Winkie

by Clifford Chase

Book Overview

In Cliff Chase's scathingly funny and surprisingly humane debut novel, the zeitgeist assumes the form of a one-foot-tall ursine Everyman -- a mild-mannered teddy bear named Winkie who finds himself on the wrong side of America's war on terror. After suffering decades of neglect from the children who've forgotten him, Winkie summons the courage to take charge of his fate, and so he hops off the shelf, jumps out the window, and takes to the forest...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0802143105
• ISBN13: 9780802143105
• Release Date: June 2007
• Publisher: Grove Press
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 7.0" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Just go with it

Let me say something right off the bat: this book is not for people who identify as conservatives (broadly construed). Ok? If you support the Patriot Act or the war in Iraq, or if you are against gay marriage, or if you are a creationist, this book is not for you; do not buy it. You will most likely find it offensive. Also, if you require your books to be clear, and cut-and-dry when it comes to what is real and what is not, and whose reality is real, this is not for you. It seems to me that many of this book's reviewers expect that Chase would write a novel without making it his own, or putting a piece of himself into it, or incorporating his worldview into the story. That expectation is ridiculous. Don't confuse your disagreement with Chase's politics with poor writing or a bad story. It's not merely a cute story about a bear who comes to life, although it is that. This story about a magical childhood toy is, beneath that thin surface, a story about identity, selfhood, and growth. It is absurd, and is clearly meant to be absurd, to convey its point. You are not meant to know whether or not the events in the story are supposed to be literally real, or to know what kind of reality they take place in. The story's sense of reality shifts, and you need to move with it, and suspend your sense of disbelief. The ambiguity of what is real and what is not is a crucial part of this novel, and to enjoy it, you need to be able to appreciate that ambiguity. Rather than hating this book because it isn't what you want it to be, let go and read it and enjoy it for what it is, because what it is is amazing.

Thought provoking

I picked a good time to read this book because I saw exactly what (I think) Cliff Chase was showing us being done on television with the whole JonBenet killer. In order to feed the media and satisfy the public, all laws are thrown aside, trial procedure is completely tossed out the window and common sense utterly annihilated in order to try a teddy bear for terrorism (which is where I was going with the killer comparison). No one stops to say Winkie is just a teddy bear. Aside from the trial parts, I enjoyed the reflections of a much loved toy that has been cast aside. It made me look twice at my own care bear, leftover from childhood. I'm glad I kept it around and my daughter snuggles it so it won't have to jump out the window! :) This is an excellent book, but you really shouldn't approach it with any preconceived ideas.

Go hug your teddy bear.

For the first third of this book, I gave it a 3. By the middle third it was a 4, and by the time I finished it was a 5. Winkie is a memorable and loveable character. The book is filled with creativity. I didn't find it achingly funny as the book jacket suggested, but it most definitely was surprisingly moving. Part of what I didn't love about the start of this book was that it read like a memoir and I wasn't in the mood for a memoir, however, it absolutely played into the psychology of Winkie and was critical to the story. It was magical and wonderful and half way through compelled me to pull out my worn, torn and re-sewn Paddington Bear and give him a long overdue well-deserved hug. Nicole Del Sesto, Author All Encompassing Trip

Wonder-ful

How anyone can call this book an "affront" is beyond me. Clifford Chase has taken the primal experiences of childhood and of our relationships with our toys and juxtaposed them brilliantly with a critique of contemporary political rhetoric and illogical juris-imprudence, invoking such "trials" as those in Lewis Carroll, Kafka, Abu Gharib, and Gitmo. Think The Velveteen Rabbit/Winnie the Pooh meets Conrad's The Secret Agent. This is a magnificent debut novel, as moving and bracing in its own way as Chase's memoir of his brother's death, The Hurry-Up Song.

sui generis

Winkie is an incisive satire of the politics and psychology of scapegoating -- and it's also a sensitive, brave evocation of childhood abjection. Winkie (the bear) is a brilliant invention, a liminal narrator, and unforgettable character. Winkie (the novel) is a breath of fresh air in fiction, an act of defiance,a children's tale for adults -- and a book I did not want to put down.