heatherliz's review
3.0
I gave this three stars because I couldn't give it five. I wanted to give it five because it's HILARIOUS!
It's basically a satirical recounting of a fictional postmodern literary critique conference on the subject of Winnie the Pooh. Each "scholar" takes Pooh for his/her own personal spin in order to denounce the decline of the gentleman, or expose Piglet's hidden abuse, or lament the cause of woman. The book takes all the theories of the postmodern literary field and airs them for the world to see them for they really are: Absurdities.
However, I can't give it five stars because I don't want any of my conservative friends to unwittingly pick it up and be shocked at me. If you haven't caught on by cultural osmosis, a lot (and I mean A LOT!) of postmodern literary theory is obsessed with sex. Frederick Crews in his satire makes frequent use of this, and there are things in the book that are a pretty sketchy. So, it's funny, but consider yourself warned.
It's basically a satirical recounting of a fictional postmodern literary critique conference on the subject of Winnie the Pooh. Each "scholar" takes Pooh for his/her own personal spin in order to denounce the decline of the gentleman, or expose Piglet's hidden abuse, or lament the cause of woman. The book takes all the theories of the postmodern literary field and airs them for the world to see them for they really are: Absurdities.
However, I can't give it five stars because I don't want any of my conservative friends to unwittingly pick it up and be shocked at me. If you haven't caught on by cultural osmosis, a lot (and I mean A LOT!) of postmodern literary theory is obsessed with sex. Frederick Crews in his satire makes frequent use of this, and there are things in the book that are a pretty sketchy. So, it's funny, but consider yourself warned.
manwithanagenda's review against another edition
challenging
funny
informative
lighthearted
slow-paced
4.0
Crews' sequel to the 'The Pooh Perplex' proves that his satire did nothing to forestall the excesses of literary criticism, and the end of the 20th century saw more fracturing of thought and backbiting tendencies then ever.
The format of the case-book was outdated so 'Postmodern Pooh' is presented as the collected talks of a forum on Pooh Studies. Regrettably, Crews was denied the use of Shepard's illustrations, and their absence is felt, though some of the diagrams do their best to make up for it. The essays take on postmodern literary theories as well as colonial, women's and queer studies, and therefore feels more modern, but 16 years is a long time, and overall the book feels more dated then the 50+ year old predecessor. The individual essays also make a lot more effort to quote genuine authors and works to back up their viewpoints - Derrida, Woolf, and even official Pooh-biographer Ann Thwaite herself - giving it a more authentic feel.
The laughs are still there, but a few of them seem to miss the mark. Still worth a read if you loved the 'Perplex'.
The Pooh Perplex
Previous: 'The Pooh Perplex'
The format of the case-book was outdated so 'Postmodern Pooh' is presented as the collected talks of a forum on Pooh Studies. Regrettably, Crews was denied the use of Shepard's illustrations, and their absence is felt, though some of the diagrams do their best to make up for it. The essays take on postmodern literary theories as well as colonial, women's and queer studies, and therefore feels more modern, but 16 years is a long time, and overall the book feels more dated then the 50+ year old predecessor. The individual essays also make a lot more effort to quote genuine authors and works to back up their viewpoints - Derrida, Woolf, and even official Pooh-biographer Ann Thwaite herself - giving it a more authentic feel.
The laughs are still there, but a few of them seem to miss the mark. Still worth a read if you loved the 'Perplex'.
The Pooh Perplex
Previous: 'The Pooh Perplex'
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