The Borrowers Avenged

Twenty years after the publication of The Borrowers Aloft Mary Norton surprised and delighted her fans with The Borrowers Avenged. Pod, Homily, and Arrietty Clock, having escaped their captors, have once again fled and are now making a new home for themselves, this time in an old rectory near a beautiful old church in an English village. Most of the characters from the older books, both borrower and "human bean" return in this episode, along with some new and very appealing ones. Probably because of the long gap between this book and its predecessors, the tone seems somewhat darker and more thoughtful. Elements of religion and the supernatural are introduced for the first time, and for the first time the fact that the story is taking place in the early twentieth century is nailed down for certain. The last chapters seem a bit equivocal and leave the reader with the sense that Norton planned at least one more adventure for the borrowers, but sadly she died before getting it written. Nevertheless these five tales will please their readers, and those who first meet the borrowers as children will find that they are just as appealing when they read the stories again as adults.

I love all the books in this set. They are wonderful. I do believe in the "borrowers". I bought the whole set for my 11 year old granddaughter. Hopes she loves them as much as I do.

Long before there were Littles or anyone shrunk their children, Mary Norton had written this warm and wonderful series about a race of tiny people who live hidden in quiet country houses and "borrow" their livings from the human inhabitants. Their lives depend on remaining unseen and unsuspected. But little Arietty Clock, who lives with her parents (Pod and Homily) is a naturally curious girl and lonely besides. When, on her very first trip out to Borrow ("The Borrowers," 1952), she is "seen" by a little human boy, she becomes friends with him and sets off a chain of events that will threaten her family's very existence -- and make staying in their home beneath the kitchen floorboards impossible. In this fifth and last tale of the Borrowers' adventures (written in 1982, decades after the previous four), the Clock family have escaped their captors and moved from the lovely miniature village at Little Fordham to the rectory in the human village of Fordham. Their relatives have taken up residence in the church, and they share the rectory itself with an artistic type of Borrower, Peagreen, who was crippled as a child when he fell off a shelf. But their adventures are not over. The Platters, those terrible humans who imprisoned them in the fourth book in order to make their fortune by displaying them to the public, are back: and just as desperate to find Arietty and her family as ever. In the hair-raising climax, Arietty watches, breathless, as the Platters ransack the church looking for Borrowers. Will she and her friends and relations, Arietty wonders, never be left in peace? With her "Borrowers" series, Mary Norton accomplished what few writers are able to do: she created a group of characters that become real through her words; and a fantasy world that is so realistic that readers young and old will be lost in it, and will look at their own world differently forever after. Though each stands alone, the five tales read as fluidly as if they are all parts of one larger book -- indeed, the first four have been published as a single volume in the past -- and can be read consecutively without excessive and tiresome rehashing of the previous plots. If there is any weakness in construction of the series, it is the beginning of "Aloft," when Norton by necessity must describe the competing miniature villages and the contrasts of their human owners. But that is soon overcome, once the Borrowers are re-introduced and the story is underway. The books are billed by booksellers as written for 8-10 year olds, but they are ideal for reading aloud to younger children; and adults too will enjoy the sheer fun they contain. I first read them when I was ten -- long before "Avenged" was written and answered my longstanding questions about the Borrowers' fate. All five books remain in my reading cycle, to be reread every few years in their entirety. By stages funny, thrilling, and poignant, these lovely books will capture your imagination and keep you turning pages

This book was written in 1982 as an afterthought to the earlier books (The Borrowers (1952), The Borrowers Afield (1955), The Borrowers Afloat (1959), and Poor Stainless (1966)). This follows the Clocks (Pod, Homily and Arrietty) after their escape from the Platters. Having found their way to an old rectory, the Clocks realize that they will never really be safe.This book is quite different from the earlier books. This story contains social commentary, as seen when the family meets Peregrine Overmantle, and the introduction of more fantastic elements, such as a household ghost. It's quite interesting to imagine where Mary Norton might have gone, had she had the time to write more Borrowers stories. Anyway, this is a great book, and well worth your time and money.

Just to set everyone straight, this book is NOT based on the campy, sellout movie "The Borrowers." The movie should be renounced by all true fans, as it is a badly done attempt at commercializing on Mary Norton's brilliant ideas. Anyway, "The Borrowers Avenged" was written more than ten years before the Borrowers movie. It continues the story of Pod, Homily, and Arrietty, as they finally settle into an old rectory. It raises important questions about the future--(who will Arrietty marry, Spiller or Peagreen? I tend to think Peagreen.), but as all good Norton stories, gives you room to decide for yourself.