Drift House: The First Vovage

Famed in America for his invective as a reviewer, Peck reveals another, softer side in his first novel for children. But separating himself from the anger that fuels so much of his adult writing does this long, loosely structured and ultimately irritating novel few favours. Slow-burning to the extent that the fire sometimes seems to have gone out altogether, this story describes how three contemporary children and their eccentric uncle sail out into the Sea of Time on a boat initially masquerading as a house. With these young characters able to tell the future and also travel back into the past, the ingredients are here for a good inventive narrative. But the author’s affected choice of vocabulary too often gets in the way of any sense of excitement, and with two more volumes promised, this looks like being a very long journey indeed. The odd philosophical digression every now and again offers no real compensation for a general lack of emotional involvement as one arch page meanders after another.