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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
I loved the descriptions of nature and life in the woods. When Thoreau talked about philosophy, though, he sounded self-righteous and conceited. I felt life a lot of his thoughts contradicted one another. This was my first foray into philosophy; perhaps I'm just too dim-witted to understand.
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
While I love many of Thoreau's insights and appreciate his wit, most of the book seems like dull filler for a few brighter moments.
I love this book and have read it many times, I don't believe that any other book I've read has had as much influence over me. I remember reading it for the first time and just feeling that I knew exactly that what Thoreau was saying was true. A real minimalist before his time, not just for his economy however he knew how to spend the time that he had gained, luckily he realized this early in life as he didn't have nearly enough time.
Ugh that was a tedious read but at least not too long. The only reason I didn't abandon it is so I could say I've read Walden. But I really don't understand what the big deal is. This isn't even a philosophical treatise on solitude and life off the grid. It's mostly just Thoreau describing the nature around him. In painful detail. In a holier-than-thou moral-high-ground tone at that.
Maybe it's a huge revelation for those who have never set foot in a forest or lived in the country? But if you're looking for a book about how to live off the grid or stay in the present moment I would rather recommend a how-to self help book on the topic rather than reading some old dude's description of how he was doing those things.
Maybe it's a huge revelation for those who have never set foot in a forest or lived in the country? But if you're looking for a book about how to live off the grid or stay in the present moment I would rather recommend a how-to self help book on the topic rather than reading some old dude's description of how he was doing those things.
informative
reflective
slow-paced
This took me like six years (exaggeration) to finish. It was atrociously boring, contradictory, and Thoreau was a snobbish ass. I did read an essay that posited that Walden could be read through the lens of Thoreau being neurodivergent, perhaps autistic, and this did make some of his thoughts about his fellow man make a bit more sense, as well as his desire for seclusion. I'll also, reluctantly, overlook the fact that he spends over 300 pages talking about how self-sufficient he was when his mom was doing his laundry and making him food because he never learned how.
But he is classist at the same time as romanticizing the isolation and scarcity of poverty. He is an intellectual snob at the same time as desiring AND insulting a purely intellectual life. He exoticizes and degrades and dehumanizes indigenous people for being "savages". He contradicts himself, his arguments are hypocritical, rambling bits of nonsense that were only palatable because I read them as satire.
He gets two stars because the later parts of the book, where he's mostly just describing his surroundings, are pretty. But this was a slog to get through that I wouldn't have read at all had it not been a gift ten years ago that I've still not felt okay getting rid of.
But he is classist at the same time as romanticizing the isolation and scarcity of poverty. He is an intellectual snob at the same time as desiring AND insulting a purely intellectual life. He exoticizes and degrades and dehumanizes indigenous people for being "savages". He contradicts himself, his arguments are hypocritical, rambling bits of nonsense that were only palatable because I read them as satire.
He gets two stars because the later parts of the book, where he's mostly just describing his surroundings, are pretty. But this was a slog to get through that I wouldn't have read at all had it not been a gift ten years ago that I've still not felt okay getting rid of.
I know this is a big one for lit nerds like me, but this book did nothing for me and I put it down after 150 pages or so...