Simon Vance did a fabulous job narrating this dear classic. I had to pick this up after reading Mother Carey's Chickens with my book group. A very old fashioned morality tale. I was a little startled to have an otter be evil and whales to be bad guys. Interesting how these animals have come to be more friendly and acceptable. I enjoyed it. ( )

Words cannot express the depths of my loathing for this story. The only redeeming thing about this particular volume is that it has lovely painted illustrations by Jessie Willcox Smith (but the drawings on every page rarely match the story). The fantasy/political commentary that Lewis Carroll perfected so beautifully 10 years later is a disaster of disjointed obnoxiousness in Kingsley. He is the king of the run-on sentence. His story-telling reminds me of a six year old little boy on a fast-moving train describing everything he sees without pausing for breath. For 400 miles.

Besides the fact that it's just a horribly-written piece of mind-numbing blathering, it angered me in other ways. Kingsley was a preacher but he obviously thought he was too smart for his Bible. The story is very pro-evolution ("water is the mother of all living things"). In fact, the story gives us a good look at how the theory of evolution caused the church to fall away. Kingsley is writing to families and at least two generations grew up influenced by this popular book until its racist bits moved it, rightfully so, to the back of the classic literature shelf. It's funny (in a sad way) how ignorant "learned" people can sound talking about science contrary to reason.

One thing, ONE, actually intrigued me: the reference to the Cheshire Cat. I thought this was a creation of Carroll's, but it's not even a creation of Kingsley's. In fact, "grinning like a Cheshire Cat" had been a popular phrase for awhile and is believed to have it's roots in an 18th century cheese brand who used a smiling cat as its logo.

To top it all off, biographical research tells me he insulted Nathaniel Hawthorne. That's an immediate dismissal from me. He and Mark Twain (who insulted Jane Austen) can go pick their arrogant noses in a corner somewhere and let the masters remain.

I suppose if there's anything positive to be said on the story it's that Kingsley takes the side of the underdog in many conversations on social injustice. Many of the Water-Babies are like Tom---neglected and orphaned children who are given a better (after)life. But why would a Christian preacher mention Heaven and the Lord? Oh no...Kingsley brings them back to the primordial soup from which they began.

At least I crossed another book off my 1001 Books to Read Before You Die list. However, I think I could have died happily not wasting my time on this drivel. ( )

Had this read aloud to me and thoroughly enjoyed it. ( )

Have just re-read this, maybe for the first time since childhood (about 10?) It is much stranger than I remembered, and the second part, where Tom wanders about having impromptu and rather dull adventures/conversations, is not as good as the first. I can see that Kingsley genuinely wanted to improve the lot of chimney sweep children, and was trying to marry Darwin's theory of evolution with Christian ethics (evolution = moral improvement), but he is so bossy and hectoring and full of himself. Also quite cruel in some scenes, despite advocating kindness, and as for the racism.... !
This edition has Edward Linley Sambourne's rather scary and vivid illustrations from 1885 (not credited however).

Short and interesting as a fairy tale but there is a lot to cringe about when the narrator talks about Irish and Scottish folks. There are also a lot of words, places, etc, that are either completely made up or beyond my knowledge. You are assumed to be English when reading this book and apparently a child too. Therefore, it's more a thing to study as to the time of Charles Kingsley than to read for pleasure. I can't imagine me understanding a thing when I was a child.