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J. Wootton's Reviews > The Wind in the Willows
The Wind in the Willows
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Trying to review The Wind in the Willows is a strange undertaking. In the introduction to my copy, A. A. Milne wrote:
"One can argue over the merits of most books... one does not argue about The Wind in the Willows. The young man gives it to the girl with whom he is in love, and if she does not like it, he asks her to return his letters. The old man tries it on his nephew, and alters his will accordingly. ... When you sit down to [read] it, don't be so ridiculous as to suppose you are sitting in judgment on my taste, or on the art of Kenneth Grahame. You are merely sitting in judgment on yourself. You may be worthy; I don't know. But it is you who are on trial."
Milne's comments may seem overly grave, especially to those familiar with Grahame's lighthearted, whimsical, occasionally mystical, story of Mole and Water Rat's genteel life on the bank of the River and the adventures of the incorrigible and ridiculous (and highly entertaining) Mr. Toad, wanton son of worthier sires, but look here: if you love the story, you are clearly on the side of the Hobbits (indeed, if you want to know what life in the Shire is like, I can't think of a better book to refer you to); and if you dislike it, you may be an Orc at heart - seducable, like Toad, away from quiet contemplative enjoyment of this sometimes-slow book by the flash and boom of technological gimmickry. You might be the kind of person who prefers to run on an electric treadmill or rubber sports track than hike a nature trail.
And if you are, I hope you have friends as stubbornly loyal as Mole, Water Rat, and Badger who will stick by you, in spite of yourself, until you come around.
"One can argue over the merits of most books... one does not argue about The Wind in the Willows. The young man gives it to the girl with whom he is in love, and if she does not like it, he asks her to return his letters. The old man tries it on his nephew, and alters his will accordingly. ... When you sit down to [read] it, don't be so ridiculous as to suppose you are sitting in judgment on my taste, or on the art of Kenneth Grahame. You are merely sitting in judgment on yourself. You may be worthy; I don't know. But it is you who are on trial."
Milne's comments may seem overly grave, especially to those familiar with Grahame's lighthearted, whimsical, occasionally mystical, story of Mole and Water Rat's genteel life on the bank of the River and the adventures of the incorrigible and ridiculous (and highly entertaining) Mr. Toad, wanton son of worthier sires, but look here: if you love the story, you are clearly on the side of the Hobbits (indeed, if you want to know what life in the Shire is like, I can't think of a better book to refer you to); and if you dislike it, you may be an Orc at heart - seducable, like Toad, away from quiet contemplative enjoyment of this sometimes-slow book by the flash and boom of technological gimmickry. You might be the kind of person who prefers to run on an electric treadmill or rubber sports track than hike a nature trail.
And if you are, I hope you have friends as stubbornly loyal as Mole, Water Rat, and Badger who will stick by you, in spite of yourself, until you come around.
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Quotes J. Liked
“It seemed a place where heroes could fitly feast after victory, where weary harvesters could line up in scores along the table and keep their Harvest Home with mirth and song, or where two or three friends of simple tastes could sit about as they pleased and eat and smoke and talk in comfort and contentment.”
― The Wind in the Willows
― The Wind in the Willows
“There’s nothing––absolutely nothing––half so much worth doing as messing about in boats.”
― Wind in the Willows
― Wind in the Willows
“The Mole was bewitched, entranced, fascinated. By the side of the river he trotted as one trots, when very small, by the side of a man who holds one spellbound by exciting stories; and when tired at last, he sat on the bank, while the river still chattered on to him, a babbling procession of the best stories in the world, sent from the heart of the earth to be told at last to the insatiable sea.”
― The Wind in the Willows
― The Wind in the Willows
“Spring was moving in the air above and in the earth below and around him, penetrating even his dark and lowly little house with its spirit of divine discontent and longing.”
― The Wind in the Willows
― The Wind in the Willows
Reading Progress
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Outlier
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Aug 08, 2012 08:25PM
Your words proved a worthy followup to Milne's. Very nicely done, sir.
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Outlier wrote: "Your words proved a worthy followup to Milne's. Very nicely done, sir."Thank you! =)
Excellent review. You are my kind of person.
Orinoco wrote: "Excellent review. You are my kind of person." Ha! Let's be friends =)
Superb review and thank you so much for quoting Milne, not sure I would ever have had the joy of reading that had you not done so! Spot on!
I enjoyed your review substantially more than I did the book. Maybe next year, I'll read it before The Hobbit (which was far superior imho).
Wonderful final sentence! Well done!
To rephrase what I hear A A Milne says; You can't choose Wind in the Willows - it chooses you
Lin wrote: "LOVE your review of The Wind in the Willows. Thank you."Thank YOU! =)
It's a fantastic read.
Fantastic review. And I can proudly say this is one of my favourite books. Loved it so much I've been contemplating reading it again within only several months.
I love the Milne quote. Can you give me the ISBN of your copy, by any chance?
Great review. I just finished the book with my 8 and 5 year old sons. They are nature lovers, but tend toward the Toad currently. My 5 year old really likes Water Rat and I can picture how someone could set up an entire personality quiz based on your favorite character from Wind in the Willows.
Amy asked: "I love the Milne quote. Can you give me the ISBN of your copy, by any chance?"978-1904919513
It's the 2005 Collector's Library edition, from CRW Publishing Limited, London. Milne's introduction is included in many editions, though not, unfortunately, in the public domain version available through Project Gutenberg.
Thanks! I want to give it as a baby gift. It’s my go-to gift along with “Where the Wild Things Are”, essentials for anyone’s childhood. If I can’t find an edition with the Milne intro, I will grab the quote from your review, if you don’t mind, to include in a card.
Love this book! I haven't laughed out loud in a book as often as I did through this one
Wonderful review. One of my all-time favorite books. It was read to me and I read it to my daughter.
Fantastic review of a fantastic book. I already adore "The Wind in the Willows," but if I had not yet read it, your excellent review would have spurred me on to crack its spine and dive in. Thank you! By the way, I think "TWitW" far surpasses "The Hobbit" and Its Rings progeny. "TWitW" is one of the best and beautiful books ever written.
I think this may be my most favorite review ever!
I welcome you to read my review about this trashy book. <3
Tra-Kay wrote: "I welcome you to read my review about this trashy book. <3"Read & liked, for it made me chuckle :)
Today I was reading this book and I thought that this warm and shiny story is as like as the hobbit story of the shire.
Oh my gosh! best review ever! I too have the version with A.A. Milne's introduction. This book is dear to my heart
Such a good book! I loved reading this, evry minit of it!
Just as everyone needs a friend like Samwise, we all need a friend like Ratty.
Annie wrote: "Just as everyone needs a friend like Samwise, we all need a friend like Ratty."Absolutely. I might just add that being a friend like Samwise or Ratty is a goal worthy of aspiration, and leads to a fulfilling life.
Amy. What a fantastic combo of books to start a young child on... I love Where the Wild Things Are and can't wait to read Wind in the Willows. My mother only had a few story excerpts but they caught my fancy of the characters.
I am most certainly a hobbit at heart. The parts with Ratty and Mole and Badger are my favorite. I find myself re-listening to the Wildwood and Mr. Badger over and over again. I never thought about life on Riverbank being very much what life must be like in the Shire, but it’s absolutely true. When I read that sentence I realized that I love both green countries equally, and they could easily exist on different parts of the same river. I have to say comparing Toad to an orc was very funny (It made me laugh out loud). It seemed a bit harsh until I read further and understood your excellent point. All in all, very well said. Cheers!
I should probably clarify that I meant Toad's heart, without the stubbornly healthy influence of his friends, is susceptible to the same temptations as orcs (as Tolkien describes them in The Hobbit or Father Christmas Letters) - not that Toad himself is orc-like. He is much too full of exuberant goodness for that! His exuberance is the source of his great strength and his great weakness.
Well said. When you put it that way, it makes perfect sense.
What a beautiful review
Maureen Kissinger wrote: "What a beautiful review"Thank you :)
Absolutely loved this review! I am reading this book now and couldn’t agree with you more about the comparison to the Shire and the type of people who are drawn to the outside world in general.
I love that AA Milne quote! I just read Wind in the Willows for the first time, and had that quote in the back of my mind the whole time. I hope I passed the test, because I definitely loved the book :)
I listened to the audiobook.Grateful I read your review and Milne’s introduction.
