I'm really not sure how I feel about The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. Honestly, I'm torn.
I couldn't focus on it. I would read maybe a chapter and be done. It took me 2 months to read. I've finished books I've hated faster. I didn't hate the book. Maybe that's why it was so hard for me to read.
It evoked no strong emotions in me.
Being a children's book, I expected an easy read. It was easy enough I guess. I read half of the book today. I had to force myself to read it that long, but it wasn't because it was hard. Just because I wasn't interested.
I kind of feel like Grahame took weighty ideas, tried to simplify them for children, and made them less deep and interesting. Maybe if I was still a kid it would be deep enough for me. But I'm not.
The only character I really cared about was Mole. I had minor interest in Ratty's well being. Toad just irritated me. The rest of the characters I was apathetic about. If the book had been about Mole, I think I could have read more of it faster. Instead it talked about all the animals and especially towards the end, it focused a lot on Toad. It also bugged me that Toad got away with so much--though the ending kind of made up for that.
I vaguely remember reading the book as a kid and I vaguely remember liking it, so take my review with a grain of salt. I don't think the book is bad. It just didn't hold my interest.
So, my final opinion on the book is: Good for kids, not good for me.
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