A Critical Review of Kipper’s Book of Weather

*Warning! Satire! Don’t read if you’re easily offended!*

(Although, if you’re offended by a satirical reading of Kipper’s Book of Weather, then there really is no hope for you!)

Well, isn’t this just the book that keeps on giving? With one word on each page, it is the height of minimalist style (Stephen King would be proud). Full of illusory and non-illusory techniques, the use of pathetic fallacy foreshadows the inevitable happiness Kipper feels when the weather stops being so schizophrenic. Of course, this dichotomy between unpleasant and pleasant weather appeals to me because I’m a Brit- and everyone knows we love talking about the weather.

Perfect for adults and children alike, this book is open to so much analysis! For instance, in a Marxist reading, Kipper represents the proletariat willing to go out in all kinds of weather and do the work the bourgeois are unwilling to do. From a Freudian perspective, on the other hand, the weather is representative of a dreamscape- which is symbolic of Kipper’s Oedipal obsession with his mother, who is missing from the story, because this is an anti-feminist work that excludes women- because PATRIARCHY (see how I squeezed in a feminist reading there? No, this is not a tenuous link- it totally works). Obviously there are also some signs of oppression here in this highly post-colonial work that I’ve missed because I do not understand The Struggle.

And…. that is all I have to say. What? Did you expect an essay? There are only about 5 words in this book! But if you have anything to add feel free to let me know in the comments! (Or, you know, you could just talk about how I’ve completely lost my mind- that works too)

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