Something Old

 Not everything worth reading is hot off the press. In this section, we recommend "something old" that is still well worth reading. "Something Old" can mean anything from a venerable and antique classic to a good book first published year ago. 

 “FALTER TOM AND THE WATER BOY” by Maurice Duggan [published in 1957]; and “POBBY AND DINGAN” by Ben Rice [published in 2000]

            Occasionally I read children’s books – a habit I have had not only from when I was a child, but also when I read to my children when they were young… and sometimes I read children’s book just for my own pleasure. Two that stand out for me are these two.

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Maurice Duggan [born 1922; died 1974] was one of New Zealand’s best known writers of short stories [he once tried to write a novel but decided it was not for him]. His stories are not whimsical but usually serious and explore facets of New Zealand life, good or bad. But he also wrote two long stories for children. One of them was Falter Tom and the Water Boy. It was given to me as a present when I was about ten. It was dedicated “To Nicky” and I thought that meant it was dedicated to me. It was of course dedicated to Duggan’s one-and-only child Nicholas. [And I add that I personally came to hate being called Nicky, though I’m perfectly happy to be called Nick.]

Falter Tom and the Water Boy is in many ways a sad story, but one that children can understand. Falter Tom is the name given to an old man because he limps and therefor falters. He lives alone. He is an old seaman, now retired, but he often spins tales about his days at sea. His accent suggests that he came from Ireland. He lives near the beach of a shore in New Zealand, and he loves to walk along the beach every morning. One morning he sees a strange creature, almost a boy but also a sea creature, swimming near the shore. The creature calls himself a Water Boy… and he shows Falter Tom how to swim under water simply by following him. So, even in full dress, Falter Tom can follow the water boy, even at the top speed of the fastest ship. Most of the story is simply all the things that can be seen in the depth of the sea, the fish and the sharks, the ships that have sunk, the corals and other wonders. The Water Boy has apparently lived for thousands of years. But the time comes when the Water Boy tells Falter Tom that he has to choose. Does he want to become a Water Boy himself, forever living deep in the sea; or does he want to return to the beach. He chooses to live in the deep. But, as in many stories, the ending is ambiguous, as  Falter Tom has left his cap on the beach. And any intelligent child would understand that Falter Tom had simply drowned. If you like, this is the story of a man who loved the sea so much that he thought he could live forever in the sea. When I was a child, the story puzzled me a little, much as I liked it. Now I take it to mean that death is inevitable. Yet the way Maurice Duggan wrote it Falter Tom and the Water Boy shows how wonderful the sea is and all the things that it contains… yet there is a sense of loss.  

By the way, it is interesting to note that Falter Tom and the Water Boy was published in New Zealand by the old Paul’s Book Arcade ; but it was also published in Faber and Faber in London, so it clearly had a good readership. But even more important, it had earlier been published in the old New Zealand School Journal, one of the many worthwhile things that no longer exist.  

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            There is a sense of loss in Pobby and Dingan too, but also with an awareness of achievement. Pobby and Dingan was Ben Rice’s first book - a novella -  published in 2000, and it was immediately a hit. Apparently it was made into a film… but I hate to think what the film was like, as the novella is written in the first-person by a young boy; and his unique voice carries it along. Since writing Pobby and Dingan Rice has produced only a few works and some poetry. Rice was born and raised in England, but he was interested in Australia and Pobby and Dingan is set in Australia.  Rice now lives in Australia.

            A simple synopsis: In the harsh Aussie outback, in a mining town called Lightning Ridge, men are digging in the hope of hitting precious opal. Kellyanne Williamson is the daughter of a miner. She is a little girl who has two imaginary friends called Pobby and Dingan. She is so often seen walking around, introducing people to her imaginary friends, that people play along with her and politely talk to Pobby and Dingan. Her brother Ashmol, some years older than her, makes fun of her and says Pobby and Dingan are just made up nonsense. One day, her father says she will look after Pobby and Dingan when Kellyanne is at school. But when her father comes home from work, he has completely forgotten about the imaginary people.  At which point Kellyanne becomes very sick… and continues to get worse and worse. In fact she has to go to hospital.  And from this point on, Ashmol does his very best to find, or at least to be able to say what has happened, to Pobby and Dingan. Ashmol can swear and usually speak in a very Aussie crude way, but he is a real and believable young kid. There are other issues in the tail [Ashmol’s dad gets in trouble with another digger who thinks he is trespassing on his land]. But the backbone of the story is what can only be called the dogged heroism of the boy who realises that he has to do something for his little sister as her condition gets worse and worse; and who tries to rally others to help him.

            In this case I will not give away exactly how it all ends, but like Falter Tom and the Water Boy it does touch on the inevitable nature of death. Is it a tear-jerker? In a way it is, but it is also true to the way children think about life and death.