Skip to main content

Light and guileless: A trend that works!

Book Name: The Red House Mystery
Book Author: A.A Milne

Have you heard of Winnie the Pooh? Sure you have! You'd have seen him, at least, peering out of a hidey-hole in one of your storybooks, or referred to in a literary context. He's a rotund, ever-smiling, yellow bear, who usually wears a red shirt and blue shorts and doesn't bother to change. And if I've got the attire wrong, it's because it doesn't matter. That speaks for itself, doesn't it? Winnie-the-Pooh is a simple fellow.

Who created this pally, enthusiastic, honey-loving bear? The chap's name is Alexander Alan Milne, commonly referred to as A.A. Milne. Not a frilly man himself, Milne has concocted several other lucid, easy characters who are lovable by virtue of their sheer honesty, if not anything else. An excellent storyteller, Milne's style of writing is light, simple and guileless. You aren't deceived- instead, you are handheld for as long as it's possible and then you can let go. Winnie the Pooh's sound enough, but his characteristic subtle, humorous style is consistent in his other works, too. If you don't believe me, pop into a library and pick up 'Selected Stories by A.A. Milne' or 'The Red House Mystery'- his only ever mystery novel. You will be in for a delightful and very pleasant ride.

A connoisseur of British English, Mr. Milne has winged his stories, what? The naturalistic feel is omnipresent. By introducing you to it in the beginning, he doesn't allow you to part with it at all! And it feels beautiful! There are subtle nuances that shift the focus from overbearing characters, and there are hardly any 'flat' characters. By reflecting the nature of each partaker in the drama through dialogues, it's very becoming and natural, and you can rotate the character like a doll in a 360 degree frame and see the different sides of him or her. All of this, as aforementioned, without deception. Oh! No writer deceives the reader. But sir here, certainly hasn't deceived himself, either.

The pace is perfect and cosy. Not too much, not too less.

I'd say there were no faux pas, and fully endorse the 'Light and Guileless' genre!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

What the New Year Means to Me

 What does the new year mean to me? I don't know.  I think it just means that I can give myself another chance to try, fail, succeed.   I think it means that I can spend time with family, differently this time. I think it means that I can connect with people and with myself, in new ways.  I also think that it gives me a chance to see things with a different lens. The kaleidoscope becomes a periscope. I don't know what else. Every year, I put on a new pair of goggles. Every year, I grow, whether I try, or not. Some things may work as I had expected them to, some may not. But who knows?  I will allow myself to be Novak Djokovic in my arena, who hears his name when the crowd cheers for Nadal or Federer. I will allow myself to be Rafael Nadal, who always has a plan, no matter how bleak or bright things may seem, and sticks to it. I will allow myself to be Roger Federer, who glides in, serves, plays and walks out, all in grace and style. I will allow myself to b...

Nut and Shell

 Coconut Tender as a coconut. Hard as a coconut. Light as a coconut. Heavy as a coconut. I wish I was a coconut Today... A double-shelled, strange coconut. They call those people coconuts Whom they cannot understand, Like tapping on hard rock but not getting hurt- Like knocking against the hollow And shaking a bowl of jingling water That is cushioned by tender walls. Well, maybe people could be coconuts They could have hard shells and tender interiors, A hard crunch but a sweet essence- I would like to believe so. I want to know why I'm fascinated by the coconut. It can't be solely because of its duality. It can't be its beguiling double facedness. What is it, then? I feel like maybe a shaft of light A hollow for each hard tap- Tears through the hard door. An intriguing belt of  adventurous light Wriggles out from apparent darkness. Mystery, mystery. That's what it is. The mysterious coconut.  It has a shell But it has a soul- Shell protects soul, Soul preserves shell I...

My Imaginary Pen Pal

Ma Chére Amie Félicia, Bonjour! I wonder how long it's been since I last wrote to you. Time enough for the salutations to transform from English into French indeed!:)  How is old Bob keeping? Still nosing the kennel for those dollops of fondue? Ha Ha, I really won't be surprised. 'The Triple Imbecile!' #Mam'zelle Dupont. Give Scruff my greetings. Where's that collar I gifted him? Gnashed into bits? :( Or does Mickey wear it on her head now? :\ Send me a photo whichever one of the two.  :) Last week we learnt how to tell the time in French.  Pretty tedious for 11 o'clock, if you please. Pun intended. Knuckle-knocks not very frequent , thankfully. Neither are the thumb-fiddles. No question as regards the eye-droops- French is incapacitated to give me those! We're having fun galore learning French!:)  I miss your hot chocolat terribly. Something like the warm gust of the Niagara trickling into my throat. Yesterday when I was ...