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ovenbird_reads's review
4.0
this was such a great book to start my year. funny and profound, the author does serious philosophical work while never taking himself too seriously. highly recommend. especially if you need a little break from the human world right now.
wanderinggoy's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
ursineultra's review
1.0
Tiring, frequently aimless, self-obsessed and very little actually to do with crossing the 'species divide'. Foster is a beast until it's inconvenient and then he isn't, but it doesnt matter because that's actually the point. Or something. I feel sorry for his kids who are allegedly roped into bits of this. He left a toddler in a nettle bush to climb a tree and look at some birds. Oh, and in case you hadn't guessed Foster let's us know he can climb a tree 'really quite high'. What a tool.
Also, he used to kill things and seems to secretly really miss it.
Legitimately one of the worst books I have ever read.
Also, he used to kill things and seems to secretly really miss it.
Legitimately one of the worst books I have ever read.
beastreader's review
2.0
I was very intrigued to check out this book when I read the concept of it. I mean this is dedication when an author goes all out to really submerse himself into the subject matters that he is writing about. I don't doubt for one bit that Mr. Foster really did eat a warm or drinking double espressos every couple of hours to attempt to experience what it is like to be an otter. As Mr. Foster states being a otter is like being on speed.
I contemplated giving up on this book after reading just about being an animal and then reading a long discussion about badgers, I was about done with this book. Yet on the other hand I was intrigued by the wealth of knowledge about the different animals and their relationship to humans. What made this book cumbersome to read for me was that it read a lot like a scientific medical journal. Useful information but it can also be tedious to read. So for the rest of the book I kind of skimmed bits of information here and there, which for me it made the book easier to read. Although at times I still did need to take breaks. I have learned a lot more about badgers, otters, foxes, deer, and swift then I ever did before.
I contemplated giving up on this book after reading just about being an animal and then reading a long discussion about badgers, I was about done with this book. Yet on the other hand I was intrigued by the wealth of knowledge about the different animals and their relationship to humans. What made this book cumbersome to read for me was that it read a lot like a scientific medical journal. Useful information but it can also be tedious to read. So for the rest of the book I kind of skimmed bits of information here and there, which for me it made the book easier to read. Although at times I still did need to take breaks. I have learned a lot more about badgers, otters, foxes, deer, and swift then I ever did before.
chelseadollphin's review
1.0
So here's the story. I was supposed to read this book for an English class last semester, but we never got around to it. My English professor encouraged us to read it over the summer, and, since he was such a great professor and the book looked interesting, I decided to give it a go. That, my friends, was a big mistake. This book was, frankly, awful. First of all, it was boring. I was expecting a fascinating read about a man exploring nature and whatnot. Instead, I got a man talking about himself, his strange antics, and trivia about animals. Moreover, I couldn't stand Foster. I tried to like him and his writing style, and sometimes it was okay, but overall, Foster came across to me as an arrogant know-it-all. Finally, some of things that Foster did and said in this book were pretty messed up and sometimes downright wrong. For a man who was supposed to be empathetic towards nature, Foster admitted to hunting, owning stuffed animals (taxidermy), hitting a dog with his car when he was with his friend Nigel, and putting a badger skull outside of his homemade sett. Plus, Foster had his kids poop in the woods and left his 3-year-old alone so that he could climb a tree to see some swifts. Last but not least, the thing that really drove me over the edge is the fact that Foster said that he hates cats. Who cares? How is that relevant to the book? I love cats, Foster! Why must you infuriate me like this? Anyways, this review is long enough, so I will end it now by simply telling y'all to not read this book. It's not worth your time.
kathrinpassig's review
3.0
Einige Stellen sind sehr gut, vor allem die paar, an denen es tatsächlich um das versprochene Thema geht. Das Benehmen von Würmern im Mund! Schon im ersten Teil über Dachse deutet sich aber an, dass der Autor sich lieber über andere Wichtigtu- und Esoterikthemen auslassen möchte, und das wird in den Folgekapiteln immer schlimmer. Außerdem viele unangenehme Stellen, die davon handeln, dass andere Leute ein falsches Leben führen, der Autor hingegen alles richtig macht. Die Kinder des Autors kommen nur als bedürfnislose, willige Requisiten vor, die Ehefrau als Spielverderberin.
sarahlopod's review
2.0
I wouldn't dissuade others from reading this book, but I wouldn't recommend it either. I wasn't sure what I expected from a book detailing a man's efforts to live like animals, but I found this to be a rather underwhelming read. The writing itself was respectable, but I just didn't get sucked into the material like I'd like to. I was constantly rolling my eyes and waiting for the book to end. Foster is constantly using odd metaphors to describe his experiences, and I sort of get lost in figuring out what he's trying to say. He gets really preachy about the way humans live and, while I agree with certain points he makes, he puts off a holier-than-thou vibe that I don't really appreciate. It seems like his goal is less education, and more bragging about his own state of mind while criticizing others. He's also very biased in his views of certain animals. For instance, he mentions more than once how he wishes foxes would eat cats. This is relevant, how? This book felt more like a chance for him to ramble on about himself and why he's superior than any sort of actual learning experience. I mean, to be fair I did learn a few things, but for the most part I was just trying to push through everything. Also: who brings their eight-year-old into a hole in the ground to eat earthworms for weeks? Maybe that's just me, but whatever.
margaret21's review
4.0
Extraordinary. The synopsis made me think that Foster's experiments - to live like the animals he'd chosen to study - were pointless. Eating eathworms disgusts us. They're bread and butter to badgers. In fact Foster learns huge amounts from spending weeks - say - living at almost ground level in a hole in the earth, learning to trust his senses - of smell, of touch and so on. He adopts the diurnal rhythms of the creatures he's shadowing, and eats their foods. He understands what it may feel like to be a hunted stage by being hunted himself. And so on. Foster writes with passion, humour, and more than a touch of the utterly eccentric. His physical curiosity is sensuous and obsessive. He brought me into contact with the natural world in a tactile, visceral way and it's a book I shan't forget.