Happy Half-Hours

October 15, 2020
Inarguably best remembered for having created the children's book character Winnie the Pooh, A. A. Milne (1882-1956) was, in his time, also a successful playwright, poet, novelist, and, as this collection evidences, essayist. The 34 pieces (32 essays and two short short stories) in this genial gathering are divided into six parts: Literary Life, Married Life, Home Life, Public Life, Meditative Life, and Peaceful Life. Of these, the first and last are likely to excite the greatest enduring interest. Readers of the first are sure to enjoy Milne's musings on his personal library, children's books, Lewis Carroll, and the touching reasons for his decision to write no more books about Pooh. The last section?Peaceful Life?is ironically titled, since these emotion-charged essays are about the horrors of war (Milne was a pacifist, though he served in the British army in WWI). As for the rest: they are pleasant diversions on subjects ranging from golf ( the best game in the world at which to be bad ) to spiritualism. Occasionally twee, they are, nevertheless, the stuff of many happy half hours of reading pleasure.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)