The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse

2 stars - meaning I did not enjoy the book. I do have something good to say at the end though!

Don't get me wrong, I like books about life wisdom, beauty and courage in living. I am a huge fan of Winnie the Pooh and Dr Seuss! But for this book, I had to go read the introduction after finishing it, to make sure that I did not misunderstand how this book was meant to be executed.

I don't want this to be all rant and no constructive criticism, so I really thought hard to be specific about what I felt fell through.

The greatest flaw of the book is the lack of context in its delivery of its messages. There are characters in here. It's not a self-help book. The animals appear and the boy immediately interviews each of them with rather deep questions right off the bat, like what their definition of success or love is. Hmm why is the boy so pointed in his questions and his motivations behind it? The intro says he's lonely but just from the story I would not have gotten it.

And then it was life advice after life advice with little context or linking between them. In fact I think every one or two pages should be standalone pages reminiscent of motivational Instagram posts (as some other reviewers have pointed out). Perhaps we get an inkling of why, as the author has said in the intro that “You started at the beginning, which is impressive. I usually start in the middle, and never read introductions....I'd like it (the book) to be one you can dip into anywhere, anytime. Start in the middle, if you like.”

Because of this, I felt there was a lack of nuance. Wisdom are punchlines. But if delivered continuously on every page without subtlety, it loses the beauty that makes it punchy and impactful. Now, it reads more like a compendium of life truths to deliver to your friend who is feeling down. Or if you are feeling down, to randomly flip to any page in the middle and here's some instant truth to preach to yourself. There is a reason why Winnie the Pooh is still the one of the go-tos of the genre.

Nonetheless, the illustrations are truly stunning and moving, and I think they alone delivered the storytelling better than with the text. Perhaps without the text, I might have given a 4.5 or 5 star. They are that good! Still, I hope the author does not give up in polishing the delivery of the written parts! As the ending says, look how far you've come and I'm sure there'll be more.
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My Rating System:
5⭐️: Excellent book AND influenced a change in my views
4.5⭐️: Excellent read
4⭐️: Great read, will recommend
3.5⭐️: Enjoyable read but missing something that will make it great
3⭐️: An okay read that I didn't regret spending time on it
2⭐️: Didn't enjoy ⬅️⬅️⬅️
1⭐️: Didn't enjoy and had serious issues. Will suggest to avoid.