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Paul Weiss's Reviews > The Wind in the Willows
The Wind in the Willows
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"The world has held great Heroes, ...
As history-books have showed;
But never a name to go down to fame
Compared with that of Toad!"
THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS, a turn-of-the century children's story written by Kenneth Grahame in 1908, has deservedly withstood the onslaught of time. On the surface, THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS is an allegory that tells the story of the adventures and misadventures of Toad, Rat, Badger and Mole in the rural English countryside. The pastoral narratives and witty dialogues are charming, evocative and warmly mellifluous without ever approaching doleful or lugubrious. I simply can't imagine the smile it would bring to a child's face were a parent to make the effort to read this as a bed-time story with four separate voices reserved for each of the main characters.
But, considered on a deeper level, THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS could be considered a metaphor for Toad's descent into self-destructive behaviour and his friends' loyal and loving intervention to rescue him from his love of fast motor cars, portrayed as an utterly consuming addiction. Love, loyalty, friendship, arrogance, courage, steadfastness and gratitude are among the emotions that Grahame has portrayed so accurately in a very simple but quite moving narrative.
As you might imagine, like most children's stories, THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS does end on an "all's well that ends well" note but Toad's behaviour in the future remains an obvious open question. Highly recommended ... what TOOK me so long to find this one?
Paul Weiss
As history-books have showed;
But never a name to go down to fame
Compared with that of Toad!"
THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS, a turn-of-the century children's story written by Kenneth Grahame in 1908, has deservedly withstood the onslaught of time. On the surface, THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS is an allegory that tells the story of the adventures and misadventures of Toad, Rat, Badger and Mole in the rural English countryside. The pastoral narratives and witty dialogues are charming, evocative and warmly mellifluous without ever approaching doleful or lugubrious. I simply can't imagine the smile it would bring to a child's face were a parent to make the effort to read this as a bed-time story with four separate voices reserved for each of the main characters.
But, considered on a deeper level, THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS could be considered a metaphor for Toad's descent into self-destructive behaviour and his friends' loyal and loving intervention to rescue him from his love of fast motor cars, portrayed as an utterly consuming addiction. Love, loyalty, friendship, arrogance, courage, steadfastness and gratitude are among the emotions that Grahame has portrayed so accurately in a very simple but quite moving narrative.
As you might imagine, like most children's stories, THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS does end on an "all's well that ends well" note but Toad's behaviour in the future remains an obvious open question. Highly recommended ... what TOOK me so long to find this one?
Paul Weiss
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Reading Progress
Finished Reading
October 11, 2019
– Shelved
October 11, 2019
– Shelved as:
classic
October 11, 2019
– Shelved as:
fantasy
October 11, 2019
– Shelved as:
young-adult
Comments Showing 1-2 of 2 (2 new)
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Morgan
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Mar 22, 2023 06:42PM
Excellent thoughts, Paul.
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Morgan wrote: "Excellent thoughts, Paul."Sometimes, a well-written children's story like this one has some deeper underlying ideas to pass on to its readers. Thanks for the kind comments, Morgan.
