Black Beauty

Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
Jarrold & Sons - November 24, 1877
281 pages

"We call them dumb animals, and so they are, for they cannot tell us how they feel, but they do not suffer less because they have no words."

When his beloved owners are forced to sell him, Black Beauty leaves his life as a young, carefree colt behind him and embarks on a working life of misery. Cruelly treated by his new masters, Anna Sewell rails against animal mistreatment in this poignant tale of a horse whose spirit can not be broken.

Can I express to you how much I love this novel adequately? I don't think so, but I'm certainly going to try.

You may have noticed, loyal blog readers, that this book has been in my "Currently reading" section for quite a while. It's not because I disliked Black Beauty, as the above paragraph clearly shows, but rather because I got bogged down reading several other books.

As a self-described "3/4 animal-rights activist", I wholeheartedly agree with the particular messages that Sewell is trying to send. While I eat poultry and keep a pet, I am fully against the mistreatment of horses, especially by using a whip to drive a horse past its breaking point. Even though I already felt this way before, Black Beauty is enough to change the majority of people.

Grade: A

The Jungle Book

The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
Macmillan Publishers - 1894
97 pages

(Spoiler level: Minor)

One thing that I bet you didn't know about The Jungle Book is that it isn't all about Mowgli. There are other stories too. And the Mowgli stories are nothing like the Disney movie. There's no King Louie; the monkeys (or Bandar-log) have no leader because they are uncivilized.

Mowgli's Brothers: A lost human is taken in by wolves and named Mowgli. When the wolf leader Akela is toppled by the lame tiger Shere Khan, Mowgli gains fire from a human village and uses it to scare Shere Khan away. Interesting take on the life of animals in India. Sometimes a little boring. B+

Kaa's Hunting: Mowgli is taken by the Bandar-log, or the evil monkeys, when he's being taught about the jungle by Baloo. I love anything that portrays evil monkeys, and this one is a nonstop adventure the whole way through, unlike the previous one. A

Tiger! Tiger!: Mowgli is found by humans after leaving the wolf pack. When his brother tells Mowgli that Shere Khan has returned, Mowgli comes up with a plan to drive him out for good this time. Sometimes meandering and confusing, it brings a satisfying end to the Mowgli trilogy. B

The White Seal: Kotick, a white seal, searches across the world for a land where humans will not be killing his kind. A great case for the animal cruelty that results from hunting for animal skins. A

Rikki-Tikki-Tavi: A mongoose named Rikki-Tikki-Tavi must kill Nag and Nagaina, a pair of venomous cobras that want to kill the British family he lives with. This is probably one of the more popular stories, and it's simply meh. It's good, but not outstanding. B+

Toomai of the Elephants: Blech. The low point of The Jungle Book. An elephant trainer is taken on the adventure of his life by Kala Nag. Not only does it perpetuate the idea that elephant trainers are good, it focuses very little on Kala Nag's inner thoughts, which is quite a stylistic departure from Kipling's norm. D

Her Majesty's Servants: Animals of the British Army discuss their various lives while a British soldier who understands animals listens in on their conversation. Interesting take, but it could get confusing at times with a lack of "the horse said", etc. A-

Overall Grade: B+

If it weren't for the horrible and ridiculous "Toomai of the Elephants", the grade would be higher, so skip that if you can.

To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
J. B. Lippincott and Co. - July 11, 1960
296 pages

"Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."

A lawyer's advice to his children as he defends the real mockingbird of Harper Lee's classic novel--a black man charged with the rape of a white girl. Through the young eyes of Scout and Jem Finch, Harper Lee explores with rich humor and unswerving honesty the irrationality of adult attitudes toward race and class in the deep South of the 1930s. The conscience of a town steeped in prejudice, violence, and hypocrisy is pricked by the stamina and quiet heroism of one man's struggle for justice--but the weight of history will only tolerate so much.

(Spoiler level: Minor)

This classic frequently makes lists with titles such as "Books you have to read in school that are actually good". I happen to agree with those lists on this account.

When you open the novel, you don't completely understand what the narrator, Scout Finch, is talking about. It tells you that her brother Jem broke his arm when he was almost thirteen, and he was fine with it because he could still play football, even though that arm was deformed-looking. Scout then says that she believes the Ewells started it all. By the ending of the novel, you'll understand why Jem broke his arm and what the Ewells had to do with it all.

My one major complaint with To Kill a Mockingbird is that there is very little happening in the entire first part. It's mostly character building and an introduction to a theme. I doubt that To Kill a Mockingbird in its current state would have been published in today's market with that entire first part.

And that's pretty much all I have to say about this one. The rest of it is completely excellent in terms of character, plot, metaphor, setting, etc. I don't like writing long, flowery descriptions about the awesomeness of everything. I prefer the critical take. So deal with it.

Grade: A-

Slaughterhouse-Five

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Delacorte - 1969
186 pages

Kurt Vonnegut's absurdist classic Slaughterhouse-Five introduces us to Billy Pilgrim, a man who becomes unstuck in time after he is abducted by aliens from the planet Trafalmadore. In a plot-scrambling display of virtuosity, we follow Pilgrim simultaneously through all phases of life, concentrating on his (and Vonnegut's) shattering experience as an American prisoner of war who watches the firebombing of Dresden.

Honestly, at first, I was a little confused reading this novel. That's because chapter one is more like an introduction to the novel, where Vonnegut describes how he poured his life into this novel, but it was truly terrible and jumbled. Vonnegut inserts himself into two more situations, one where he is suffering the consequences of food poisoning and suggests that his brains may be coming out, and again where he says "Oz" as the characters are going to Dresden.

That being said, once it got into the actual novel, it turned wonderful. I was glad to see that it was supposed to be funny, because there were times I disturbed people around me with my laughing. For example, the protagonist Billy Pilgrim is reading the Bible and thinks that the message of the Gospels is: "If you are going to kill someone, make sure it is someone who is not well-connected."

In the beginning, I felt that Slaughterhouse-Five was a little too jumpy with the time-travelling, going from World War II to Pilgrim's childhood to visiting his mother in the nursing home in spans of only a few paragraphs, but then it finally levelled out to focus mainly on its topic: the firebombing of Dresden in World War II.

While I was a bit hesitant to pick up World War II fiction, as it's not exactly my favorite period of historical fiction (that one's actually tough: maybe Black Death in England, the Industrial Revolution, World War I, or Anglo-Saxon times), it is easily wonderful.

Grade: A-

Tailchaser's Song

Tailchaser's Song by Tad Williams
DAW Books - November 21, 1985
333 pages

Fritti Tailchaser is part of a group of cats called the Folk in the Meeting Wall Clan. Mysterious disappearances have been happening across the Clan, including Tailchaser's crush Hushpad. When the issue is brought up at a meeting, a group of cats are sent to go to the Royal Court to notify Queen Sunback of the disappearances. However, the cats forget Hushpad as soon as they leave, and so Tailchaser goes out to find her by himself. When Pouncequick, a kitten who sees Tailchaser as a role model, follows the cat, he finds himself playing caretaker as well.

You may have asked yourself why I included this as a classic. The answer is simple: to fantasy and animal fans, Tailchaser's Song is the Watership Down of cat books. Everyone who reads anthropomorphic cat books thinks of Tailchaser. I can definitely see elements of Tailchaser in the Warriors books: two-part names (Stretchslow, Pouncequick, Sunback, and Firefoot especially were Warriors-esque) and Clans in particular are similar. The adventure is high and engaging, and I could not put this book down. I even read it in the car to finish it one day.

Grade: A

A Clockwork Orange

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
William Heinemann - 1962
192 pages

In a dystopian near-future England, teenage gangs, their members called "droogs", speak a Russified English with some Cockney rhyming slang and Roma and roam the streets at night. One of these such "droogs" is Alex, whose only solace is classical music. Alex gets arrested and is put on a new technique called the "Ludovico Technique", where he is forced to see horrifying images put to the classical music that he so loves.

The book that I read was as it was published in the United Kingdom: with a full twenty-one chapters. The early English versions, including the one that the film is based on, leave out the twenty-first chapter because they felt it had a different tone and American audiences wouldn't like the new version. Twenty or twenty-one chapters, the novella is still wonderful. The Nadsat was difficult to understand at first, and I had to read slowly, but as I went on I got more of it and could pick up the pace and could truly enjoy the book.

Grade: A

Tales from Watership Down

Tales from Watership Down by Richard Adams
Hutchinson - March 1, 1996
198 pages

The author of Watership Down has penned a sequel of sorts. It is a collection of short stories in three parts: the first part are traditional stories of the rabbit trickster El-ahrairah. The second part are more stories of El-ahrairah and his faithful companion Rabscuttle, although these are on their way home from the Black Rabbit of Inle. The third and final part follows the rabbits on the Down in events after what happened in Watership Down.

I was thrilled to see that this was mostly stories of El-ahrairah. The few stories that were mentioned in the original were delightfully whimsical, and the stories in Tales are the same way. The first part also includes a story by Blackavar, a rabbit rescued from Efrafa, about a ghost rabbit. However, it is also ruined by a nonsensical story by the jester-type rabbit Bluebell. In the third part, I started off with a grin upon seeing that Hyzenthlay, my favorite character from the original because of the fact that she is a strong doe, becomes elevated to co-Chief Rabbit with her mate Hazel as opposed to remaining stuck in the "First Lady" type position. I was, however, less than thrilled to see that Blackberry is rarely mentioned and is only once called upon for his intelligence. This book still holds almost as much of the magic as the first. Almost.

Grade: B+

Watership Down

Watership Down by Richard Adams
Rex Collings - November 1972
413 pages plus maps

In the Sandleford Warren, things are peaceful for all the rabbits but Fiver. He has received a horrible vision and tells his brother Hazel immediately. They go to the Chief Rabbit, The Threarah, but he dismisses this and they get chased out by Captain Holly. However, others come with them to find Fiver's high ground, such as the powerful Thlayli (or Bigwig), the clever Blackberry, the quick storyteller Dandelion, the timid Pipkin, the strong Silver, the slow Hawkbit, and the outskirters Speedwell and Acorn. Along the way they encounter other warrens such as Cowslip's Warren and Efrafa, as well as some interesting individuals such as Kehaar the black-headed gull, and search for peace.

I had some reservations going into Watership Down. I knew people that couldn't get past chapter one. However, my doubts quickly vanished as I plunged into the world of the Sandleford Warren. The plot moved at a rapid pace and was filled with suspenseful moments. I truly felt for the characters in one way or another, from loathing Hawkbit, Speedwell, and Acorn, to an instant attachment to Blackberry and the doe Hyzenthlay. While the two main characters Hazel and Fiver weren't particularly outstanding, it was the supporting characters that were wonderful. My personal favorite moments of the stories were the breaks when Dandelion would tell a story of the rabbit trickster El-ahrairah, which were richly crafted, especially The Story of the Trial of El-ahrairah. There were some moments, particularly the very end, where (spoiler alert!)Hazel is invited, upon death, to be part of El-ahrairah's Owsla (or council of high-ranking rabbits) as opposed to the more clever Blackberry, who would be much more fitting for the job of working with the trickster(spoiler end), that I thought could have been handled differently, but it was still a great, engaging read.

Grade: A-

The Call of the Wild

The Call of the Wild by Jack London
Macmillan - 1903
231 pages

Buck is a mix of a Saint Bernard and Scotch-Shepherd that has known nothing else than the comforting life of Judge's backyard. That is, until Miguel, a worker, has a debt to pay in gambling and can think of nothing else to give than his master's dog. Buck is shipped off to Seattle and is beaten by a man in a red sweater, giving him his first lesson in The Law of Club and Fang. Buck is bought by the French-Canadians Francois and Perrault, who make him part of a sled dog team. This begins Buck's adventure of changing masters and experiencing different levels of care.

Those that read The Call of the Wild told me this was going to be horrible, but I knew White Fang was excellent, so I decided that I should give it a shot. I was pleasantly surprised to see that this was a great adventure novel. While Buck may be all-dog, unlike White Fang, I definitely think that the two of them could be lead dogs together. At the same time, The Call of the Wild is not exactly the same as White Fang. The former is shorter and about a dog uprooted from his comfortable life, whereas the latter is longer and about a wolf-dog that lived in the wild before joining the sled team. Once again, though, there is racism in the "Yeehats", an American Indian tribe that behaves stereotypically. They are also much more violent than the Indians in White Fang.

Grade: A-

Fahrenheit 451

R.I.P. Ray Bradbury (1920-2012)
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Ballantine Books - 1953
179 pages

Guy Montag was a fireman, but not the kind of fireman that you'd expect. He doesn't put out fires---he starts them. But only when it comes to books. Books are outlawed in Bradbury's futuristic America, and anyone who reads them is put in prison while their books burn. Montag has never questioned his line of work, until a 17-year-old girl named Clarisse McClellan makes him rethink everything he's been told.

I read this book twice. The first time, I read it simply for leisure purposes and I feel like I missed the point a little. Then, a month later, I had to read it again. The second time I was made to analyze it closer, and I feel like I got more out of it. The only problem is how slow it is. The three parts to it are called "The Hearth and the Salamander," "The Sieve and the Sand", and "Burning Bright", but I think that they should be more like "A Day in the Life of Montag", "Montag Keeps Books But No One Notices Yet", and "Something Happens but the Book is Almost Over". I was also very frightened with the fact that when Guy Montag meets Clarisse, he falls out of love with his wife and in love with her. That didn't seem necessary and was rather creepy.


Grade: B-

The Time Machine

The Time Machine by H.G. Wells
William Heinemann - 1895
216 pages

The Time Traveller hosts a dinner party one night to tell his guests that he has made a miniature version of a time machine, but he is laughed off. A week later, he invites them back for another dinner party, where he says that he has been to the future and begins to recount his tales in the year 802,701 A.D., where mankind has shifted itself into two forms: pale, naïve creatures called the Eloi, and apelike, light-fearing beasts called the Morlocks, who feed on the Eloi.

I was forced to read this book. If I weren't, I would probably have read it sometime later in life, when I felt like I wasn't really living until I read such classics as this and Dracula (which I still have not read). If I had read it later in life, I probably would have been more disappointed with The Time Machine than I already am. I did not feel one bit of emotion for the Time Traveller during his journeys because the fact that he was recounting them to us means that he could not have been in too much peril, otherwise he would not be telling them to us. If it were happening in the moment, while he were getting attacked by Morlocks and more, then it would have been better. The startling lack of characterization did not help the story either. The Time Traveller seemed nothing more than any old scientist who has an extravagant idea that he feels he simply must do, otherwise he will be mocked forever. The book moved along quite slowly, to the point where I felt like I needed Sparknotes to find out what just happened. I feel sorry for the person who had to write Sparknotes for it, because they must have had to pick through for some sort of meaning.

Grade: D-

Bambi, A Life in the Woods

Bambi, A Life in the Woods by Felix Salten
Paul Zsolnay Verlag - 1923 (English in 1928)
192 pages (1988 Aladdin edition)

Bambi, a roe deer buck, is born in a thicket in a forest, where he doesn't know it yet, but he is the son of the old Prince, a stag who rules over the forest. Salten follows the young prince through is life, where death abounds, but there is also beauty and grace.

Let me begin by saying that this is not a novel for the faint of heart. I am sure that many have seen the Disney animated movie Bambi on which this was based, but his is a much, much darker book. Bambi's mother (spoiler alert?) dies in the book as well as the movie (spoiler end?) but many other characters face a grim end, including but not limited to (spoiler alert!) Gobo, Bambi's cousin, a pheasant, the old Prince, and a fox. (spoiler end) This is a quick-paced book that was greatly enjoyable to read. Unlike other classics, because it uses animal allegory, it never becomes old. Men still use guns and like to go out hunting; that's the only thing that may have changed in almost 90 years. Some deaths I thought were unnecessary, but Salten seemed to have really liked going out of his way to explain the gruesomeness of humans when they destroy nature. If he were still alive, I would tell him Brava!

Grade: A-

White Fang

White Fang by Jack London
Macmillan - May 1906
298 pages (2001 Scholastic paperback)

In the Yukon Territory, a canid is born. He is the son of a wild canid and a tamed one. He is three-quarters wolf, one-quarter dog. His name is White Fang. This cub is born in a cave with his mother and siblings, but he soon goes on a series of adventures throughout North America, featuring owners good and bad, owners lax and strict, and places cold and warm. Throughout the course of the story, he grows up and learns more about himself.

To be truthful, I didn't have the highest hopes for this novel. I know people who have read another Jack London novel, specifically The Call of the Wild, and they said that it as horribly boring. Fortunately, White Fang is another story. It took me a while to get into London's writing, but when I did I didn't want to put my Kindle down. I felt true sympathy for this dog when (spoiler alert!)he was forced to fight, and when he was stolen away from an owner.(spoiler end) There was a bit of racism about the Native American characters, but it was to be expected for an early-1900s Caucasian man. Plus, the characters are around for such a brief period of time that it couldn't bother me too much. Overall, the novel was an intriguing look into a long-suffering canine, one that will be followed by such tales as A Dog's Life or Doglands.

Grade: A

Animal Farm: A Fairy Story

Animal Farm: A Fairy Story by George Orwell
Secker and Warburg - August 17, 1945
112 pages

This is a classic tale of humanity awash in totalitarianism. A farm is taken over by its overworked, mistreated animals. With flaming idealism and stirring slogans, they set out to create a paradise of progress, justice, and equality. First published during the epoch of Stalinist Russia, today it is clear that wherever and whenever freedom is attacked, and under whatever banner, the cutting clarity and savage comedy of Orwell's masterpiece is a message still ferociously fresh.

(Spoiler level: Minor/nonexistent)

I have read this book more times than I can count. It is my favorite novel. I have done all kinds of projects about this novel. I converted excerpts of this novel into different fonts to see which ones were more readable. I have an Animal Farm t-shirt from Out of Print Clothing (look it up, it's awesome). I quote it frequently. I sing "Beasts of England" when I'm bored. Some people I know think that this obsession is unhealthy, but I don't care.

The first time that I read this book was at a very young age when I thought that it was just a story about animals. The second time I was a few years older and knew that it was supposed to be about Stalinist Russia, but I was still pretty young and ended up overthinking it and searching for a greater meaning that I couldn't find when I was younger. Then I saw the 1959 cartoon animated movie and thought that I really couldn't remember that much about it, so I went back and enjoyed it again, this time being able to make the connections. A time after that I read it to enjoy it as a story, just like when I was six. Now every time I have insomnia I read at least half of it, which really isn't too much when you think about it.

That's what's so great about Animal Farm. You can read it as an animal story and as a metaphor. Not to mention, you can find multiple metaphors in it, as books about the novel show. Yes, it's about Stalinist Russia, but think of the treatment of the female animals on the farm compared to the male animals! You can appreciate Orwell's fiction writing as well as his satire.

As I said, it is truly my favorite novel.


Grade: A+