Francis Spufford, in The Child That Books Built, shows how fictional books play a key role in the development of a child into adulthood. The title suggests that, for children who are 'addicted' to reading, it is books that form the adult they become. Spufford's book shows reading to be a retreat from the real world to a more interesting and adventurous place. He tells of how for him reading was the ultimate form of …showed first 75 words of 840 total…

…showed last 75 words of 840 total…suffering of the characters without overburdening the reader. Upon re-reading the novel this is what struck me most. How the sense of adventure is not lost nor does it compromise the serious issues raised by it. The message is clear: if one abides by biblical morals during the most devastating of hardships the good will out over evil. It is a message which, whether directly through this book or not, I have an affinity to.