Synopsis of the novel:
THE RESURRECTION OF PETER PAN
-The return to Paradise-
Ediciones La Llave, Barcelona, Spain, 2010
Author: Salvador Harguindey
The novel is dedicated to the children of the world who are in one way or another suffering. The story’s style and characters, although loosely based on the original Peter Pan tale by James Matthew Barrie (Peter Pan, Tinkerbell, Wendy, Captain Hook, etc.) acquires an entirely new dimension, falling within the epic narrative, much in line with the great epic writings of humankind, from Ulysses to Lost Paradise and from Faustus to The Divine Comedy, also borrowing from the Old and New Testaments.
The story, in spite of being disguised as a children’s tale, is fully addressed to adults. Within a sometimes tragi-comic frame it follows the ironic style of the original Peter Pan, reflecting human crises and psychological trauma. Peter’s struggle develops into a process of deep psycological and spiritual transformation, wherein failure turns into success and chaos converts to ecstasy.
Peter Pan’s apparent death takes place after being left by Wendy and destroyed by Captain Hook, who, during the course of the narrative, becomes a symbol of the Devil. Peter resurrects as a totally different person, a Christ-like figure. Tinkerbell manifests as a guardian angel and begins to help Peter to overcome his conflicts and bouts of despair. She explains to Peter how, in previous lifetimes, she was the guardian angel of great men like Lao Tse, Plato, Einstein, Goethe, Shakespeare, Dostoyevsky, etc., telling us about her conversations with each one of them and explaining their personalities and personal characteristics.
The story, in spite of being disguised as a children’s tale, is fully addressed to adults. Within a sometimes tragi-comic frame it follows the ironic style of the original Peter Pan, reflecting human crises and psychological trauma. Peter’s struggle develops into a process of deep psycological and spiritual transformation, wherein failure turns into success and chaos converts to ecstasy.
Peter Pan’s apparent death takes place after being left by Wendy and destroyed by Captain Hook, who, during the course of the narrative, becomes a symbol of the Devil. Peter resurrects as a totally different person, a Christ-like figure. Tinkerbell manifests as a guardian angel and begins to help Peter to overcome his conflicts and bouts of despair. She explains to Peter how, in previous lifetimes, she was the guardian angel of great men like Lao Tse, Plato, Einstein, Goethe, Shakespeare, Dostoyevsky, etc., telling us about her conversations with each one of them and explaining their personalities and personal characteristics.
As the narrative progresses, the leading characters of the original Peter Pan undergo a metamorphosis, which turns them into historical, biblical, literary and political alter egos. One of the main subjects of the book ― the struggle of Good versus Evil ― is personified by a confrontation between Pan/Christ and Hook/Satan. Goodness triumphs, after an apocalyptic battle. Peter Pan and The Lost Children, having defeated Hook and his pirates, recover their Eden-like paradise ― portrayed as a renewed Never Land, a heavenly place where even the children who had died during the world’s greatest catastrophes, resurrect to live happily ever after.
This novel can also be considered as a self-help book and a study of human nature. The process of falling and eventually rising phoenix-like from the ashes of human existence leads to a shift in consciousness that brings the reader the gate of salvation. Psychiatric illnesses, ranging from the Oedipal Complex, the Peter Pan Syndrome, maniac-depressive psychosis, bipolar syndrome, juvenile schizophrenia, etc., are dealt with and new perspectives put forth. Ultimately the story can be interpreted as a song of love and hope, and also as a new and highly evolved viewpoint on human consciousness.
