The Wind in the Willows

Surprisingly, I didn't love this quite so much as I was expecting. I thought for sure it would be 5 stars. Still, it was good vibes for the most part.

- Toad is an a-hole. I feel we're kind of supposed to be like “Oh, what a silly rascal!” and get behind his turning over of a new leaf, but I didn't buy it, and he didn't deserve to have Ratty, Moly, or Badger in his corner. Toad in the bin!

- Badger and Mole are sweetie-pie angels. When we were talking about it, I said “I wish I were a Badger, but I think more of a Mole” and my partner felt that was accurate. Which is not a self-deprecation; I love Moly, I'll take it!

- You cannot tell me that Rat and Mole weren't a couple. Look, I'm all for normalizing affectionate, deep, platonic relationships — soft masculinity heck yah; toxic masculinity in the bin — but this is giving Bert and Ernie before Bert and Ernie were a thing, and I said what I said.

Kind of surprised it's classified as a children's classic. A glance at Wikipedia suggests Kenneth Grahame may have been writing from life, and while it's more focused on good and bad qualities of the individual than commentary on society as a whole, thematically it feels more directed towards an older reader. Wistful, beautiful writing clashing with one too many chapters dealing with a narcissistic, near sociopathic Toad.  It feels less like the Toad has a character arc, and more like they finally successfully forced redemption on him in the last few pages. I would very much rather have continued with the ‘and they were roommates' 😉 vibes of Mole and Rat, or even the activities of the relatable curmudgeon of Badger. 
⚠️ fatphobia