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rachelhelps's review
3.0
A hilarious satire of ridiculous literary criticism. Each chapter is a separate essay on Milne's Winnie-The-Pooh by fictional professors (with stereotypical quirks, like the one guy obsessed with DH Lawrence).
bookmarked_north734's review
2.0
I really wanted to be able to get more into this book with my love of all things Pooh, but I just couldn't. The concept of the book and many of the ideas and the presented satire are what drew me in, but I just found the book overall dry. I struggled to get through it. As someone who is normally a nonfiction reader, I'm still a little disappointed I didn't like it more.
draculogan's review
challenging
funny
fast-paced
4.75
excellent satire. some of it went over my head but it was shocking how, as someone not necessarily familiar with the schools of and culture around criticism represented here, so many of the “takes” presented rang true with even current media criticism both professional and just Posted
tyberius's review
Perhaps the best constructed satire I've ever read. The author evaluates Winnie-the-Pooh from the classic perspectives of literary criticism and does a fantastic job of capturing the tones of those perspectives while also being hilariously over-the-top. Crews goes so far as invent fictional authors for each essay and writes a brief bio blurb for each one.
My favorite "essay" was definitely the Marxist analysis.
My favorite "essay" was definitely the Marxist analysis.
mimima's review
3.0
Embarrassingly, I didn't realize that this was satire when I bought it, but what great satire it was. A collection of essays that skewers literary criticism with fake critiques of Winnie-the-Pooh. It's all here - Marxist, Freudian, religious symbolism, and the text of a faux lecture. For me, the most brilliant part was the essay questions at the end.
Like much of satire, it's a bit uneven, some of the essays work better than others. However, the ones that are spot-on are so brilliant.
Like much of satire, it's a bit uneven, some of the essays work better than others. However, the ones that are spot-on are so brilliant.
manwithanagenda's review
funny
informative
lighthearted
slow-paced
5.0
These are trying times, but it is always still OK to laugh.
If ever you have a moment of doubt about what we do here on goodreads; if you have ever wondered what could possibly be said about your latest read that hasn't been said before, enter 'The Pooh Perplex'. Written by Frederick C. Crews as a send-up of the pomposity of the then-current schools of literary thought and how they can seemingly tear apart anything they turn their pens to. The 'Perplex' is a way out of seeing any piece of literature through only one lens, and deflates the idea of criticism for criticism's sake.
Crews chose the perfect work to feature in his "case-study". The twelve essays come complete with discussion questions and research tips for the young scholar - suggesting even that after he's read through all the case-books and analyses he might check out the original work - if he has time. The 'Pooh' books are rife with material for the bored scholar. Catching these essays individually it would be impossible to detect the joke, so thoroughly does Crews inhabit the characters of his scholars: Harvey C. Window, Woodbine Meadowlark, Simon Lacerus - 12 in all. They snipe at each other, debunk each other's theories and each of their contributions has a bio that scans well.
I've read this several times and I still laugh when reading about Rabbit as the capitalist busybody working to keep everyone organized and downtrodden, Owl as either the obfuscating fog of the masses or the high-brow hero, Eeyore as Christ, Kanga as the fearful feminine energy dragging the Hundred Acre Wood out of its perpetual latency. Its amazing - and I discovered years and years after it came out - there's a sequel!
Pooh Perplex
Next: 'Postmodern Pooh'
If ever you have a moment of doubt about what we do here on goodreads; if you have ever wondered what could possibly be said about your latest read that hasn't been said before, enter 'The Pooh Perplex'. Written by Frederick C. Crews as a send-up of the pomposity of the then-current schools of literary thought and how they can seemingly tear apart anything they turn their pens to. The 'Perplex' is a way out of seeing any piece of literature through only one lens, and deflates the idea of criticism for criticism's sake.
Crews chose the perfect work to feature in his "case-study". The twelve essays come complete with discussion questions and research tips for the young scholar - suggesting even that after he's read through all the case-books and analyses he might check out the original work - if he has time. The 'Pooh' books are rife with material for the bored scholar. Catching these essays individually it would be impossible to detect the joke, so thoroughly does Crews inhabit the characters of his scholars: Harvey C. Window, Woodbine Meadowlark, Simon Lacerus - 12 in all. They snipe at each other, debunk each other's theories and each of their contributions has a bio that scans well.
I've read this several times and I still laugh when reading about Rabbit as the capitalist busybody working to keep everyone organized and downtrodden, Owl as either the obfuscating fog of the masses or the high-brow hero, Eeyore as Christ, Kanga as the fearful feminine energy dragging the Hundred Acre Wood out of its perpetual latency. Its amazing - and I discovered years and years after it came out - there's a sequel!
Pooh Perplex
Next: 'Postmodern Pooh'
More...