Rip Van Winkle

Rip Van Winkle is the classic tale by Washington Irving of a rather lazy man living in the Catskill Mountains of New York who fell asleep. On returning to his village, he is surprised to learn that he has been asleep not just overnight as he supposed but for twenty years. It's a classic tale that

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shows how much can change in a couple of decades. ***SPOILER ALERT*** The American Revolution had taken place. Many of his friends as well as his wife had died; others had aged almost beyond recognition. The village had grown, and many newcomers were there. Business had closed, and others had taken their place. *** END OF SPOILER***

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Most know the story of Rip Van Winkle: a young man falls asleep in the mountains, awakes many decades later as an old man, and returns to his village where no one recognizes him. The story is a pleasure to read again because of the detail that you always forget: Rip's amiable laziness, his wife's

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frustration at their economic downward spiral, the men that sit outside the tavern smoking and 'discussing' local politics, the outfit of the mountain guy carrying the liquid refreshment.

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Last night at supper we were talking about the various kinds of fey characters of human folklore, and the Spouse said Rip had spent his twenty years (relative) among hairy gnomes. I didn't remember that at all, so it seemed I'd have to read the story again. At thirty years remove from the original

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reading, all I could recall was the simplest plot: that Rip drinks among the fey, comes back to town 20 years later.

I'm glad I re-read it, because there's much more to the Irving telling. Kind of horrifically so, because the whole point of the story is that Van Winkle's wife is horrible. Really horrible. Such a shrew. I had no recollection of the fact that Rip was running away from her. Nor did I recall that the men he went among were so very hairy, nor that they were supposed to be Hendrick Hudson and crew. Nor did I notice the time the story was set: before and after the Revolutionary War, with the heroism of his former friends recounted.

The Spouse complained that Irving took a traditional story and nailed it to a specific time and place and made it such a very Catskill story. That didn't bother me, but oh, that wife! I feel suitably chastened on behalf of all my gender. The nerve of that woman, trying to make her husband provide for the family. She deserves the harshest punishment imaginable and stroking out while yelling at a peddler is pretty harsh.

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"Rip Van Winkle" is an iconic piece of American literature, ingrained in our cultural memory so deeply that it has become a part of American folklore. Surprisingly, "Rip Van Winkle" is not a novel, not even a novella, but rather a short story that has achieved this iconic status. The basic premise

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of the story is that Rip Van Winkle, a kind but indifferent farmer and husband, heads to the hills one afternoon to hunt. While traipsing through the Hudson River Valley, he comes across the mid-eighteenth century version of a kegger and indulges in some particularly potent brew. Afterward, he settles down into a postprandial nap and, when he awakes, he discovers that he has been asleep for quite a bit longer than he had expected :-/ Despite it's short length, "Rip Van Winkle" manages to convey time, place and character with incredible acuity, making even the implausible appear like realistic fiction.

Christian Rummel delivers Washington Irving's words at a fast pace, just shy of being hurried and, with a nod of inflection here and there. The narration ignores the tenor of some key scenes, draining the story of tension. Audible.com is marketing this short story as children's fare, which could have informed the narrator's choices; but it is unfortunate that those choices condescend to children rather than expose them to a great story's timbre and texture.

Redacted from the original blog review at dog eared copy, Rip Van Winkle. 05/17/2011

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Last night at supper we were talking about the various kinds of fey characters of human folklore, and the Spouse said Rip had spent his twenty years (relative) among hairy gnomes. I didn't remember that at all, so it seemed I'd have to read the story again. At thirty years remove from the original

Show More

reading, all I could recall was the simplest plot: that Rip drinks among the fey, comes back to town 20 years later.

I'm glad I re-read it, because there's much more to the Irving telling. Kind of horrifically so, because the whole point of the story is that Van Winkle's wife is horrible. Really horrible. Such a shrew. I had no recollection of the fact that Rip was running away from her. Nor did I recall that the men he went among were so very hairy, nor that they were supposed to be Hendrick Hudson and crew. Nor did I notice the time the story was set: before and after the Revolutionary War, with the heroism of his former friends recounted.

The Spouse complained that Irving took a traditional story and nailed it to a specific time and place and made it such a very Catskill story. That didn't bother me, but oh, that wife! I feel suitably chastened on behalf of all my gender. The nerve of that woman, trying to make her husband provide for the family. She deserves the harshest punishment imaginable and stroking out while yelling at a peddler is pretty harsh.

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Based on a German folktale and heavily influenced by the mystery and beauty of the Catskill Mountains, this story is richly detailed with descriptions of the land and mountains, the henpecked protagonist Rip, his tarmagant wife, and the otherwordly group of ninepin players. Irving uses the book as

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a vehicle to illustrate the incredible amount of change that occured in the space of twenty years, before and after the American Revolution, through the confusion it causes the protaganist. The text is large and has plenty of white space, and the language is not too archaic to be properly understood. It also avoids offensive stereotypes that keep it from being outdated and makes it accessible to a younger audience. Wyeth's paintings are bright and clear, and imbue the story with the fresh influence of the mountains and seasons.

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A delightful tale of magical events, with delightful characters. Didn't particularly like the negative views of wives, but enjoyed the story nonetheless. It seemed to address the sense of detachment people often feel from changes which occur in government.

Nice little story, great illustrations and a great book format with lovely thick pages, wide margins.

If you've never gotten to know lazy old Rip, do so! It's a great little story.

Rip Van Winkle is an entertaining adaptation of a folk tale but unfortunately the other short stories in the book were simply too boring and uninteresting for me....

Gotta love classics.