The Wind in the Willows
Series: The Wind in the Willows, Book 1
By: Kenneth Grahame / Narrated By: Michael Page
Length: 6 hrs and 14 mins
Of all the versions out there? Michael Page brings sheer pleasure, unadulterated joy to this classic!
It’s tragic, really. Extremely pathetic, yes. But here I am, just cruising into the latter half of m’ fifties, and I’m baaaarely getting around to listening to The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. Were it not for a glorious Doulas buddy, one o’ the best friends ever, I’d probably still be sitting on my duff, missing out on such a delightful tale. Thanks be to buddies!
Mole is quite simply just DONE with cleaning and leaves it all behind, accidentally coming upon a delightful abode now that he’s upside rather than down in his burrow. He’s stumbled into the delightful and congenial Rat’s house, on the riverbank, and soon Ratty and Mole are friends, with Ratty providing adventures and fun.
Then we’re introduced to two others, Toad (Toady to his friends) and Badger, with Badger being a kind and staid sort of fellow, and with Toad being, well, a bit of a mess. Toad is quite often supremely absorbed with his latest and greatest passions, to the point where fines and mishaps are as nothing to him.
Indeed, The Wind in the Willows is rather a series of adventures, with a longer escapade written in. Those escapades would involve Toad, the stubborn Toad, the grandiloquent Toad, the Toad who will feign illness after one of MANY interventions and will sneak out to further pursue a grand obsession. To the point where his hijinks get him imprisoned… for 20 full years.
Tsk Tsk Tsk
This is, quite simply, a glorious little collection of bold undertakings, of fine and true friends. And dude! there’s Michael Page as narrator. His vocal choices for each of our four heroes are brilliant, especially with Toad being a bit of a swaggering git, a well-meaning swaggering git to be sure, but what with all his infamous Comings and Goings, a swaggering git nonetheless. But when he’s self-effacing when called out by his friends, by major mishaps, his bellowing and songs dedicated to himself are delightful. Mole, with his appreciation of all things brave and bold, is given tones dedicated to listening for adventures, Ratty with his supreme patience and with his good-hearted loyalty is brought to life. And Badger is strong and clear-eyed with his pronouncements, with his words of wisdom. Aaaaallll these creatures, our heroes, are beYONd wonderfully done by Page. The fluidity of his voices of bantering buddies, the oomph he adds to scenes that sometimes depict dire circumstances, the perfection of his pacing, make Page a total natural for audiobooks, stories, dedicated to younguns. -OR- to oldsters such as I am. Bravo, sir! Bravo!
Yup, totally late coming to these wonderful tales, and I can’t thank m’ buddy enough for having awesome taste, for having The Wind in the Willows as one of his All Time Faves.
It’s been a pleasure! Really it has!
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