Two Little Savages

by Ernest Thompson Seton

Yan is an unhappy boy at home. He longs to be in the woods. He's all about nature- eager to sketch animals, lingering to stare in front of a taxidermist's shop, making himself a hideout in a thicket, wanting to learn all about local wildlife and plants. But those around him dismiss his interests; he is supposed to stick to his schoolwork and help with chores. However after struggling with a long illness, his parents send him to live with some relatives on a farm, in hopes of improving his health.  He is very surprised and pleased to discover that his cousin is also 'keen on woodscraft'. The boys have very different temperaments and skill sets, but become friends through their common interest. They play in the woods any chance they get, and eventually gain permission from their parents to spend a few weeks camping out.

With the help of an old trapper who befriends them, the boys make a tipi and set up a proper camp. This trapper had once lived with a native american tribe, so the boys pester him to teach them all he knows about 'being Injun'. And he does. They learn how to make arrows, start a fire with sticks, track game and all sorts of small details like how to make smoke draw properly out of the tipi, how to skin an animal, tan hides, stuff a bird, make moccasins, set a live animal trap etc....  They have a strict code of conduct among themselves- predators and animals considered pests are fair game, but killing things like songbirds is forbidden. However sometimes they get carried away with their sport and cut down trees to try and capture squirrels, for example. They make up all sorts of games to compete and improve their skills- really their marksmanship with bows and arrows are laughable at first. The detailed game of taking turns hiding and finding a dummy deer they made out of burlap and straw was delightful. By the end of the story they have befriended several other boys and even brought their disinterested parents into the camp to admire their accomplishments.

Aside from all the details about making a temporary living in the forest, the book is a good story about a bunch of kids, just being kids. They have their moments- staunch camaraderie, teasing and heated quarrels by turns. I really appreciated that each kid had a very distinct character. There is a sharp contrast between Yan and his brothers earlier in the story, too. The characters are drawn so nicely I wonder if Seton wrote them after people he really knew (or himself as a child?). It is also a great picture of what life was like for people in rural, relatively poor areas over a hundred years ago. Yan's family is not well off by any means, but he finds there is another level of poverty altogether when he visits an 'old witch' who lives in by herself in the woods. He admires this woman for her knowledge of herbs, but when he asks her for information finds that a lot of her lore is mixed with superstition, and when she invites him to stay for dinner he is horrified at the blatant lack of hygiene when she prepares food. The written vernacular can be a puzzle- it was amusing to read it out loud when sometimes I couldn't figure out in my head what people were saying. Especially the poor folks with their heavier slang and rough talk.

There are also ghost stories, a distracted coon hunt, and a bit of mystery to solve that exonerates a man who had for years been shunned by the community, righting a long-standing wrong. And so much more, but I've got to stop writing.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's not as long as the page count might make it seem- the print is fairly large and there are tons of drawings- bird tracks, animal prints, diagrams showing how things are made or built, profiles of ducks, humorous sketches and full-page illustrations. Incidentally, Seton's drawings of ducks showing how the species could be identified by characteristic markings seen from afar inspired the first bird field guide by Roger Tory Peterson.

Rating: 4/5     552 pages, 1903

Roughing It

by Mark Twain

In 1861 Samuel Clemens accompanied his brother west on a stagecoach, apparently because he had nothing better to do. His brother had a new appointment as Secretary of Nevada Territory, and the author tried his hand at lots of odd jobs- including mining, labor in a silver mill and editor of a small newspaper. He kept going west- stopping a two days in Salt Lake City, spending time in California and finally taking a ship to Hawai'i (then known as the Sandwich Islands). He wasn't quite yet a writer by trade, and the stories are kind of rough. Lots of tall tales and anecdotes told many times over by other folk. Tons of exaggeration, which can be laugh-out-loud amusing or just plain tedious. I was intrigued to read his description of traveling by stagecoach and of the early Pony Express, of frontier life, of the craze for silver mining prospects in Nevada, of his visit to Utah where he reports that he met Brigham Young- his description is not very flattering but then he makes fun of most of the people he meets in this book. He writes about the lawless situation in the territories, and there are many episodes showing how people tried to enforce law or impose order on desperadoes, outlaws and swindlers galore. The accounts of trials and hangings got to be long-winded and boring. The detailed descriptions of mining assessments and operations were interesting only to a point, then I didn't want to read about that anymore (I was astounded that they would handle 'quicksilver' or mercury- in their hands while using it to extract silver from other base metals in the crushed rock- it ate the ring off his hands). The native americans are portrayed as being weak and depraved, but the vistas of wilderness are full of grandeur. The description of a visit to Lake Mono and a claim on Lake Tahoe (where they started a fire that burned up the camp) was particularly interesting.

Most of the stories are funny, if you can wade through all the flowery prose and rough vernacular to get to the punch line.

Even though I read the last few chapters to the end, in all honesty I have to mark this book as 'abandoned' because I skipped well half the middle of it. In fact, if I hadn't seen a few other readers' remarks about how interesting the section on his travels to Hawai'i were, I might well have ditched the book sooner. Glad I didn't though, it was a pretty interesting account! A mix of introduced 'civilized' culture and 'pagan' native ways, many of the Hawaiians were still not used to things like wearing clothing. Twain tells some curious stories about how they abandoned their traditional gods for christianity, accepted european ideas of government, and how they loved ceremony- yet so many traditional ideas and superstitions obviously still believed in regardless of how much they appeared to have adapted to 'white man's ways'.

Abandoned        421 pages, 1872

more opinions:
Fifty Books Project
Avid Reader's Musings

Aquarium Plants

Mini Encyclopedia
by Peter Hiscock

I bought this book over a year ago when I started keeping a planted tank, and then never read it! So a lot of the info I've learned by now, it was review- conditions that plants require, planting and propagation methods, pruning techniques, maintenance, etc. There are several nice spreads showing what plant selections would go nicely together according to needs (water hardness) or a biotope display. Second half of the book is plant profiles. Nice clear pictures although sometimes the little informational snippets in the margins didn't actually correlate to the part of the picture indicated, which I found kind of amusing.

I did encounter some new plants here that I've never heard of, and learned why a few of mine haven't done well- hydrocotyle species seem to prefer softer water so probably that's why mine is failing (it wasn't a plant I got on purpose, but a freebie piece that came mixed with some others). I added a few to the list of plants I want to try. There are over a hundred and fifty species profiled in this book, but it seems to be an abbreviated version. The author has published another, much more extensive aquatic plant encyclopedia and that's the one I really want to have on my shelf.

Rating: 3/5    208 pages, 2005

The Biography of a Grizzly

by Ernest Thompson Seton

Note: there are SPOILERS in this post.

The story of a grizzly bear, different from Monarch the Big Bear of Tallac. The opening scene shows the bear cub gamboling charmingly with his siblings, the mother bear nearby. In the next chapter the mother bear is shot by a man, and only one cub- later named Wahb- survives. He is just old enough to make it on his own, but missing some crucial instructions he would have received from his mother, goes through a lot of struggles in his first year. Which ends up making him a sullen loner. Several run-ins with mankind leave him with a permanent limp and a deep fear and hatred of humans. The story shows how the bear holds his territory and drives out other, smaller bears. He even manages to drive men from his range- terrorizing them at homestead claims until his name becomes known and folks simply avoid the area. The bear is pretty smart- when first caught in a trap he accidentally treads on the spring that releases it; remembering this is later able to free himself from other traps. Further on in the story he finds a hot spring and discovers that soaking in the pool relieves the pain of his old injuries and he visits the pool many times for this purpose. In another part of the book the bear makes Yellowstone (then a very new park) part of his summer haunts, and there is even brief mention of the sick cub that fed on trash outside a lodge there (told in greater detail here).

For once, the main animal character in the story meets a peaceful end. The final chapters of the book was actually my favorite part. It describes how a younger bear seeking its own territory comes onto Wahb's land. This bear can tell that Wahb would be a formidable enemy, so it sneaks around for quite some time. Then it discovers a means to trick Wahb into thinking it is actually a larger bear. When the resident grizzly finds these marks, the apprehension of meeting the younger bear worries and wears on him. It was a really interesting description of the psychological conflict the two rival bears could have, one gradually pushing the other out even though they never had a direct encounter. In the end, Wahb goes into a gully where noxious gas seeping out of the ground makes him fall asleep, never to wake again. This is an actual place and I bet the description of dead bears found there gave Seton material for his story- he based most of his writings on observations or accounts of real wildlife.

My book is a 1914 edition, the story was first published in 1900. It seems to have been reprinted with several different titles- the image I show here is a newer edition which includes reference materials and historical information about the area Wahb lived in. I've also seen an older edition titled King of the Grizzlies which I think is the same story.

Rating: 4/5     167 pages, 1900

Beach Music

by Pat Conroy

This is rich storytelling, and heavy reading. The novel is narrated by Jack McCall, one of five brothers who is living as an ex-pat in Rome with his daughter, and has vowed to never see his family again, or let them be part of his daughter's life. He is convinced to return by one thing: his mother is dying of cancer. Going back home- to South Carolina- is facing a rocky past. And not just his own past, but that of his parents, and their parents, and his wife's parents, and his childhood friends and so on. It covers so much pain, and so many dysfunctional relationships. Jack has one brother who is mentally ill (his heated parts of conversations stood out to me- the other brothers really blended together I forgot who was who constantly), a drunken father, and a mother who coldly manipulates everyone- or so they all said, frequently proclaiming their hatred for her. I never really got that part, though. Events that happened among friends when they were all students- yeah. Fear and loathing of his father who bullied them- yeah. The bad character of his mother- where were the stories about that?

There's so much going on in here it's hard to keep reading. Family secrets and betrayals. Pogroms in the Ukraine and the horrors of the Holocaust. Student riots during the Vietnam War. An old friend hiding from the law in Rome, in the guise of a priest. Rich cooking- Conroy does like to talk about food, doesn't he? Dirt poor living conditions in an Appalachian valley- I'd never read descriptions of people who worship by handling live poisonous snakes before. Oh, and sea turtles being rescued. By the protagonist's mother. That part really felt unrelated to anything else- was it just to show a sympathetic side to that character... ? Ramblings in the low country, a near-disastrous fishing trip where they encountered a giant manta ray- that part felt really far-fetched. But I have to say, Pat Conroy is a darn good storyteller. For most of the book I rolled with the ebb and flow of shifting storylines, curious to see how each character's past had made them what they were, how it affected and influenced all the others in turn- until I suddenly didn't care anymore, because well, it was just so much to take in and I didn't particularly like any of them.

I almost didn't finish. All this buildup to tell the pivotal, ruinous event that had occurred when the friends were at college, and when I had a hundred pages to go I just didn't want to read more. The political turmoil of the Vietnam War era wore on me. The mock trial staged in a theater where all the characters involved were brought together to air their grievances and explain themselves- felt so overly convenient. In the end, the big reveal didn't seem like a huge deal compared to all the rest of the brutality that happened in the book. I must temper that by saying there is plenty of love in these pages, too- and moments of bravery, unlooked-for compassion, people standing up for what's right, even humor. But I skimmed the last few chapters just because I couldn't bear to call a 700-plus page book abandoned if I lost interest near page 672.

Rating: 3/5            773 pages, 2009

more opinions:
A Guy's Moleskine Notebook
who else?

Golden Hamster Saga

by Dietlof Reiche

A while ago I read this cute book about a hamster- I, Freddy. My daughter has the first four books in the series, so looking for another fun read I tried the second and third.

I just couldn't get into it. The established premise is that Freddy can now read and write with ease- he is in fact writing (his life story and some fiction) on his owner's computer, and also using the computer to communicate with the man who seems to find it normal to talk to a hamster now, but keeps it a secret from everyone else. Freddy in Peril pitches immediately into a mystery of sorts- someone is trying to break into the apartment and Freddy suspects it is to steal him. This would-be-thief has learned of Freddy's communication skills and wants to use the hamster in some scientific experiment. Of course Freddy and his companions- a cat and two guinea pigs- have to thwart the plan and save Freddy.

It was just implausible from the very beginning. I enjoyed the first book which only stretched a little bit from the normalcy of a hamster becoming used to a new environment and getting along with the other pets. This one goes a lot further- talking hamster solves a mystery and saves the day! I can see how kids would really like it, but it's obviously aimed at them and not me.

I opened the third book Freddy to the Rescue just to see, as this one had a premise that interested me a bit more. Freddy learns that a nearby construction site threatens the lives of a field hamster population, and he intends to save them. But it was really tedious to find that so many things were reiterated in the first chapter as in the other books: the guinea pigs fall over whenever Freddy surprises them with his snarl. The cat is full of himself but Freddy knows better. The humans are clueless as to what is really going on and Freddy will figure out how to fix it all- despite his small size. The incessant jokes and rhymes coming from the guinea pigs were tiresome. The writing style did nothing for me. Oh well.

Now I'm diving into something thick instead.

Abandoned         208 pages, 2006

Razzle Dazzle Unicorn

by Dana Simpson

It's nice to have a slew of fun, easy reads sometimes. I'm still enjoying these unicorn comics. More adventures of Phoebe and her best-friend unicorn Marigold Heavenly Nostrils. Quirky, amusing combination of reality and fantasy, poking gentle fun at stereotypical ideas regarding girls who love unicorns. Phoebe is definitely a nerd and into things like role-playing games, but she also likes girly stuff on occasion too. She's not a flat character at all. (A nice touch is the variety of hairstyles and clothing she sports in the comics, there's even a "breaking the fourth wall" moment in one of the strips where she makes a comment about how most comic book characters always look the same- as if they never change their clothes. Haha.) She goes through all kinds of usual kid trials- facing tests at school, popular kids teasing her, misunderstandings with her friends (but never with the unicorn- they question each others' ideas and poke fun at human/unicorn characteristics, but never yet have I seen them have an argument!), generation gap moments with her parents, summer camp. But also things like meeting the monster in the lake again, and another new unicorn (this one is pronounced plain though he doesn't really look it). Helping out her frenemy with a goblin problem. I think my favorite bits were the part where she had to read a book for school, and the very brief joke about origami (my twelve-year-old is into that).

Borrowed from the public library. I think there's only four volumes published so far, so now I will have to wait for another compilation, or start following the daily strip online. Have an idea to go back and read some old Calvin and Hobbes collections I have, just for the fun of it. And the comparison, of course.

Rating: 3/5       184 pages, 2016

Winter's Tales

by Isak Dinesen

A book I've had to read in pieces, it's kinda slow going. These short stories are thoughtful, romantic in the old sense of the word, and very introspective. I had to read them slowly because the style is very different from modern narrative prose- a lot about each character's inner thoughts and perceptions of the world and their past relationships to other people and their half-formed dreams of the future and so on- there is very little conversation and nothing much seems to happen until you get to the end when there is a often a sudden inexplicable connection to something else, which makes you sit up and take notice. The endings can be very odd, and often leave the reader with more questions- I frequently had a wait, what? type of response.

There is a story about an adopted child who naturally assumes himself to be from a grand family, even though he was raised in squalor, and the gracious airs he puts on affects everyone around him. There is a story about a pastor's daughter who helps her orphaned cousin (adopted into the household) fulfill his wish to run away to sea- meeting their disaster together. A young sailor rescues a falcon that tangled itself in the rigging, and later his compassionate act is repaid in a strange manner, when he runs afoul of some drunken men while trying to court a young girl in a town their ship stops at. A king muses on his past actions and friendships, rides down to the sea to speak to a hermit who used to be in his service, and finds something unexpected when a fish is presented to him for a meal. A young man falls in love with a beautiful lady at a resort (such establishments were called "the watering place" in these stories, which sounded quaint) only to find out all his assumptions about her position in life were wrong. And so on.

It's hard to describe these stories. They feel very old-fashioned, most are set in a time period well before Dinesen's own day, and I believe she meant to infuse them with an archaic feeling. They are often solemn. The viewpoints in them sometimes baffled me- not just the stern religious feeling and ideas about God, but also the rather stereotypical notion that poor people felt content with their lot in life and were simple, dull folk and that on the other hand folk born into high station felt an inherent nobility- even if they had not been raised in a grand household. Hm.

I'm not sure if I can say I enjoyed these stories, but they certainly made me think and the mood in them is very tangible, like a dark landscape that presses on you. Many of them have a fantastic element just a bit removed from normalcy, which is more unsettling and surprising than delightful or wondrous. I feel like I ought to read them all over again just to puzzle out the characters' separate motives and try to understand what was the point.

In case you are unaware, Isak Dinesen is the author's pen name. She is Karen Blixen, who wrote Out of Africa. Which was a much easier read and has long one of my favorites, by the way.

Rating: 3/5        313 pages, 1942

more opinions:
A Striped Armchair
Like Fire

Unicorn vs Goblins

by Dana Simpson

I don't know well how to write about comic books very well. There's not really a plot, although there is development- for example Phoebe's relationship with her enemy Dakota is gradually changing- they actually enjoy doing a few things together. And some things are definitely presented chronologically- I started reading Razzle Dazzle Unicorn first, because the books are not marked by vol. number and both were published in the same year so I didn't know which one came first (or if it mattered). But there's an early panel in Razzle Dazzle Unicorn where Phoebe and Marigold are in a role-playing game with Max and there's a reference to goblins that's obviously an inside joke between Phoebe and Mari, which went unexplained (baffling Max too). Of course that made me realize the other book was written first, so I ditched Razzle Dazzle and started reading here.

So what happens in this book? Phoebe goes to a music summer camp where she meets another girl just as 'weird' as she is. There's a monster in the lake at camp- very apt. Phoebe meets another unicorn- Marigold's sister, who is quite different. I like that the unicorns and other magical creatures in these comics have individual personalities and complex relationships-  makes it feel very real in spite of the magical elements. Which are just plain fun. Like an incident involving magicked hair that goes awry.

I like the dynamics of the friendships. I like Phoebe's character, and the cheerful, self-assured pleasantly conceited unicorn. And all the jokes very much placed in modern times- the girl carries her cell phone everywhere. Her frenemy Dakota has a video blog (or a youtube channel or something. Which gets hacked by goblins- and now I know the goblin reference!) Some things I am old enough to not quite get, though- in one of these strips, a kid swears by saying "frack" in place of the f-word. Is that something kids actually say, now? I find it very apropro, haha.

Borrowed from the public library.

Rating: 3/5       176 pages, 2016

Unicorn on a Roll

by Dana Simpson

The more I read of these Phoebe and Her Unicorn comic books, the more I like them. (On the third right now). In this set of strips, Phoebe has arguments with her 'frenemy' at school, Dakota, and becomes more friendly with a fellow nerd- a boy who participates in the spelling bee. She learns that her unicorn can roller skate, tries out for the school play and can't figure out what to do with her time when her parents spend hours binge-watching their favorite show and leave her unsupervised. (She feels like she ought to take advantage of the opportunity to do something naughty, but can't figure out what. Such a good kid. Even if she does pick her nose). I have to say, I really enjoy reading Phoebe's interactions with her parents. They're from my generation, so I can relate to things like knowing what a vcr or record-player is, and how phones used to be attached to the wall- which my kids are clueless about.

The unicorn is priceless. She is perfectly assured of her beauty and perfection, but she's not a snob about it. She is very gracious, and has a charming sense of humor. And I like that the unicorn can interact with Phoebe's parents and friends- because of this phenomenon called the Shield of Boringness that makes her seem un-spectacular to them. Reminds me of how Peter S. Beagle's unicorn would appear a mere white mare to certain people, protecting her from harm.

Oh, and Phoebe meets a few other unicorns- who don't approve of Marigold being friends with a human and try to dissuade her from the company. Those segments were great and I wished for more of them.

The more I read of these comics the more I smile, and laugh out loud. Poking around online I found some prior comics this author/artist used to create before they evolved into Phoebe and Her Unicorn- which I am curious to read now as well. I'm starting here.

Rating: 3/5       225 pages, 2015

Phoebe and Her Unicorn

by Dana Simpson

Phoebe is a fairly ordinary fourth-grader. She wants to impress her friends, but the popular girls think she's weird. Skipping stones one day she accidentally hits a unicorn (who is captivated by the beauty of her own reflection) and is granted a wish. She cleverly wishes for endless wishes, but that isn't allowed, so instead she wishes the unicorn will be her best friend. Marigold Heavenly Nostrils is reluctant at first, but gradually the two become close companions. They have a lot to learn about each other- Phoebe's ideas about unicorn magic are often mistaken, and Marigold finds humans baffling. The unicorn is really conceited yet honest and kind as well. They make an amusing pair.

It did remind me a lot of Calvin and Hobbes, and the occasional snarkiness cast my mind to Ariel as well. And delightfully, Peter S. Beagle himself wrote the introduction. For an easy, light read it has a lot of thoughtful moments, and made me laugh.

It's a daily comic online, but I prefer to read the printed version. Happily, my library has three more volumes of the Heavenly Nostrils Chronicles, so I have a few on hold now...

more opinions:
Things Mean a Lot
Waking Brain Cells
The Joy of My Life

TBR 64

The Trainable Cat by John Bradshaw
We Live in Water by Jess Walter- Shelf Love
Boy Erased by Garrard Conley- Reading the End
Today Will Be Different by Maria Semple- Caroline Bookbinder
In the Darkroom by Susan Faludi- So Many Books
My Lobotomy by Howard Dully- Caroline Bookbinder
The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald- ditto
Wasp that Brainwashed the Caterpillar by Matt Simon- ditto
Working Stiff by Judy Melineck- ditto
What a Fish Knows by Jonathan Balcombe
All the Windwracked Stars by Elizabeth Bear- So Many Books
The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens- Bermudaonion
Lucy & Andy Neanderthal by Jeffrey Brown- Bermudaonion's Weblog
From Junk Food to Joy Food by Joy Bauer- Carol's Notebook

the Naturalist by Alissa York- Indextrious Reader
We Were Wilder by Rebecca O'Connor- Snips and Snails.... 
the Hunter and the Wild Girl by Pauline Holdstock- Indextrious Reader
Stranger in the Woods by Michael Finkel- Caroline Bookbinder
Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones- Reading the End
Elegy Beach by Steven R. Boyett

2016 book stats

Total books read- 85

Fiction- 46
Non-fiction- 39

fiction breakdown
YA- 3
Historical- 3
Fantasy- 8
J Fic- 15
Picture books- 2
Animals- 19
Classics- 5
Poetry- 1

non-fiction breakdown
Art- 5
Gardening- 5
J Non-fic- 15
Memoirs- 8
Nature- 11
Animals- 15
Other- 7

other formats
Short stories- 2
Graphic novels- 3

sources
Owned- 52
Library- 33
Review copies- 0
Borrowed from a friend- 2

re-reads- 2
abandoned books- 9

As usual, the numbers are a bit off (some fit into more than one category, and I read far more than two picture books with my five-year-old, but just noted the ones reviewed). The only pattern that surprises me is that (compared to total count) it seems I read fewer animal books this year, and more juvenile fic/non-fic than in other years.

It's always interesting to see how far afield my reading gets me. Not much, this time. Most of the books I read were set in the USA, a few even in my hometown! The bit of foreign settings I did get were from Scotland, Wales, rural England, Afghanistan, Iraq, Vietnam, Australia, Cameroon, Kenya and South Africa.

My favorites of the year were The Hidden Half of Nature and The Dragon of Og. In terms of art The Bird-King was inspiring and a feast for the imagination. Best animal book of the year was probably Inside of a Dog. Top reads that taught me about plants- Garden Secrets (very practical) My Weeds (incredibly useful and interesting) and Thoreau's Faith in a Seed.

Books I really appreciated even if they weren't actual favorites: American Girls was an eye-opening account of what teenagers experience with social media today. Set far in the past, The Inheritors was baffling and fascinating at the same time. In the opposite direction, The Time Machine presented some fantastic ideas of what the future might become. Those two really stretched me. Some classics I'm glad I finally read: Cry, the Beloved Country and How Green Was My Valley. And finally, there's Mr. Sponge's Sporting Tour- I'm not sure how to classify this one. It feels like historical fiction to me, because the setting is over a hundred fifty years ago. But the author wrote it as a contemporary parody- it wasn't historical content for him!

Love: the Lion

by Federico Bertolucci

Life of a lion. This one follows the doings of a solitary male, distinguished by his dark mane. There's a lot of iconic african wildlife scenarios in here- wildebeest and zebra crossing a river getting ambushed by crocodiles in the water and lions waiting on the other side, lions and hyenas battling over a carcass, vultures coming in for the remains. Male lions shown hogging the food, but also using their prowess to bring down prey solo. The storyline of this one is a bit confusing as it shows the clash of two different lion prides, and sometimes it's hard to tell exactly what is going on. There's a lot of bloody encounters- between predator and prey as well as rival lions. And the ending is actually quite sad- unlike the other two novels, this one shows the individual lion's memories -depicted in sepia tones- which adds some emotion to the story.

Unfortunately, I was more annoyed with inaccuracies in this book than in the previous two. Some are petty criticisms, but they bother me because the artist is obviously so good at drawing form and proportion I am disappointed with things like this. Young wildebeest don't have the same coloring as their parents. The stripes go a different way down the spine of a zebra, than shown from above here. And while the cheetah cubs here seem to sport their silver mantles (I wish there were more cheetahs in this book, they were beautifully illustrated) why do none of the lion cubs have spots? What really jolted me out of enjoying the story though, was again the portrayal of animals in the wrong habitats: lions and hyenas in jungle-like scenery, fighting over what appears to be the carcass of an okapi. I know it's fiction so the author can take some liberties, but a few too many and it ruins my ability to really immerse myself in the story.

This graphic novel by Frédéric Brrémaud with artwork by Bertolucci is the last one my library has, although I see there's another in the series which features a dinosaur. I am sure I will be able to enjoy that one without much complaint, as I don't know enough particular facts about dinosaurs to recognize any flaws!

Rating: 3/5      82 pages, 2015

More reviews:
Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tales

Love: the Fox

by Frederico Bertolucci

Another graphic novel by Brrémaud and Bertolucci, with fantastic artwork and dramatic scenery. This one is about a fox that lives on an island, apparently near arctic regions. It's way more dramatic than the Tiger book, because a volcano erupts on the island and the animals scramble through the ensuing chaos trying to survive. While the thread follows the fox as it bolts through the harrowing landscape of fire and ice, it also diverts to show what other animals are doing- in a way reminiscent of Sally Carrighar's One Day at Teton Marsh, depicting the intersecting lives of many different species. There is a scene involving a whale and her calf fending off a pack of orcas, who lurk just offshore waiting to prey on sea lions and other animals. There is an encounter between a polar bear and an alaskan brown bear. I'm a little confused at the representation of species because the book shows musk ox in forested areas, and mouflon leaping around rocky peaks- but I don't think those two animals live in the same regions. And while the artist's sketches of foxes in the rear of the book are lovely, the one featured in the book is a bit too cute for my taste- with a very fat plume of a tail always carried high even when situations would probably make it hold the tail low in fear or caution. (There's a fox briefly shown in the Tiger book, and I much prefer how that one was drawn). I also have a kind of pet peeve with people who don't know that baby animals have slightly different proportions or markings than their parents- case in point, young foxes don't have a full bushy tail, but a narrow one. Even a yearling fox won't have a full brush yet. Oh well.

The illustrations showing underwater scenes and marine life are really captivating. The drawings of gannets are wonderful. It's the kind of book I want to hold onto for several days to look at again and again (my little criticisms aside).

Rating: 3/5        82 pages, 2015

More opinions:
Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tales

Love: the Tiger

by Federico Bertolucci

I saw this book mentioned on another blog somewhere (was it you?) and while it didn't land on my actual TBR list, when I wanted a light read this week I picked it up along with several other graphic novels at the library. It is authored by Frédéric Brrémaud although there are no words, the pages are all full of gorgeous artwork by Bertolucci.

It depicts the life of a tiger in the jungle. Most of the pages are taken up by images of the tiger prowling through the undergrowth and stalking prey. He has an awful lot of near misses. Gets harassed by monkeys, bitten by ants, a near encounter with a crocodile and fights some rival black panthers. Tries again to catch a meal- usually seems to be after a tapir (who has unusually large ears). Life as a tiger seems difficult. In the end the tiger does get his meal, an unexpected one.

Really the pictures are breathtaking. So much atmosphere, detail, fierceness and beauty. I had not heard of this artist before but he is amazingly good at drawing animals. Especially birds- and they're not the main focus. I really liked the final few pages that show some original sketches and studies done by the artist, and you can see a lot more samples online. Beautiful work.

Rating: 3/5    82 pages, 2011

More opinions:
Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tales

Mr. Sponge's Sporting Tour

by Robert Surtees

This book from the mid 1800's is about a man of limited means who acquires three rented horses, puts on airs and basically invites himself to the homes of various folk in the countryside so he can attend fox hunts (which he also invites himself to). He banks on the fact that nobody knows him, to be able to get away with things- people pretend they know of him to avoid looking ignorant, and he lets them make assumptions about his social position etc, takes advantage of free room and board until he seriously wears out his welcome, and they make efforts to throw him out. Then he moves on, finding someone else who had extended (in mere politeness) an invitation, which he takes them up on suddenly. Eventually enough people in the district hear of him that he finds himself staying with people who aren't so well-to-do, and he is thoroughly dissatisfied. He tries to get himself invited back to one of the other households, and starts to wonder at his predicament- no money, no income, and apparently no more invitations forthcoming.

All this time he is involved in some kind of horse-dealing scams- showing off his horses (hiding their faults of course) and selling them, but then making the buyer so discomfited they pay him to take the horse back (once pressured by empty threat of a lawsuit). So he makes money off these horses that aren't even his. He doesn't seem too skilled at foxhunting although more into it than some of the other characters- lots of them apparently participate just to make a show of themselves- and has a curious obsession with studying a book of 'bus schedules and fares that he carries around. A lot of the book isn't about Mr. Sponge at all (most of the names pointedly emphasize something about each character) there are entire chapters just describing the people who will be his next set of hosts. Lots of curious folk with different quirks and habits. I think the one that amused me most was a man who went foxhunting so he could look for likely trees to cut sticks from- his hobby was carving an entire series of walking-sticks with the heads of famous people.

In the end Sponge, who had often had female attentions pressed on him when staying at various households, met a lady who liked to ride with the hounds, and he very suddenly fell in love and married. Of course he still had no means to make a living, but adroitly (or by sheer luck) won a steeplechase and found something to invest his winnings in. It was a rather abrupt conclusion.

I was interested in reading the descriptions of the hunts, the various ways in which they were conducted and the parts about the horses. Most of this seems to be character studies and obviously intended as humor, although I sometimes missed the point. I did like it just for the fact that it described a way of life long gone by, so very different in many ways (it went easier when I started glossing over the descriptions of people's clothing). More than for enjoyment of the story or an expectation to read it again, I feel I ought to keep this book just for what it is as a physical object- one of the oldest books in my library. My edition was printed in 1860, and even though it is faded, yellowed and stained in places, the binding has held up remarkably well, the paper has a fine texture (although print somewhat faded) and the ink illustrations are very clever- depicting the various characters with a lot of humor.

Rating: 3/5       408 pages, 1853

Jayber Crow

by Wendell Berry

This is a thoughtful book, and slow. It is the story of a small town, told through the eyes of a man who lives above the barbershop, makes his modest living giving haircuts, and listens to all the talk of the town. It has many threads- some of this man's life- his childhood on an aunt's farm, his religious education, the moment he realized he didn't want to be a priest and wandered back home where he settled down as the town barber. Then it is a very long and slow story of the small-town life, the people he observed, the folk he liked or disliked. I admit I liked the beginning and end of the novel better, the middle part at times felt very dull and hard to stick with. The latter end, where Jayber falls in love with another man's wife and admires her from afar for years, while internally criticizing how that man uses and abuses the land, was far more interesting to me. It is one big long soliloquy on the dismay of small farms folding under pressure and how big agriculture ruins the land. With bits of storylines of the townsfolk holding on or moving out, woven around to make a whole. As the small town quietly crumbles under pressure of change, Jayber himself moves to live in a small cabin on the riverbank. Lots of writing describing nature then, it makes you think of Walden, and then the ending is very sad.

I am curious to read another one of his novels, as I've heard they each tell the story of this town through the eyes of a different inhabitant. Also intend to read some of his nonfiction and essays. But I don't know if he'll ever be a favorite of mine. Just a bit too- deliberate and meandering sometimes for my taste. However it's entirely possible I just need to approach it again at a different time of my own life, with a different mindset to appreciate it properly.

Rating: 3/5      363, 2000

Pyewacket

by Rosemary Weir

When I picked up this book up secondhand, it was because I thought I'd read the name of the main character before- a cat named Pyewacket in another book, called after this Pyewacket whom I didn't know of before...

Not sure which book it was that mentioned it, but now I know who the original Pyewacket is. A tough, scarred, one-eyed cat that lives at the end of a rundown lane. There is a cat in each house- a young foolish kitten, an older gentle cat who lives with two ladies, a rather snobby Siamese, a standoffish Manx, two other toms- variety of types. The cats are sitting around complaining about how their humans mistreat or neglect them when the old tom Pyewacket announces a plan: get rid of the humans and have the lane to themselves. He makes a deal with the local rats to enlist their help in scaring away the people, but something else much bigger than Pyewacket's plan is going on. Quicker than they had expected, the people start to leave and the cats (who manage to avoid being taken along when their owners move out) are left to their own devices- but not in easy possession of their homes as they had assumed. The entire street is being torn down for a factory to be built. The cats start to get cold and hungry (loosing their edge against the rats) and then their leader is injured and carried off to the animal hospital. What will become of the cats now?

It has a good ending- rather predictable, but with a few nice turns. I liked the inked illustrations by Charles Pickard.

Rating: 3/5       123 pages, 197

How Green Was My Valley

by Richard Llewellyn

I can't remember the last time it took me a month to read one book. I have simply been busy- all the regular stuff plus a basement remodel, guests for the holidays and a very large project at work that has gone way past the deadline, have eaten up all my free hours. I'm still trying to wrap up stuff at work, often too tired at the end of the day to focus on more than a magazine article before sleep...

Well, this is a book that sat a very long time on my shelf- for over eight years. I can't recall what prompted me to first pick it up at the Book Thing, except perhaps the title caught my eye. Reading it at once I was reminded of Germinal, because of the similar theme. How Green Was My Valley is set in a coal-mining village on a mountaintop in Wales. It is told from the viewpoint of a younger son in a large family, Huw Morgan. Most of this bildungsroman is about family centeredness- the strong moral code, the younger son learning skills from his father and older brother. There is an incident in his childhood which leaves him weakened and bedridden for several years, so he studies a lot and becomes well-versed in classical literature. It is baffling later on when he is sent to receive formal schooling, but the school is run by the English and they look down on him and think he is ignorant, just because he is Welsh. Huw learns carpentry from the local preacher and boxing from a group of prizefighters- and there are lots of ins and outs in the story about love- his brothers wooing different women and getting married, the unrest some of these pairings cause in the family, his long infatuation with his brother's wife, his curiosity about 'the facts of life' and final realization with a girl from the next valley over- this part of the story was actually quite funny, as he didn't like the girl at first but she weaseled her way into his company. For some reason I never really connected with the main character- nothing about him really stood out to me, except that he had a strong sense of right and wrong, curiosity about how the world works, and didn't hesitate to question the actions of those around him when they seemed senseless.

The parts about mining and its effect on the valley loom in the background- slag heaps piling up to nearly topple over the houses, grime slowly covering everything, the meadows of flowers suffocating, the streams devoid of fish- but it all occurs so gradually people don't notice until it seems too late. Most of their concern was keeping their livelihood- Huw's brothers are involved in creating a union and there is a lot of unrest, times of suffering and famine. The ending, when Huw's father goes down into the mine to find one of their men who didn't come back after going down to see why the tunnels are flooding- well, it ends in tragedy as you might expect. All the fighting and suffering and despoiling of the mountain, to end in loss and sorrow.

The language is beautiful. Throughout the entire book there is a unique pattern of phrasing that comes from the Welsh language- it took me a while to get used to it, and then I loved the way the descriptions would put images in my mind. Huw's thoughts on the nature of the land and the depth of relationships in people around him are quite eloquent. It is for this I might keep the book on hand to read again, or look for others by this author- although from reviews I glanced at, the sequels to How Green Was My Valley aren't as good.

Rating: 4/5         497 pages, 1940