Harriet the Spy

Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh (1964) I was a little bit alarmed at how much of Harriet the Spy I didn’t remember, re-reading it, recently—but then, I guess it’s been a while—I’m not sure what year I first read it (as an adult). It kind of shocked me at how extreme it is—the characters, the situations, the NYC setting, and the drama. There’s nothing wishy-washy about this book! I feel like it really gets at the weirdness of childhood—even if the details are far-removed from your own experience—which is the case for me, for the most part. The kids are all complex characters, and so are the adults. I guess there is a good reason this is one of the classics of children’s literature. I remember a few years back when they were going to make a movie from it—I think I wondered if they were going to water it down—but I decided not to see it, either way—nothing I could do about it. The kids can be quite cruel to each other—which is true to life. Most interesting to me is the really complex, unusual character, Ole Golly, Harriet’s nanny—great character! Of course, I particularly like that Harriet’s goal is to be a writer, and her main passion, besides spying on people, is writing in her notebook. Her observations are unfiltered and can be quite mean—but also very funny. Then the kids get ahold of her notebook, fail to respect her privacy—and it’s a nightmare. This I can relate to!

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