Rating: 3/5
In an ordinary house there is an ordinary clock in an ordinary hall. Behind the ordinary clock is something that is not ordinary whatsoever.
Behind this grandfather clock live a family of tiny little people about the size of pencils. Their names are Arrietty, Homily, and Pod Clock (they got their last names from the sort of place they live).
These tiny people are called Borrowers. They borrow from the house they live under – they live under and behind the clock – and get extraordinarily worried if a ‘human bean’ sees them. You see, if these so-called human beans see them, they often know where they live. There are plenty more Borrowers, too, not just the fine little Clocks.
When Arrietty (the daughter of Pod and Homily) is waiting in the garden for her father Pod to finish his borrowing, a huge eye (the size of an eye for us and a head to Arrietty) peeps over the flower Arrietty is waiting in. It heaves its huge head (the size of a head to us and a large cupboard to Arrietty) over the petals and soon makes friends with the small Borrower.
But what will happen next..?
Told by Mrs May to young Kate, this story is intelligently written and has tiny characters with their own little personalities. As you read on you begin to care for them and feel like you know them as a friend…
When it comes to dialogue, there is indeed a bit much; and also when it comes to description it has a sort of long, droning sentence. But soon you get used to it and realise that, of course, you need to know something about the characters and their surroundings.
Great book, a little boring at times, but pretty good all the same. I have watched the anime film called Arrietty by Studio Ghibli and am now to watch the proper Borrowers film to see how it compares.