Book Club Meeting

10 January 2025

Wind in Willows

As with many great children's books, The Wind in the Willows was written after having started out as stories invented by an adult to tell to a child.
 
As adults we all commented on how we had enjoyed reading the book and found so much more in it than when we had read it as children. Reading this book as an adult revealed a multi-layered and complex book detailing characters, relationships, conflicts and the nature of friendship.
 
More than one commented on Grahame's use of language, described by one of our members as 'poetic'. The descriptions were so evocative of springtime in the countryside, particularly of the wild flowers growing on and near the riverbank.
 
"... the rich meadow-grass seemed that morning of a freshness and a greenness unsurpassable. Never had they noticed the roses so vivid, the willow-herb so riotous, the meadow-sweet so odorous and pervading."
 
Others loved identifying with the animals in the book and recognising their traits in people that they know. Especially the Mole, who had a childlike quality of seeing evetrything for the first time.
 
"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.”
 
We also compared different editions of the book that members had brought with them to the meeting; we were all entranced by the different styles of the illustrators and illustrations, which had obviously been influenced by the development of publishing techniques throughout the 20th century. 
 
This book was a universal success with our group and we thank Pat for suggesting it.
 

The next book to be read will be "Pride and Pejudice" by Jane Austen.

This will be discussed on Friday 14th February 2025.

A very fitting choice for Valentine's Day!

12:15, 13 Jan 2025 by Paula Cottrell