Lovely commentary. Thank you!! While hearing of this book for many years (and seeing it referenced and lovingly alluded to in countless classics!), I didn't read it for the first time until last year, and was struck myself by many of the strong themes and indeed, that sweet pure longing for a better country and true home that is a Reality greater than that in which now we live.
I’d call myself a super fan of the homely, from Vermeer’s extraordinary ordinary to every home or town I’ve mentally mapped while immersed in a story, and you’ve just beautifully articulated why I have such and abiding love for this book. I think that the relationship we have with a home can be almost as significant to our emotional health as that of a family or spouse (and now you’ve got me really thinking about my childhood). Maybe Mr Graham agrees - I’m pretty sure Badger and Moley do.
Agreed - the sense of home is something I don't think Kenneth Grahame had a lot of during his childhood, and spent a lot of time seeking in his writing. In this chapter, some of his primary influences might have been his and other friend's bachelor pads during the season he was an unmarried banker, haha.
I absolutely love that you called it the “Willowverse”.
Lovely commentary. Thank you!! While hearing of this book for many years (and seeing it referenced and lovingly alluded to in countless classics!), I didn't read it for the first time until last year, and was struck myself by many of the strong themes and indeed, that sweet pure longing for a better country and true home that is a Reality greater than that in which now we live.
Thanks for reading, James!
I’d call myself a super fan of the homely, from Vermeer’s extraordinary ordinary to every home or town I’ve mentally mapped while immersed in a story, and you’ve just beautifully articulated why I have such and abiding love for this book. I think that the relationship we have with a home can be almost as significant to our emotional health as that of a family or spouse (and now you’ve got me really thinking about my childhood). Maybe Mr Graham agrees - I’m pretty sure Badger and Moley do.
Agreed - the sense of home is something I don't think Kenneth Grahame had a lot of during his childhood, and spent a lot of time seeking in his writing. In this chapter, some of his primary influences might have been his and other friend's bachelor pads during the season he was an unmarried banker, haha.