# The Wind in the Willows

![Book cover of The Wind in the Willows](/books/covers/the_wind_in_the_willows.jpg)

by [Kenneth Grahame](/books/authors/kenneth_grahame/)
★★★★☆

## Review

_The Wind in the Willows_, by Kenneth Grahame,
follows Mole, Ratty, Badger, and Toad in a story of bucolic life in the
English countryside: playing around in boats, long summers, and the pull of
home.

My father read _The Wind in the Willows_ to me when I was young. My first memory of it
is him reading the final chapter, _The Return of Ulysses_, in which Toad,
Badger, Mole, and Ratty storm Toad Hall and take it back from the weasels,
ferrets, and stoats. I remember him singing _When The Toad Came Home_ loudly.
I don't know if we read the whole book; on this re-read I found some chapters
familiar and others completely new, so I suspect we only read some of them.

_The Wind in the Willows_ is a perfect story for children. It captures the feeling of
childhood: so much that feels like it needs to be done, so little that you
actually have to do. Long summers, but not long enough, full of exploration
and activity. Someone else is doing all the work to maintain Toad, Badger,
Mole, and Ratty's lifestyle, but they can't even conceive of it. Their lives
sprang into existence as they are and are only slowly changing.

The book alternates between philosophy chapters, mostly with Mole and Ratty,
and Toad's chapters. The philosophy chapters are about home: what it means to
leave it, to be tempted away from it, to realize it's what gives your life
meaning, to return and reclaim it. Toad's chapters are about getting into
trouble with motorcars, being thrown into and breaking out of jail, high-speed
chases on trains, and fighting weasels, ferrets, and stoats. The two strands
provide a good mix of thought and action, letting us rest between the troubles
Toad gets into.

The philosophy chapters remind me of my father, who studied philosophy in
college and almost went on to a PhD. The way he focused on living a life he
defined as good, on the craft of his art, and on his family. The way he felt
like your home or your things could be glad to see you, just as you were glad
to see them. I don't think he got these ideas from _The Wind in the Willows_, but I
wouldn't be surprised if he decided to read it to me because of how it aligned
with his thinking.

_The Wind in the Willows_ was hugely influential to [Brian Jacques](/books/authors/brian_jacques/) when writing the [_Redwall_](/books/series/redwall/). [Jacques](/books/authors/brian_jacques/)'s animals share the same traits as Grahame's: badgers are fearsome and wise; moles are
honest and obedient; weasels, ferrets, and stoats are bad. Both are English
pastoral stories. Both feature songs woven through them. [Jacques](/books/authors/brian_jacques/)'s [_Redwall_](/books/redwall/) even has the same uncomfortable juxtaposition of
anthropomorphic animals in a human world, which he thankfully drops by the
second book, [_Mossflower_](/books/mossflower/).

_The Wind in the Willows_ reminded me of others I've read. Toad's vengeful return is
based on Odysseus's from Homer's _The Odyssey_; it's right there in
the chapter title. The anthropomorphized animals in England recall Adams's _Watership Down_, though _Watership Down_ is much
darker. The way Mole can feel his home calling to him "like an electric shock"
is similar to how Shivers allows Harrier Du Bois to commune with the city
Revachol in [_Disco Elysium_](/books/disco_elysium/).

I enjoyed _The Wind in the Willows_, and I suspect my children, who loved [Jacques](/books/authors/brian_jacques/)'s [_Redwall_](/books/series/redwall/), would too. We've drifted out of me
reading to them at bedtime as they've started reading their own books, but we
might have to start it up again for one last book.

## Related Books
- [_Disco Elysium_](/books/disco_elysium/) by [Robert Kurvitz](/books/authors/robert_kurvitz/), [Helen Hindpere](/books/authors/helen_hindpere/), [Argo Tuulik](/books/authors/argo_tuulik/), [Cash DeCuir](/books/authors/cash_decuir/), [Olga Moskvina](/books/authors/olga_moskvina/), [Siim Sinamäe](/books/authors/siim_sinam%C3%A4e/) --- ★★★★★: Disco Elysium, written by Robert Kurvitz et al., is a role-playing game produced by ZA/UM. It’s the story of Harrier “Harry” Du Bois, a man who wakes up with no memories and has to solve a murder while learning who he is.
- [_Mossflower_](/books/mossflower/) by [Brian Jacques](/books/authors/brian_jacques/) --- ★★★☆☆: Mossflower is the second book in the Redwall series. It chronicles the arrival of Martin the Warrior in Mossflower Woods and how he saves the woodlanders from the evil wildcat queen, Tsarmina.
- [_Redwall_](/books/redwall/) by [Brian Jacques](/books/authors/brian_jacques/) --- ★★★☆☆: Redwall, by Brian Jacques, is the first book in the Redwall series. It tells the story of Mathias, a mouse who follows his destiny to become the warrior of Redwall Abbey and defeat the evil rat Cluny the Scourge.