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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
adventurous
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
This book was much deeper than I thought it would be, I had thought it was a childrens book, now reading it im not so sure. Mr Toad is a friend we all have, a person who does not for a second think about the consequences of their actions, as long as they get what they want they think everything is good. I am not 100% as reading between the lines is not something im good at, however im sure Toads obsession with the cars seems to show addiction, the way he reacted to it being taken away, the intervention his friends attempted.... Mole is a Sweet character who has an adventuring heart and a curious nature. The characters are all individual and interesting. I would reccomend this book.
I don't recall reading [b:The Wind in the Willows|5659|The Wind in the Willows|Kenneth Grahame|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327869222s/5659.jpg|1061285] when I was a kid, and I'm not sure how I missed it. In fact, I don't think I even saw the Disney animated film. All I knew of the story was "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" at Disney World--which I enjoyed, even without knowing the story. So when, as an adult, I first read the book to my kids as bedtime stories, I was amazed and delighted. This recent readthrough was the second time I've read it aloud with the kids, and it is a fantastic experience. Such language! [a:Kenneth Grahame|3843|Kenneth Grahame|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1201018750p2/3843.jpg] was so, so, so great at creating rich, beautiful, descriptive, poetic prose. Sometimes I'm so floored by his writing that I have to go back and reread a sentence or paragraph, just to enjoy it again. The mix of humor, poignancy, nostalgia, and adventure is perfect. Later authors, like [a:A. A. Milne|8395366|A. A. Milne|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-d9f6a4a5badfda0f69e70cc94d962125.png], took up Grahame's mantle in many ways, but Grahame was the master. I wish he'd written more, and that his personal life had been happier.
What to say about one of my favorite books? The Wind in the Willows is a book I’ve read aloud to the family numerous times—in fact, my kids reminded me that the last time I read it to them was as we were leaving the tropics and moving back to the US, after twelve years away. That made the book feel even more bittersweet. As always, when I read this novel—and I think it’s best when read aloud—I am in awe of Kenneth Grahame’s skills with words. He crafts brilliantly meandering sentences that bring disparate elements of the archaic literary past into conversation with fantasy in amazing ways, resulting in a magical, unforgettable story.
Tolkien and Lewis both admired the novel, and I see many connections between this story and some of theirs. All three authors shared a similar perspective toward post-industrial England: a joy in walking the unspoiled countryside in the company of good male friends, and a worry that society was becoming too concerned about “progress” and “utility,” to the detriment of enjoyment of craftsmanship and quiet reflection, especially surrounded by nature. The background information in this beautiful annotated edition of The Wind in the Willows shows me that I have somewhat less feeling of kinship with Grahame than with Tolkien or Lewis. Like both of them, Grahame was in many ways a man out of place in his world, but in contrast to them, Grahame never seemed to quite find his place, being excluded from the academic environment of Oxford, and not having the kind of understanding and support from his wife that Tolkien found in Edith. The coldness Grahame experienced in his growing-up years didn’t transition into warmth and family later in life, as it did for Tolkien and Lewis. Instead, Grahame remained strangely distant from his son, whom he later lost to what seems like suicide. As I read about Grahame’s life, I desperately wish that he would have found the way to fellowship and love, instead of distance and misunderstanding.
The novel he left us, however, remains as a testament to so much of the real, deep feeling of life. A lot of readers most remember the hilarious escapades of Toad, but for me the true heart of the story is in “Dulce Domum,” “The Piper at the Gates of Dawn,” and “Wayfarers All,” all chapters that both celebrate home, beauty, and the numinous, and also confront the yearning in our hearts—to travel, to be in motion, to experience the sublime but not quite remember it clearly. Grahame himself seems to struggle with what this all really means, all together, and his epic structure (the novel mirrors the form of The Odyssey) is ultimately a bit asymmetrical, with our initial entry to the world, Mole, overshadowed by the end, not having returned home with new wisdom (as Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin do at the end of The Lord of the Rings). In a way, there’s a yearning and unfinishedness that is at the core of the whole book, and so it’s beautiful but also a bit heartbreaking. We see that idea working out in the lives of the three main characters—Rat, Mole, Toad—in different ways, and in the end, we can assume that their roads will go “ever on and on,” never quite coming to completion—which is what we see in our own lives, too.
The annotated edition is definitely the version of this book to get. The introductory material and the notes throughout are excellent and very helpful in establishing the place of this book, and especially in pointing out connections to other literary works that I wouldn’t have spotted otherwise. The edition includes a number of illustrations from the first several illustrated versions, though I wished sometimes that this one included all of them; sometimes the editor mentions an illustration that isn’t presented in the book, but usually what she’s writing about is there on the same page, or close by. It’s fun to see how various illustrators have worked around the problems inherent in this story, regarding the relative size of the characters to their world, their attire, and so forth. Ultimately, it’s a story through words, and there are many occasions in which trying to think how everything is working logically is unnecessary and unhelpful.
Tolkien and Lewis both admired the novel, and I see many connections between this story and some of theirs. All three authors shared a similar perspective toward post-industrial England: a joy in walking the unspoiled countryside in the company of good male friends, and a worry that society was becoming too concerned about “progress” and “utility,” to the detriment of enjoyment of craftsmanship and quiet reflection, especially surrounded by nature. The background information in this beautiful annotated edition of The Wind in the Willows shows me that I have somewhat less feeling of kinship with Grahame than with Tolkien or Lewis. Like both of them, Grahame was in many ways a man out of place in his world, but in contrast to them, Grahame never seemed to quite find his place, being excluded from the academic environment of Oxford, and not having the kind of understanding and support from his wife that Tolkien found in Edith. The coldness Grahame experienced in his growing-up years didn’t transition into warmth and family later in life, as it did for Tolkien and Lewis. Instead, Grahame remained strangely distant from his son, whom he later lost to what seems like suicide. As I read about Grahame’s life, I desperately wish that he would have found the way to fellowship and love, instead of distance and misunderstanding.
The novel he left us, however, remains as a testament to so much of the real, deep feeling of life. A lot of readers most remember the hilarious escapades of Toad, but for me the true heart of the story is in “Dulce Domum,” “The Piper at the Gates of Dawn,” and “Wayfarers All,” all chapters that both celebrate home, beauty, and the numinous, and also confront the yearning in our hearts—to travel, to be in motion, to experience the sublime but not quite remember it clearly. Grahame himself seems to struggle with what this all really means, all together, and his epic structure (the novel mirrors the form of The Odyssey) is ultimately a bit asymmetrical, with our initial entry to the world, Mole, overshadowed by the end, not having returned home with new wisdom (as Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin do at the end of The Lord of the Rings). In a way, there’s a yearning and unfinishedness that is at the core of the whole book, and so it’s beautiful but also a bit heartbreaking. We see that idea working out in the lives of the three main characters—Rat, Mole, Toad—in different ways, and in the end, we can assume that their roads will go “ever on and on,” never quite coming to completion—which is what we see in our own lives, too.
The annotated edition is definitely the version of this book to get. The introductory material and the notes throughout are excellent and very helpful in establishing the place of this book, and especially in pointing out connections to other literary works that I wouldn’t have spotted otherwise. The edition includes a number of illustrations from the first several illustrated versions, though I wished sometimes that this one included all of them; sometimes the editor mentions an illustration that isn’t presented in the book, but usually what she’s writing about is there on the same page, or close by. It’s fun to see how various illustrators have worked around the problems inherent in this story, regarding the relative size of the characters to their world, their attire, and so forth. Ultimately, it’s a story through words, and there are many occasions in which trying to think how everything is working logically is unnecessary and unhelpful.
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs, Sexism
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I read this one slowly to Jackson at bedtime. It was still a bit early for him to really get it, but the illustrations kept him going. I researched which illustrated edition of this one to get for a while, and landed on this one. It is abridged, which I knew, and which suits reading it to younger children for now, but I have to say reading the abridged version was not as enjoyable as the full version I first read (or had read to me or both) when I was probably in 3rd grade. The illustrations of this are quite beautiful, and what is selected for the abridgment seems correct to me as well.
I read, probably in the Narnian by Alan Jacobs, that Lewis would re-read this book whenever he was sick. And I completely agree with him there. The pastoralism and the characters especially stand out. This book makes you want to walk down to your nearest river and just spend time there. And Mole, Ratty, Badger, and especially Toad all have become archetypes for children's literature in such a way that you really can't talk about any modern children's literature without understanding these characters. Growing up in a family that loved "messing about in boats" made the book all the more meaningful as well.
I'm sure I will read this one to both kids over and over, over the years.
I read, probably in the Narnian by Alan Jacobs, that Lewis would re-read this book whenever he was sick. And I completely agree with him there. The pastoralism and the characters especially stand out. This book makes you want to walk down to your nearest river and just spend time there. And Mole, Ratty, Badger, and especially Toad all have become archetypes for children's literature in such a way that you really can't talk about any modern children's literature without understanding these characters. Growing up in a family that loved "messing about in boats" made the book all the more meaningful as well.
I'm sure I will read this one to both kids over and over, over the years.
An absolute classic that I have always loved. I see it's influence on so many other books I love too. This was my first time reading the unabridged version to the kids and they loved it too. The characters are so iconic.
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a book that had some charm, but it was wrapped in a lot of things I didn't like.
I liked the adventures of Toad, which read like a children's story full of wit and whimsy. I liked that he was an idiot who got himself into every bad situation and how he learnt his lesson. Generally I liked all of the main characters and found them easy to root for.
What I didn't like was the writing style, or the other parts of the plot. The writing style is almost Dickensian in how it labours over the same points again and again. It is full of long passages that don't add anything. In fact, there are two whole chapters that don't add anything and are always misses in interpretations.
The first is a section where Ratty and Mole find god, the second is when Ratty meets a sailor and gets whipped up into a stupor. That is about 20% of the book in these two sections.
I can see in a way why this is a classic, I mean I love the Terry Jones adaptation, but this wasn't for me.
I liked the adventures of Toad, which read like a children's story full of wit and whimsy. I liked that he was an idiot who got himself into every bad situation and how he learnt his lesson. Generally I liked all of the main characters and found them easy to root for.
What I didn't like was the writing style, or the other parts of the plot. The writing style is almost Dickensian in how it labours over the same points again and again. It is full of long passages that don't add anything. In fact, there are two whole chapters that don't add anything and are always misses in interpretations.
The first is a section where Ratty and Mole find god, the second is when Ratty meets a sailor and gets whipped up into a stupor. That is about 20% of the book in these two sections.
I can see in a way why this is a classic, I mean I love the Terry Jones adaptation, but this wasn't for me.