The Wind in the Willows
by Kenneth Grahame
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Read in April, 2008
I found Wind in the Willows to be one of those rare books that contains true joy. Several times since I have moved in with the Kenyons, I have gotten in a disagreement with another opinionated member of the household over the value of "dark" literature versus "light" literature. "It is so easy to write about dark things," she might say. "Why don't we focus on happiness?" I think when most people read a "happy" story, they find it shallow, unr...more
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Another absolute classic.
The book is written for children but the early 20th century author had a nichefor making his writing enjoyable by adults. Much like Carrol, the author seems to be enjoyed more by adults and has some complex themes that can be explored.
One of the great things about the book is the characters. Almost immediately, the reader picks out a character or combination of characters that is almost archetypal of his/her own personality. I personally find myelf idntifying m...more
The book is written for children but the early 20th century author had a nichefor making his writing enjoyable by adults. Much like Carrol, the author seems to be enjoyed more by adults and has some complex themes that can be explored.
One of the great things about the book is the characters. Almost immediately, the reader picks out a character or combination of characters that is almost archetypal of his/her own personality. I personally find myelf idntifying m...more
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Read in July, 2007
Wow, I wish I had had this book read to me as a child! The language is taxing for children to take on and there's a lot of descriptive and figurative language that wouldn't make sense to them, but there's a huge amount of charm in the story that is unavoidable.
The story follows the adventures of four animals who come from different habitats and have different personalities but are bound together by their care for one another and un underlying good-heartedness, a point that the reader is...more
The story follows the adventures of four animals who come from different habitats and have different personalities but are bound together by their care for one another and un underlying good-heartedness, a point that the reader is...more
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I've picked up this book a few times over the years, but not for the last decade. I was shocked to see how much I remembered of it, down to Mole's war-cry and Toad, "revolving rapidly" as he's tossed off a barge by a washerwoman.
I think part of this is due to Graham's command of language and visual effect, but I also think that much of this is due to his great attention to creating three-dimensional characters that can never be mistaken for each other. This book is very much a ch...more
I think part of this is due to Graham's command of language and visual effect, but I also think that much of this is due to his great attention to creating three-dimensional characters that can never be mistaken for each other. This book is very much a ch...more
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Read in September, 2007
recommends it for:
Everyone
This is my favourite book of all time.
Perhaps it is the very Timelessness of the Tale that makes it so appealing.
I love the ambience; reminiscent of gentler times, unemcumbered by the material frippery, with which we surround ourselves in this rapid and relentless 21st Century.
I never tire of reading the exquisite dialogue; check out the one about the door mat! Just thinking about Ratty and his love affair with the peaceful riverbank, makes me calm and flow!
Toad is infuriating with his...more
Perhaps it is the very Timelessness of the Tale that makes it so appealing.
I love the ambience; reminiscent of gentler times, unemcumbered by the material frippery, with which we surround ourselves in this rapid and relentless 21st Century.
I never tire of reading the exquisite dialogue; check out the one about the door mat! Just thinking about Ratty and his love affair with the peaceful riverbank, makes me calm and flow!
Toad is infuriating with his...more
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4 comments
This is one of those books I want to love; I REALLY, really want to love this book. I've read so many essays by book lovers who have fond, childhood memories of being read this by their father, or who ushered in spring each year by taking this book to a grassy field and reading this in the first warm breezes of May. I want to find the tea and boating and wooded English countryside to be slow yet sonoriously comforting, like a Bach cello suite or a warm cup of cider on a cool April night.
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Read in July, 2008
The Wind in the Willows is a cute story about friends who stick together to the end. The groups of animals which Graham has set up is interesting to watch unfold. The woodland animals, river bankers and the underground dwellers all live by the rules of their society. I found Toad fun and interesting. Rat was kind and friendly. Mole is loyal and genuine. I did not know what to think about Badger at first, but by the end I found him to be of great character and an honorable friend. The story unrav...more
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This was a fun little read, but then I love those stories that can smoothly pull off 40 plus word sentences throughout it. I however admit that I was silmultaneously filled with joy, curiosity, confusion, and mild fright by the intense anthropomorphism of the five little animal friends. Through all my less than traditional adult reading preferences, I’ve not come across one with this level of intense detail of human or should I be more specific and say detailed level of British male at the ...more
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Read in April, 2008
“Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing—absolutely nothing—half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats,” says Rat, and his sentiment rings with truth (and inspired the delightful grass-roots magazine, “Messing About in Boats,” which I highly recommend to any part-time sailor). The narrative arc of this story treks from a slow start with Mole’s adventures and Rat’s waterfront life toward rescuing Toad, whose character drives the plot toward a happy ending. Wel...more
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Read in February, 2006
recommends it for:
anyone
This is the greatest children's book ever written, hands down. First, it is a terrific story. It's never boring, but it doesn't have a whole bunch of crazy, silly shenanigans for kids...it reminds me of the TV show Mr. Roger's neighborhood in that regard. Second, the characters are so wonderfully and compassionately realized. You love them all, even though they all have negatives. Mole is pompous, Toad is vain and spoiled, Rat is often curt and a little selfish, and Badger is a grouch. And...more
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This is another book I'm reading for class but don't remember from my childhood: I imagine that's because my parents worked hard to find children's books with strong women and relatively positive messages, and this is really anything but that. The almost exclusively male cast consists of a bunch of generally self absorbed animals who spend their time on polite social engagements--the large "conflict" of the novel is when one of their number, Mr. Toad, decides to go off the edge to car ...more
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Read in January, 1957
recommended to Clive by:
My granrecommends it for: any kid, little or big.
When I was about 10 I discovered this book in my grandparent's house. My grandparents were heavy smokers and their house, which still had working gas lights (although they used electric lights) was like a nicotine palace; everything was a shade of brown. Still, for me, it was a wonderful treasure trove of 78 rpm records, a "magic lantern", and even an out of tune piano in the parlour, which is where I found The Wind In the Willows.
Oh, the dismay of the dark woods, the pitter-patter...more
Oh, the dismay of the dark woods, the pitter-patter...more
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Read in March, 2001
Downloaded from Audible.com
Narrator: Terry Jones
Publisher: New Millennium Audio, 1999
Length: 5 hours and 14 min.
Publisher's Summary
"...there is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats." So says Rat, as he welcomes the lonely Mole to the community of the River. Whether messing about in boats, touring in Toad's motorcar, or simply relaxing at home, Mole, Rat, Otter, Toad, and Badger demonstrate the honorable human characteris...more
Narrator: Terry Jones
Publisher: New Millennium Audio, 1999
Length: 5 hours and 14 min.
Publisher's Summary
"...there is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats." So says Rat, as he welcomes the lonely Mole to the community of the River. Whether messing about in boats, touring in Toad's motorcar, or simply relaxing at home, Mole, Rat, Otter, Toad, and Badger demonstrate the honorable human characteris...more
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Read in May, 2008
I finished reading this superb book today and my only regret is that I had not read it sooner. It has been on my Mount to be Read for ages.
Although this beautiful story is mainly aimed at children, it is for the Young at Heart, too.
The way that the story deals with way Society copes with Change, especially through the Adventures of the irascable Toad,it also teaches other valuable life lessons such as honesty,loyalty, humility, listening to others and wisdom and the most treasured of all...more
Although this beautiful story is mainly aimed at children, it is for the Young at Heart, too.
The way that the story deals with way Society copes with Change, especially through the Adventures of the irascable Toad,it also teaches other valuable life lessons such as honesty,loyalty, humility, listening to others and wisdom and the most treasured of all...more
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I have read this book 3 times, twice with my children. I do all the voices and am so charmed by these endearing characters. Each one so well illustrates the studied 4 personalities of humans. Some call them red, yellow, blue, white, other use ABCD, and others use phlegmatic, sanguine, meloncholy, choleric. Each character represents his in adorable detail. Who could not love Moley with his calm, unsure, but determined soul. Ratty so sensible, organized and educated. Badger, whose name is n...more
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Read in January, 1968
A gift from my parents when I was old enough to enjoy it on my own, though I remember finding the abduction of the otter child strange ("The Piper at the Gates of Dawn") and wasn't crazy about some of Toad's adventures, which seemed to me at the time to be an interruption of the main story: apparently I preferred the furry characters.
Beautiful line drawings and colorplates.
Lucie and I read some/most/all? of this together, which pleased our cat, Finnie. Drawn by the sound of our...more
Beautiful line drawings and colorplates.
Lucie and I read some/most/all? of this together, which pleased our cat, Finnie. Drawn by the sound of our...more
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recommends it for:
nature lovers, anglophiles
This is a great book for National Mental Health Month, full of the eccentricities we wish we could get away with.
Mole is reclusive and sensitive, Badger wonderfully bossy, Rat is full of passion and Toad is your ADHD, compulsive liar/thief and yet a most pleasant gentleman. The characters are fabulous alone but when they interact it is pure magic. They journey along the rivers and natural hideaways of England. I would not recommend this for youngsters unless have a love of subtle langua...more
Mole is reclusive and sensitive, Badger wonderfully bossy, Rat is full of passion and Toad is your ADHD, compulsive liar/thief and yet a most pleasant gentleman. The characters are fabulous alone but when they interact it is pure magic. They journey along the rivers and natural hideaways of England. I would not recommend this for youngsters unless have a love of subtle langua...more
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Read in January, 2008
Overall I liked the book but I thought that it would be hard for a child to understand first the language and then the nuiances of each character's personality. I read the original version but there are other versions tailored for children. What I thought interesting is that this book came about through letters the author wrote to his son. There are parts of the book that dragged or did not fit in with the story making it seem that the author changed his mind half way. The adventures they go ...more
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recommended to Marco by:
Tricia
I don't like books that have long strands of description and dialogue. I do like this book for its "balancing act." Grahame balanced the description and dialogue satisfactorily but still not enough (for me) to satisfy readers. Sometimes the descriptions become to long and you imagine too many things at once and you feel like there's too many things on your mind that everything becomes so clouded your thought becomes clouded too and you can't concentrate. The picturesque drawings make t...more
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Read in February, 2008
I think this book is more for kids, as far as the story line goes. It does have the cuss word "ass" in there a few times and also if you are reading this to your kids, there are different words that we are not familiar with that you would have to stop reading and look down at the bottom of the page to see what the word meant. I had to drag thru this one. I liked some of the story, but, other times, thought was just too kiddyish for me. It is a classic, so, I thought I would read it and...more
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book data (includes all editions)
avg rating (all editions): 4.01 (2717 ratings) avg rating (this edition): 3.99 (1698 ratings) number of reviews: 234popular shelves
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quote
""but mole stood still a moment, held in thought. As one wakened suddenly from a beautiful dream, who struggles to recall it, but can recapture nothing but a dim sense of the beauty in it, the beauty! Till that, too, fades away in it's turn, and the dreamer bitterly accepts the hard, cold waking and all it's penalties""
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