You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
Honestly pretty miserable experience reading this. 98% of it is just holier-than-thou, pretentious, hypocritical, insufferable garbage, and it's definitely not worth wading through it all to hit upon the 2% of it that is actually quite brilliant.
Thoreau glorifies isolation and acts as though he's too good to be lonely, however he receives visitors every day, can see people riding the train, can hear the train whistle, and only lives 2 MILES from a town. He acts as though getting away from humans is cleansing, but talks about how good it feels to hear the train whistle and think about society. He literally has people do his chores for him while he pretends to be rugged on his friends land.
He's preaches self-reliance, yet is a squatter on his buddies land, and literally lives off of gifts that people give him. He says that philanthropy is "overrated" yet he is a mooch and entirely dependent on it. Pure hypocrisy.
He occasionally blindly stumbles upon brilliance and profundity and has some quotable moments but I don't see how anybody can take this guy seriously. He just seems like a hypocritical, self-aggrandizing, pompous asshole to me, and constantly contradicting himself. Maybe I'm too simple to understand it.
Thoreau glorifies isolation and acts as though he's too good to be lonely, however he receives visitors every day, can see people riding the train, can hear the train whistle, and only lives 2 MILES from a town. He acts as though getting away from humans is cleansing, but talks about how good it feels to hear the train whistle and think about society. He literally has people do his chores for him while he pretends to be rugged on his friends land.
He's preaches self-reliance, yet is a squatter on his buddies land, and literally lives off of gifts that people give him. He says that philanthropy is "overrated" yet he is a mooch and entirely dependent on it. Pure hypocrisy.
He occasionally blindly stumbles upon brilliance and profundity and has some quotable moments but I don't see how anybody can take this guy seriously. He just seems like a hypocritical, self-aggrandizing, pompous asshole to me, and constantly contradicting himself. Maybe I'm too simple to understand it.
How can such a dry, lifeless book be such a bulwark of American literature? Absolute bore of a story from a privileged man who undoubtably did a cool thing by stepping away from societal standards, but probably should have just relished in his peace or found someone else to write this story
reflective
slow-paced
In the context of its time and because it's a classic, Walden gets an extra star than I otherwise would have afforded it. Left some of my favourite quotes at the bottom.
The first half I enjoyed, and there are certainly gold nuggets throughout the book, but I found it redundant and unfocused as a single book or collection of short essays. Don't get me wrong, Henry David Thoreau was a great mind with an earnest vocation to his work and the pursuit of a rich life--as in a life filled by authenticity, not material wealth. His transcendentalist thirst for spiritual freedom is threaded throughout Walden.
However, the entire (mainly final) chapters devoted to detailed accounts about the lake's depth and surrounding flora/fauna were nearly unbearable. The philosophical commentary was much more interesting. It feels like Thoreau assumes the reader will be on board with, or even worse, find value in, his budget lists and observations about trees. Personally would have appreciated if he kept the botany and zoology and even personal finances to his journal.
Thoreau's work contributed immensely to the political and literary landscape of New England at the time, making the read worthwhile in my opinion if not in completeness than for a few of its chapters/key notes. There were some quotes that really stood out to me and I've listed them below so I don't forget them.
"I was so distinctly made aware of the presence of something kindred to me, even in scenes which we are accustomed to call wild and dreary, and also that the nearest of blood to me and humanest was not a person nor a villager, that I thought no place could ever be strange to me again."
"For a man is rich in proportion to the number of things in which he can afford to let alone."
"If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer."
"There is no virtue in living a life you do not like, if you don't have to."
"Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth."
"A man thinking or working is always alone."
The first half I enjoyed, and there are certainly gold nuggets throughout the book, but I found it redundant and unfocused as a single book or collection of short essays. Don't get me wrong, Henry David Thoreau was a great mind with an earnest vocation to his work and the pursuit of a rich life--as in a life filled by authenticity, not material wealth. His transcendentalist thirst for spiritual freedom is threaded throughout Walden.
However, the entire (mainly final) chapters devoted to detailed accounts about the lake's depth and surrounding flora/fauna were nearly unbearable. The philosophical commentary was much more interesting. It feels like Thoreau assumes the reader will be on board with, or even worse, find value in, his budget lists and observations about trees. Personally would have appreciated if he kept the botany and zoology and even personal finances to his journal.
Thoreau's work contributed immensely to the political and literary landscape of New England at the time, making the read worthwhile in my opinion if not in completeness than for a few of its chapters/key notes. There were some quotes that really stood out to me and I've listed them below so I don't forget them.
"I was so distinctly made aware of the presence of something kindred to me, even in scenes which we are accustomed to call wild and dreary, and also that the nearest of blood to me and humanest was not a person nor a villager, that I thought no place could ever be strange to me again."
"For a man is rich in proportion to the number of things in which he can afford to let alone."
"If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer."
"There is no virtue in living a life you do not like, if you don't have to."
"Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth."
"A man thinking or working is always alone."
reflective
slow-paced
I'm glad I read it, but it was long and tedious at times. I'd recommend the abridged version.
Pleasant enough meditation on living naturally and simply. I think it's a disservice to both students and Thoreau that this is foisted onto the innocent as required reading. Because then it's just begging for cynical readings. Getting hung up on the side details -- Thoreau wasn't *that* far removed from people and wasn't particularly roughing it -- is to miss the point, and, frankly, to come off like a petty know-it-all.
So, with that said, let's go ahead and say what's lacking here. Thoreau is a rambler. He cannot help himself. There isn't a nook or cranny in his sentences he can pass by without filling with metaphors. And furthermore, you have probably met Thoreau. A disillusioned college-educated guy who's well-versed in Western and Eastern philosophy, believes ancient texts are more beautiful than modern ones, and, let's face it, a tad sanctimonious as fuck.
But he's often not wrong. Thoreau had his fingers on the anxieties and ennui of the industrializing world, and I think history has proven him right. Even now, when people need to relax and get away from stress, they don't go to another big city. They go to nature. For all the new books, movies, and tv shows being created now, how many of them are that good and not just candy? In our hustle and bustle, are we just setting ourselves up for dull lives?
It's worth a read. It's not gospel, but there is something earnest in a man, totally at peace with himself, watching an ant war.
So, with that said, let's go ahead and say what's lacking here. Thoreau is a rambler. He cannot help himself. There isn't a nook or cranny in his sentences he can pass by without filling with metaphors. And furthermore, you have probably met Thoreau. A disillusioned college-educated guy who's well-versed in Western and Eastern philosophy, believes ancient texts are more beautiful than modern ones, and, let's face it, a tad sanctimonious as fuck.
But he's often not wrong. Thoreau had his fingers on the anxieties and ennui of the industrializing world, and I think history has proven him right. Even now, when people need to relax and get away from stress, they don't go to another big city. They go to nature. For all the new books, movies, and tv shows being created now, how many of them are that good and not just candy? In our hustle and bustle, are we just setting ourselves up for dull lives?
It's worth a read. It's not gospel, but there is something earnest in a man, totally at peace with himself, watching an ant war.
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
The last chapter is what won me over, much more philosophical thinking in Conclusion. All the other chapters were mainly intense detail about the depth of the pond, how it freezes, his attempt at agriculture, the animals in the forest, his visitors, etc...