by Pearce, A. Philippa
1967
|
Tom is a boy 10 years old.
In his summer vacation, Peter, Tom's small brother, caught the measles.
Tom had to go to his uncle's home far from his hometown. His uncle and aunt lived in a apartment. All of the people lived in the apartment were grown-ups. And the apartment did not have any garden and trees to play. Tom had been bored. In the midnight of one day. At 1 o'clock, Tom heard the bells of old wall clock of the hall of the apartment. It rang 13 times. 13 times? Tom jumped out of bed and came down the stairs to 1F. He opened the back door of the apartment. And at there, he discovered a wide garden! There are many tall trees, flower beds and greenhouses. Tom was so glad. He came back to his bed after he was satisfied to play there. But Tom found there was no garden at the backyard of the apartment at the morning of next day. "The garden may appear only in midnight". Tom thought so, and began midnight walk in the garden. The people lived in the garden was strange. They wore old style suits. And they seemed not to be able to watch Tom. Tom thought "They may be ghosts?". A few weeks later, Tom got a girl friend. Her name was Hutty. She was the only girl that could see and talk him in the midnight garden. Tom began to play with her. ------------------------------------ In this novel, Tom runs from time to time, from decade to decade. He experiences Hutty's times of happiness, sorrow and anger. Hutty becomes a grown-up rapidly in his experiences -memories-. And she becomes not to be able to see Tom. What is difference of juvenile literature and literature? I wept when I read the last sentence of this novel. I think that grown-ups may understand the meaning of this novel better than children. They know why Hutty becomes not to be able to see Tom. Because grown-ups know that they also can't see Tom. If most of grown-ups do not read this novel because it was categorized to"juvenile literature", I feel it sad. I thought same thing when I read "Momo". I think most of modern grown-ups that are too busy to see Tom should read "Tom's Midnight Garden" and "Momo". But if a man who read them in his childhood remembers their meanings till he becomes grown-up, of course I think it good. |
