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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
funny
hopeful
informative
slow-paced
Ugh, I am sorry, I know Walden is a classic, and if I could just quote the lines I loved I would rate it higher, but the man is a pretentious douche. He wants to go out into the woods to "live deliberately" but really, he went to town often to have some woman do his laundry for him. I just feel as though the best lines are pulled out of context and repeated endlessly and if you actually read Walden in its entirety you won't love it as much as you believe you should.
I much preferred Leaves of Grass, if we are talking romantic poets.
I much preferred Leaves of Grass, if we are talking romantic poets.
Thoreau touches on some eloquent philosophy on the beauty in living simply, the value of natural life, and the mysticism of New England in every season. But his self-importance and holier-than-thou attitude, as well as his ability to talk for pages about minute details (a flock of geese, or the weeds in his garden or ice on the lake) make this a difficult read sometimes. Difficult to pay attention to, that is. I feel as though I related on a few passages, or found true meaning in some of his philosophy. But other times, I felt as though he was talking down to anyone that does not live in the woods and own next to nothing.
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
Genuinely good thoughts and poignant observations are buried amidst paragraphs upon paragraphs of eye-roll inducing drudgery, self-important aggrandizing with a hilariously sharp lack of self-awareness, and general aimless anecdotes masquerading as wisdom. The importance of this work is lost on me, an admittedly ignorant modern reader, and therefore the whole of the work reads like an obscenely long “you had to be there” story.
challenging
informative
slow-paced
Let's start with the good things:
There are some insights in this book that are still relevant today. There is also some information in it that I imagine could be useful to historians: descriptions of historical building practices, descriptions of the lives of people living around Walden pond, information about prices and wages... There's also an interesting description of how early settlers used to build their houses. I imagine that some of the observations of nature and the landscape might also be of value to climate researchers and ecologists.
One instance where Thoreau's insights are (sadly) still relevant, is when has a go at 1850’s ‘fast fashion’: industrially made clothing, versus handmade. This made me chuckle. He would probably turn in his grave if he’d known the current concept of ultra fast fashion. It's hard to imagine something further detached from his ‘one just needs to wear something that keeps you appropriately warm’ ideal.
I also enjoyed Thoreau's witty analysis of capitalism. By using calculations of time and money, he raises valid points about renting versus owning a house, and the dangers of aiming to accumulate wealth ('work to live, live to work'). How easy it is to get caught up in this treadmill, is something that directly translates to modern society.
So these were the good things. But Walden also contains SO MUCH problematic stuff.
Many of his opinions and convictions contradict themselves or are not well thought through. For instance, Thoreau says he dislikes killing animals because eating meat ' feels unclean' . He rather feeds himself with the vegetables in his garden - yay vegetarianism! Yet in another chapter, he extensively praises the art of hunting. So just killing for fun then, if eating isn't the goal? But apparently he is not so much into killing and hygiene after all, because he enjoys feeding vermin in his house in order to observe it...
Thoreau also doesn't like the construction of a railroad nearby, because he doesn't see the point in getting somewhere faster. Yet at the same time he is inspired by Buddhism and enjoys eating rice - how he would have had access to both if humanity would only travel by foot, God only knows.
Then there's racist stuff about Indians and people in South America.
For instance, he ridicules the way Indians deal with property after death. Apart from being disrespectful, sure, his argument would make sense if you see things as exclusively practical. But that would mean that you'd have to intentionally have to suppress emotions that things may evoke, especially around a loved deceased. Does one by doing so not block a part of what makes humans human? The way humans interact with things is unique, something that distinguishes us from other animals.
He also romanticizes being poor, but only if it is a choice and you're 'doing it right'. Getting around without many things is more of a flex than needing lots of property and money to do the same, I get the idea. But when Thoreau proceeds to be smug and show off how he build his own house with only so little money, he implies that it is 'actually really easy to get by without much means'. Wow. For what if you were not educated in your youth? What if you are handicapped and can thus not work so much or in that fashion? What if you're a woman and don't earn the same wages? What if you're black? What if you have children or elderly people that depend on you? Etcetera. Coming to this conclusion without taking into consideration ones own starting point, then implying that poor people just bring it on to themselves is just so wrong.
There's also a part where he boasts that he's never afraid to walk alone in the dark and that nothing ever has happened to him while doing so.
...Did I already write that Thoreau is incredibly male centered?
I cannot stop thinking that Thoreau is actually quite arrogant. He writes from a white, male privilege of which he himself isn't conscious of. People who absolutely love Walden must be oblivious to their own privilege or just blindly soak in everything Thoreau writes without thinking for themselves.
There are some insights in this book that are still relevant today. There is also some information in it that I imagine could be useful to historians: descriptions of historical building practices, descriptions of the lives of people living around Walden pond, information about prices and wages... There's also an interesting description of how early settlers used to build their houses. I imagine that some of the observations of nature and the landscape might also be of value to climate researchers and ecologists.
One instance where Thoreau's insights are (sadly) still relevant, is when has a go at 1850’s ‘fast fashion’: industrially made clothing, versus handmade. This made me chuckle. He would probably turn in his grave if he’d known the current concept of ultra fast fashion. It's hard to imagine something further detached from his ‘one just needs to wear something that keeps you appropriately warm’ ideal.
I also enjoyed Thoreau's witty analysis of capitalism. By using calculations of time and money, he raises valid points about renting versus owning a house, and the dangers of aiming to accumulate wealth ('work to live, live to work'). How easy it is to get caught up in this treadmill, is something that directly translates to modern society.
So these were the good things. But Walden also contains SO MUCH problematic stuff.
Many of his opinions and convictions contradict themselves or are not well thought through. For instance, Thoreau says he dislikes killing animals because eating meat ' feels unclean' . He rather feeds himself with the vegetables in his garden - yay vegetarianism! Yet in another chapter, he extensively praises the art of hunting. So just killing for fun then, if eating isn't the goal? But apparently he is not so much into killing and hygiene after all, because he enjoys feeding vermin in his house in order to observe it...
Thoreau also doesn't like the construction of a railroad nearby, because he doesn't see the point in getting somewhere faster. Yet at the same time he is inspired by Buddhism and enjoys eating rice - how he would have had access to both if humanity would only travel by foot, God only knows.
Then there's racist stuff about Indians and people in South America.
For instance, he ridicules the way Indians deal with property after death. Apart from being disrespectful, sure, his argument would make sense if you see things as exclusively practical. But that would mean that you'd have to intentionally have to suppress emotions that things may evoke, especially around a loved deceased. Does one by doing so not block a part of what makes humans human? The way humans interact with things is unique, something that distinguishes us from other animals.
He also romanticizes being poor, but only if it is a choice and you're 'doing it right'. Getting around without many things is more of a flex than needing lots of property and money to do the same, I get the idea. But when Thoreau proceeds to be smug and show off how he build his own house with only so little money, he implies that it is 'actually really easy to get by without much means'. Wow. For what if you were not educated in your youth? What if you are handicapped and can thus not work so much or in that fashion? What if you're a woman and don't earn the same wages? What if you're black? What if you have children or elderly people that depend on you? Etcetera. Coming to this conclusion without taking into consideration ones own starting point, then implying that poor people just bring it on to themselves is just so wrong.
There's also a part where he boasts that he's never afraid to walk alone in the dark and that nothing ever has happened to him while doing so.
...Did I already write that Thoreau is incredibly male centered?
I cannot stop thinking that Thoreau is actually quite arrogant. He writes from a white, male privilege of which he himself isn't conscious of. People who absolutely love Walden must be oblivious to their own privilege or just blindly soak in everything Thoreau writes without thinking for themselves.
Thoreau was a transcendentalist, and their reverence to solitude, contemplation, and closeness to nature is something that I can personally relate to. I guess I have some transcendentalist core values buried deep within me. But I've also learned to challenge them and see them in perspective, while Thoreau likes to take things to the extreme. Sometimes it seems he does so mostly to shock his peers. On paper, Thoreau is a cool person, being both a transcendentalist and an abolitionist and all. But I don't think I would have liked him much as a person, judging from the personality that shines through in Walden.
Finally, in addition to the occasional bright analysis, the contradictions, the hypocrisy, misanthropy and sanctimonious writings, there's the nature stuff: lengthy descriptions of various subjects around Walden pond. While I love nature, I had great trouble staying awake during these parts. My reading of Walden was a weird combination of painstakingly trying to stay focused while there was nature stuff, alternated with trying to keep zen when listening to aggravating, problematic convictions. Apart from the maybe 10% tops that was interesting of this lengthy book, reading through it felt like suffering and I hope to never do it again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Racial slurs, Sexism, Xenophobia, Classism
Minor: Animal death, Slavery, Colonisation
DNF. Which is a first for me. I always finish books. Always. But life is too short to try and find what there is left to learn from this book. The idea of the book is fascinating and, it seems, perpetually relevant. But Thoreau's hubristically high tone makes the inquiry and the text insufferable. There's a Rousseauian counter argument to be made here about the difficulty of a socially corrupt soul pointing out the corruption inherent in society, but this text doesn't merit the time to make it. Read Emile instead; whatever your take on Rousseau, it at least repays the effort of reading and thinking. Walden unfortunately does not.
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Long, méditatif et beaucoup moins inspirant que je ne l'avais espéré. Plus intéressant comme document historique que comme lecture de chevet. J'ai dû faire un gros effort pour en venir à bout.