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A review by winterscape
Winkie by Clifford Chase
4.0
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!