Difference between revisions of "The Wind in the Willows"

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[[Category: Children's Books|Wind In the Willows, The]]
 
[[Category: Children's Books|Wind In the Willows, The]]
 
[[Category: Fiction|Wind In the Willows, The]]
 
[[Category: Fiction|Wind In the Willows, The]]
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[[Category: Media Theme - Adventure|Wind In the Willows, The]]
 
[[Category: Books I've Read|Wind In the Willows, The]]
 
[[Category: Books I've Read|Wind In the Willows, The]]
 
[[Category: Overrated|Wind In the Willows, The]]
 
[[Category: Overrated|Wind In the Willows, The]]
 
[[Category: Public Domain|Wind In the Willows, The]]
 
[[Category: Public Domain|Wind In the Willows, The]]
 
[[Category: Books With Unknown Bechdel Test Status|Wind In the Willows, The]]
 
[[Category: Books With Unknown Bechdel Test Status|Wind In the Willows, The]]

Revision as of 16:03, 16 June 2020

Hardcover, UK, 1st edition.

The Wind In the Willows is a children's novel written by Kenneth Grahame and first published on 1908-06-15. The book is about four anthropomorphic animals, a mole, water rat, toad, and badger, who live along a river and have adventures and share in their friendship.

Personal

My first experience with this story was from the 1988 cartoon Wind In the Willows which I saw as a child. I later saw Disney's The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad. Knowing the story was well-received, I decided to read it, and finished it on 2019-06-26, but was quite disappointed.

Status

This book is in the public domain. I don't own a physical copy, but I have listened to an audio book.

Review

— This section contains spoilers! —

Good

  • There are some pretty good romantic descriptions of nature and adventure. For instance I like how Grahame describes the compulsion birds feel to migrate.

Bad

  • The book is very slow. Some portions, like when Rat and Mole stumble upon Badger's door, are even tedious.
  • The three side-stories are totally unnecessary and only slow the story down further. Also, I don't care for the inclusion of Pan. Either set your story in a fantasy world or a natural world (yes, with anthropomorphic animals), but don't dabble.
  • The "battle" at Toad Hall was far too easy. The weasels and stoats are tricked and beaten with barely a fight, and they make no attempt to recapture the residence even after they realize they've been tricked.
  • The ending is dull.

Ugly

  • Toad's escape from prison is ridiculous. What kind of society allows prison escapees to just return to their homes just because they successfully evaded recapture for a couple days?
  • Toad is a horrible person. He's constantly lying to his friends, robbing innocent people, destroying property, and endangering the lives of bystanders. He really does belong in prison, and his friends are wrong to protect and coddle him. This sends a dangerous pro-corruption message to the children who read it.

Adaptions

Released Title Notes
1949-10-05 The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
1988-??-?? Wind In the Willows

Links

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