Five Go To Billycock Hill (2015) - Plot & Excerpts
Seperti biasa, novel karya Enid Blyton adalah novel yang seru dan membangkitkan selera makan dari para pembaca. Saya percaya, itu tidak hanya terjadi pada saya tapi juga kebanyakan dari pembaca novel Madam Enid yang lainnya.Buku ini termasuk dalam seri Lima Sekawan, seri petualangan dari Julian, Dick, George, Anne dan Timmy. Julian, Dick, Anne adalah kakak-beradik yang memiliki sepupu gadis yang senang bertingkah dan berpakaian seperti lelaki. Bahkan, dia menolak dipanggil Georgina, seperti namanya, dan memilih untuk dipanggil George. Sedangkan Timmy adalah anjing kesayangan George yang bertubuh besar, bisa diandalkan dan sayang pada majikannya, termasuk juga sepupu majikannya.Meski merupakan bagian dari seri, buku ini bisa dibaca secara terpisah karena tiap judul memiliki jalan cerita sendiri. Kalau pun ada yang terkait dengan judul lain, pasti akan dijelaskan biar hanya sambil lalu. Tidak menganggu pemahaman kita akan keseluruhan cerita.Buku ini bercerita tentang petualangan Lima Sekawan saat pergi ke Bukit Billycock. Mereka melakukan liburan di daerah yang dekat dengan tempat tinggal kawan dari Julian dan Dick, Toby Thomas yang memiliki adik yang menggemaskan bernama Benny. Bocah tersebut memiliki hewan peliharaan bernama Keriting, yang adalah seekor babi! Ibu mereka adalah seorang yang baik hati dan sangat membantu Lima Sekawan dalam mempersiapkan kebutuhan mereka saat berkemah di bukit.Saat bertandang ke rumah Toby, mereka juga bertemu dengan Jeff, sepupu Toby, seorang pilot yang sedang ditugaskan di sebuah lapangan udara yang terletak tidak jauh dari rumah mereka. Sekali saja bertemu, mereka langsung merasa simpati pada Jeff yang ramah dan berkharisma. Bahkan Timmy pun senang pada Jeff, tidak menunjukkan sikap waspada walau baru pertama kali bertemu.Sayang, tidak lama kemudian beredar kabar bahwa Jeff telah membawa lari pesawat eksperimen rahasia. George sedikit kecewa pada awalnya karena Timmy tidak biasanya salah dalam menilai orang. Akhirnya, Lima Sekawan berusaha untuk mengungkap kebenaran dari tuduhan tersebut.Seperti yang sudah saya sebutkan sebelumnya, buku ini sangat menggoda saat mendeskripsikan soal makanan. Saya cukup yakin kalau ini adalah salah satu dari buku Enid Blyton yang sering menyebut soal makanan. Ya, beliau memang selalu rinci dalam menjelaskan soal makanan. Tapi, di buku ini, porsinya cukup dominan.Dan itulah, yang membuat saya sedikit jemu membacanya. Bukan, bukan karena saya tidak suka makanan. Tapi, saya rasa terlalu banyak pembahasan yang tidak penting. Terlalu bertele-tele.Mungkin saya terlalu berharap tinggi karena cerita Lima Sekawan lainnya yang sudah saya baca lebih menonjolkan di bagian memecahkan kasus daripada sekedar menceritakan perjalanan mereka.Yang saya senang adalah, saya semakin diyakinkan kalau Enid Blyton memang pencerita yang ulung. Selalu berhasil membuat saya ingin menjalani petualangan seperti yang dialami oleh para tokoh dalam cerita. Selalu membuat saya merasa bahwa kehidupan yang terkesan sederhana di era tersebut jauh lebih menyenangkan daripada era masa kini.Karakter favorit saya adalah Benny. Bocah tersebut berperingai jenaka dan menyenangkan. Punya keyakinan yang cukup kuat untuk mempertahankan apa yang dia inginkan. Membayangkan dia kesana kemari sambil menjinjing Keriting itu rasanya kocak!Nah, selain Benny, saya juga suka pada Anne, si gadis manis yang kalem namun juga punya karakter yang keras. Salah satu ungkapan darinya akhirnya yang salah pilih sebagai kalimat favorit:“Tak ada yang lebih asyik daripada berkumpul dengan saudara-saudaraku seperti ini, bersenang-senang bersama mereka. Tidak- aku tidak mau jadi dewasa. Lebih enak jadi anak-anak terus.” – hal. 46Bicara soal kalimat favorit, saya menemukan beberapa bagian yang menurut saya diterjemahkan secara kurang tepat. Walau saya belum membaca versi bahasa aslinya, saya merasa bahwa ada yang kurang sreg saat membacanya.Bagaimana pun, buku ini tetap memukau. Bayangkan saja, kalau terjemahannya pas, atau bahkan dalam bahasa aslinya?
Enid Blytonin Viisikko-sarjaa tuli luettua lapsena melko ahkerasti, joskin on rehellisyyden nimissä sanottava, ettei se ole jättänyt kovin tarkkoja muistikuvia. Lasten ja heidän koiransa nimet muistin sentään ulkoa, mutta siinä oikeastaan kaikki. Niinpä oli aika lainata kirjastosta "Viisikko vapauttaa lentäjät" (Tammi, 2005), joka ilmestyi alun perin vuonna 1957 ja oli järjestyksessään kuudestoista Viisikko-tarina.Dick, Leo, Anne, Pauli ja Tim-koira ovat jälleen lomalla (yksi kirjojen klisee ilmeisesti tämäkin) ja lähtevät telttailemaan Billycock Hill -nimiselle paikkakunnalle, jonka lähellä sijaitsee lentotukikohta. Kavereinaan heillä on Toby, tämän pikkuveli Beni (sic - alkuperäistekstissä niinkin eksoottinen tapaus kuin Benny) ja karkaileva porsas nimeltään Korkkiruuvi. Synkkänä ja myrskyisenä yönä lentotukikohdasta katoaa kaksi hävittäjää, ja syyllisiksi epäillään kahta lentäjää, joista toinen on Tobyn serkkupoika. Viisikon on siis käytävä tutkimaan tapausta. Miten lähellä sijaitseva perhosfarmi erikoisine luonnontutkijoineen liittyy asiaan? Englannin maaseudun kuvaamisessa on jotakin idyllistä, ja tietynlainen viattomuus on omalla tavallaan ihan viehättävää. Mutta! Seikkailu on sanalla sanoen vähän tylsänpuoleinen, eikä siinä oikeastaan tapahdu mitään kovin jännittävää. Lieneekö aika sitten tehnyt tehtävänsä Viisikkojen suhteen, vai sattuiko tämä olemaan vain keskimääräistä mitäänsanomattomampi tarina, mene ja tiedä! Voisi näitä silti harkita vinkkaavansa pienemmille alakoululaisille, tiedä jos vaikka jotain nämä saisivat irti.Sukupuoliroolit istuvat romaanissa melko tiukassa. Vaarallisimpiin juttuihin käyvät pojat kahdestaan, ja maatilan töissäkin kanalan kalkitseminen on ns. vähemmän kauniin sukupuolen hommaa. Se kyllä kismittää poikatyttö-Paulia, mutta ei tämä ihmeemmin ala pulikoida vastaan.Ja hei, on se ihan totta: näissä kirjoissa tosiaan syödään jatkuvasti.
What do You think about Five Go To Billycock Hill (2015)?
A cute little story, made more cute by Benny and Curly, his little pigling. I liked as well the inclusion of Toby, a friend of Julian and Dick's- it seems to me that most of the kids the five go to school with wouldn't believe their adventures, and now one has shared in it. It was another quick read, but I always love reading the adventures of the five, whether long or short.One particular line caught my attention; when they are discussing traitors, Dick says traitors deserve to die. Heady stuff there, Enid! I think it's also the only time the bad guys do die in these books, but of course, not in front of the children. Another darker aspect was when Benny goes missing, and his mother thinks he may have been drowned. There is never any real danger to the kids in these books, but it makes you remember how quickly and easily something like that can happen, with both Toby and his mother believing the boy is with the other.One of my favorite five books growing up, time has not diminished it. I'd like to get hold of whomever scribbled in my secondhand copy before I got it though, and wring their neck!
—Kirsti
Ahh, the joys of the famous five. A wonderful reflection of the time it was written, when kids scampered around the countryside, knocked on the doors of strange farmhouses and were given creamy milk, eggs and cake! (pretty sure it wasn't like that at all, but we can all rosy tint that past!)This book deals with the terrible problem that there might be spies and theft around ("Goodness gracious!")with Enid Blyton's usual cast of Julian, Dick, Anne and George with Timmy the dog providing all of the wisdom that a dog can give! Actually the addition of Julian and Dick's friend Toby and his brother Benny make this one a bit more fun, especially with the addition of a piglet that keeps being "runned away!".I would say that I'm re-reading these books, but I couldn't be bothered with them when I was young, although I loved them on tape! So I'm reading through them now and enjoying the escapism too!
—Nathalie
The Five discover a secret airbase16 August 2013tI guess by number 16 the stories start to become a little dry and the setting a little too familiar. I have mentioned it before, and the reason is that others have also mentioned it: the Famous Five do not seem to grow up and that there seems to be an awful lot of holidays in England. In fact the Famous Five seem to spend more time on holidays than they do at school, and further, there seems to be many places around Kirin Cottage for them to explore (though I think there have been a couple where they have gone to Julian, Dick, and Anne's house, though they do not spend much time there).tHowever, enough of that because they are still an enjoyable read, and I doubt that Enid Blyton would have written 21 of them if people had become board after, say, number 10. Mind you, the Secret Seven books seem to take place over a much shorter time, and they are not necessarily on holidays, but they is probably because they all live in the same town and can easily meet up with each other. The Famous Five, on the other hand, live quite a distance apart, and also go to boarding schools, so they can really only visit each other on school holidays. Still, one would think that by this book they would have well and truly entered puberty.tThis book is set during the Whitsunday holiday (apparently when they get a week off school, not that I know anything about that because here in Australia I never had a week off school during Witsunday, not that I actually know what Whitsunday is – we only ever had time off school during Easter, though when I was a kid we had two two week holidays between the terms and a two month holiday over Christmas and summer). Anyway, they decide to go and visit a friend of Julian and Dick's from school at a place called Billycock Hill were there is a butterfly farm and a secret airbase (not that they can go and run around the airbase because it is secret, and they do get told off when they go and have a swim in the pond).tAs with some of the other books, a bulk of the story is about their little holiday at Billycock Hill and only the last third involves the adventure that they stumble upon. This one involves a couple of planes that are stolen and their friend's cousin is implicated in the theft because he, and his colleague, go missing at the same time the plane goes missing. As is typical, the Five stumble across the perpetrators of the crime, and inform the police of their discovery, and then Timmy locates (actually it is not Timmy but a piglet) the missing pilots and everything goes back to normal.tThe pigling (as she calls it, though I always thought they were called piglets) was an interesting addition to this story. Basically the friend's little brother has a thing for baby animals (and they do live on a farm) so whenever a new animal is born the brother immediately forms an attachment to it: this time it is a pigling. The pigling unfortunately has a habit of running away, and the little brother tends to get into trouble when he runs off to find the pigling. However, this time the pigling saves the day, despite it being nowhere near as intelligent as Timmy.tAs for Timmy, it is interesting that the TV series use this dog as Timmy:twhen in the books, Timmy looks more like this:tI've also noted that Disney has decided to produce an animated series involving the children of the Famous Five but personally, I really don't think it would capture the essence of the original Blyton stories.
—David Sarkies
