The Wind in the Willows
| The Wind in the Willows | ||||||||||||
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Hardcover - UK - 1st edition. |
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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.
Contents
Personal
| Own? | No. |
|---|---|
| Read? | Audiobook read by Michael Hordern. |
| Finished | 2019-06-26. |
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, but was quite disappointed.
This book is in the public domain.
Review
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Overall: |
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— 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 in mysticism.
- 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 |
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| 1949-10-05 | The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad | |
| 1988-??-?? | Wind in the Willows |
Links
