| Penguin: a season in the life of the Adélie Penguin | |
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Lloyd Spencer Davis
The story of Antarctica and Adelie Penguins as seen through the eyes of a penguin. |
 $(US)24.95 |
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Reviews ...not only striking but even audacious...Davis has risked sentimental failure and even derision...by letting a penguin tell the story himself...Davis imbues his dramatic device with total conviction so that his reader accepts the conceit as audiences accept the impossibilities of well-performed opera or ballet. The spirit and soul of Penguin is entwined with the factual information in this first-person account so that it is rather like reading a novel or an autobiography The lyrical text tells an emotional tale without sacrificing accuracy. While there is an abundance of information included, the strength of this book lies in [Davis'] ability to make the whole greater than the sum of all the facts Even those allergic to animal narrators will be won over: far from cutesy-pie sentimentality...this is as informative as it is handsome Rarely will someone suggest how you should read a particular book. I would, if you will forgive my temerity, like to provide some guidelines on how to read Penguin by Lloyd Spencer Davis...Treat it as a fine wine, savour the flavour and bouquet. Take yourself to a quiet spot, away from the trappings and technical accoutrements of home life. Read it under a single light. If you must consume the whole “bottle” in a night, do so, but take time to open another on another occasion. You will not get the full flavour of this work in a single session It is a delight to read a work which is scientifically sound but which hasn't lost sight of the beauty of language. Davis has a lyrical touch, so much so that I could “hear” much of his text |
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