slightly mystified by the food parcel Fatty brings Ern - would Mrs Trotteville really have sat down to cod in batter and mashed potato (not that there's anything wrong with either!)?

arky72 · Post by **arky72** » 17 Apr 2007, 17:39

I am not sure I have ever read Banshee Towers. I certainly don't have a copy, and it doesn't really sound familiar. Not sure it sounds like ti is worth getting hold of, except to complete the set!

Moose · Post by **Moose** » 17 Apr 2007, 18:01

I don't see why should wouldn't have had cod in batter - home made of course, not from a chip shop

Kitty · Post by **Kitty** » 17 Apr 2007, 19:01

It just feels more like the kind of meal Goon would have had at that era, for some reason!

Moose · Post by **Moose** » 17 Apr 2007, 20:58

LOL! Yeah I can definitely see Goon having fish and chips - with mushy peas and maybe a pickled egg! Poor Goon. I wonder why he never got married and got himself a wife to care for him?

Kitty · Post by **Kitty** » 18 Apr 2007, 10:13

What sort of woman would have him, do you think? I can't really picture anyone who'd be happy to have him as a husband! Maybe he was constantly proposing and being turned down.

Moonraker · Post by **Moonraker** » 18 Apr 2007, 14:13

lucky Star wrote:The cosy atmosphere of Peterswood is somewhat changed as well. For a start the village has acquired a Police station. In all the other books Goon's house served as the station. Goon also states the he only allowed Bingo in his house so that he "..could borrow him at nights when I go down into the rough part of town" Peterswood now has a rough part, and requires it's own station?

As Banshee was written in 1961, it is quite feasible that Peterswood did have a "rough part". Yes, it was a genteel village in the 40s, but many villages expanded in the 60s and 70s, having large council estates built on them. I am not saying that council estates are necessarily rough, but a minority of tenants can bring an area down.

Agatha Christie's works "tailed off" in the 60s too (Third Girl). For me, the delight of Enid's (and Agatha's) stories are enhanced by the 40s/50s settings when, according to my rose-coloured spectacles (although I wasn't aroind in the 40s), life was so much pleasanter.

Also, if the population had increased greatly, a purpose-built police station would be required.

Whether or not Goon was the person to man it, is, of course, a completely different issue!