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3.01 AVERAGE
3.01 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
sad
I liked this book more once I finished it then when I was actually reading it. It takes a while to really absorb, but Winkie is a great character.
Winkie is a very well-written and imaginative book that casts a loveable old teddy bear in the lead role.
If that sentence put an idea in your head about how this book will play out, dash it right now! You're wrong. I was wrong.
I imagined a tale of "Toy Story 3" proportions that would leave me in tears and hugging my old toys with fervoured nostalgia. Well, I got it partly right:
^ This is Brown Bear and he's a good bear.
But, the fact is, that this is a strange book and nothing like the story I thought it would be. That isn't a bad thing, but the way of this book might catch you off guard. It's cultured, but primal. It's nostalgic, but looks to the future. It's thought provoking, but unanswering. It's comforting, but also uncomfortable.
"...he felt as though he had waded into the very flood stream of life and paradox." (It's also very quotable !)
Also: poop. (Please don't ask...)
I think that my one nitpick with it (besides being caught off-guard and weird pacing at times) is that it very clearly has an agenda. Everything has a meaning in Winkie and it's all a social commentary of one thing or another. I think that's actually very interesting, clever, and smart! However, it's so transparent that I think it would have really benefited from a little subtlety. It's all a bit much after awhile and hiding it a bit deeper would have kept me from getting bombarded with it at every turn. That being said, the social commentary and satire is usually spot on (and sometimes hilarious) so I can't really complain.
So, if you're looking for an odd tale with something to say and an old teddy to say it, this is the book for you!
P.S. Go hug your old toys for goodness sake!
If that sentence put an idea in your head about how this book will play out, dash it right now! You're wrong. I was wrong.
I imagined a tale of "Toy Story 3" proportions that would leave me in tears and hugging my old toys with fervoured nostalgia. Well, I got it partly right:
^ This is Brown Bear and he's a good bear.
But, the fact is, that this is a strange book and nothing like the story I thought it would be. That isn't a bad thing, but the way of this book might catch you off guard. It's cultured, but primal. It's nostalgic, but looks to the future. It's thought provoking, but unanswering. It's comforting, but also uncomfortable.
"...he felt as though he had waded into the very flood stream of life and paradox." (It's also very quotable !)
Also: poop. (Please don't ask...)
I think that my one nitpick with it (besides being caught off-guard and weird pacing at times) is that it very clearly has an agenda. Everything has a meaning in Winkie and it's all a social commentary of one thing or another. I think that's actually very interesting, clever, and smart! However, it's so transparent that I think it would have really benefited from a little subtlety. It's all a bit much after awhile and hiding it a bit deeper would have kept me from getting bombarded with it at every turn. That being said, the social commentary and satire is usually spot on (and sometimes hilarious) so I can't really complain.
So, if you're looking for an odd tale with something to say and an old teddy to say it, this is the book for you!
P.S. Go hug your old toys for goodness sake!
dark
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm torn about this book. It reminded me of how I used to think about my stuffed animals growing up, so I found the story of Winkie to be affecting and sad and well worth reading. At the same time, the part of the book which I assume was meant to be the much heralded satire -- the trial of Winkie as a terrorist -- was too absurd to be effective.
This was a very strange book. Oddly compelling, but at times it dragged a bit. I confess to skimming the last fifty pages.
I bought this book and left the store excited to read it. It started out promisingly with a wonderful sense of humor and political mocking. And then it got weird. The book turned into some sort of forced philosophical musing all involving the bear coming to life and what that means etc. The most amusing parts for me where the parts where he was at trial for being a "terrorist." I only just managed to make it through without giving up.
The arrest of a teddy bear as the head of an international terrorist plot sounds absurd and this book is certainly absurd. But it is also touching and funny and hopeful.
I liked all the bits about Winkie (teddy bear and suspected terrorist) as they felt sincere.
I didn't like all the bits about terrorism, because they came off like some sort of MAD Magazine satire, which from me is not a compliment.
I didn't like all the bits about terrorism, because they came off like some sort of MAD Magazine satire, which from me is not a compliment.