This book has been on my docket to re-read for the longest time, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it so I bought it at the beginning of this year.  It was as delightful as when I first read it as a teenager and still holds up pretty well.  There are some things that are a bit out of date and would be considered poorly worded now, but it was published in the 1970’s and by no means are they egregious enough to poison the message.

I always loved how this story not only showed a father’s unconditional love for his son, but the fact he was willing to sully his honor in order to help him, and Louis, eternally grateful for what his father did and sacrificed, worked tirelessly to repay the debt.  It’s a great way to show responsibility and even goes into the morally grey area involving thievery.  It’s also a bit of “the sins of the father” for kiddies lol.

There are certain intricacies I noticed now that I’m an adult.  One, the only named swans in the story are Louis and Serena, his love interest.  Neither the former’s parents has a name, his father being referred to as “the cob” and later in the story “the old cob.”  The swans also know the human names for North American locations like Canada, Billings, Philadelphia, and others.  This isn’t remotely a critique on the novel; it’s just an observation, and it makes sense White would do this since important events happen in all of these places.  I wouldn’t call it an inconsistency since it’s established in the beginning that the swans are aware of such things.

I highly recommend re-reading books from your childhood/adolescence.  It doesn’t always turn out well *cough cough* Felidae *cough*, but it’s well worth your while not just for the gems like this, but also the not so shining.