Bambi, by Felix Salten
I gotta say.... This book was a total downer. If you enjoy reading books that make you cry, this is for you.
It's not just that Bambi's mother dies. Death seems to be a running theme throughout the book all the way to a random passage a third of the way through of two autumn leaves discussing the ravages of aging before they fall to their deaths from the tree. Obviously this is an anti-hunting book. That doesn't really surprise or bother me. The movie was the same. I love animals and understand the sad nature of the food chain; hunters actually have more respect for it than anyone. I'm just not into feeling guilty for existing. So, again, if you're into crying and assuming guilt trips on behalf of humanity, you'll really like this book. But it doesn't just beat up on mankind. There are also portraits painted of other natural predators in the wild as witness to the cruel lives that animals lead, continuing with the sorrowful tone. Personally, I think it even goes too far in its assessment of dogs and other livestock that serves mankind.
I think the author believed in God because His supremacy is asserted towards the end, but I don't know if he really knew God to have such a depressing outlook on that which is the cycle of life.
That's not to say that I didn't like the book. The prose is absolutely beautiful from beginning to end. The passage of the leaves is very powerful and stands out in my mind. The whole book is like that. And it's also a zoological study of deer. Even though they are anthropomorphic and talk, there's no letter writing or sword waving. Their behavior from being weaned from their mothers to rutting and mating is covered in a manner that adults recognize and that wouldn't confuse children. Although I don't think I'd read it to a kid. It seems too heavy even for children of the 1920s when it was published. I actually do recommend it for its classic value and beautiful writing.
I gotta say.... This book was a total downer. If you enjoy reading books that make you cry, this is for you.
It's not just that Bambi's mother dies. Death seems to be a running theme throughout the book all the way to a random passage a third of the way through of two autumn leaves discussing the ravages of aging before they fall to their deaths from the tree. Obviously this is an anti-hunting book. That doesn't really surprise or bother me. The movie was the same. I love animals and understand the sad nature of the food chain; hunters actually have more respect for it than anyone. I'm just not into feeling guilty for existing. So, again, if you're into crying and assuming guilt trips on behalf of humanity, you'll really like this book. But it doesn't just beat up on mankind. There are also portraits painted of other natural predators in the wild as witness to the cruel lives that animals lead, continuing with the sorrowful tone. Personally, I think it even goes too far in its assessment of dogs and other livestock that serves mankind.
I think the author believed in God because His supremacy is asserted towards the end, but I don't know if he really knew God to have such a depressing outlook on that which is the cycle of life.
That's not to say that I didn't like the book. The prose is absolutely beautiful from beginning to end. The passage of the leaves is very powerful and stands out in my mind. The whole book is like that. And it's also a zoological study of deer. Even though they are anthropomorphic and talk, there's no letter writing or sword waving. Their behavior from being weaned from their mothers to rutting and mating is covered in a manner that adults recognize and that wouldn't confuse children. Although I don't think I'd read it to a kid. It seems too heavy even for children of the 1920s when it was published. I actually do recommend it for its classic value and beautiful writing.
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