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brynners89's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
bittersweet_symphony's review against another edition
3.0
Difficult to categorize, this book falls somewhere between medieval cosmology and CS Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia. While it shares some symbolism with Narnia and directly explores the themes of good versus evil, The Book of the Dun Cow has less of a magical charm and more of an earthly mythical spirit.
Consider it a more directly moralized version of Animal Farm--less about politics and more about cosmic moral forces.
Wangerin uses language rich in texture and grittiness. Still, I didn't find special connection with characters and would have preferred more dialogue than description.
Consider it a more directly moralized version of Animal Farm--less about politics and more about cosmic moral forces.
Wangerin uses language rich in texture and grittiness. Still, I didn't find special connection with characters and would have preferred more dialogue than description.
rachelsnowden's review against another edition
4.0
I liked the book, sometimes quite a bit. There were some times it kind of felt like it was just trying a little too hard. But other times it really was beautiful.
sorinahiggins's review
5.0
This unique book, written in 1978, is grisly, gritty, earthy, painful, and beautiful. I have never read anything like this book before. It is a creation of great courage. Wangerin has taken stark good and evil and played them out in an almost predictable manner, unafraid of arrangements that could be called clichéd, trite, childish, overused. He uses mythology freely. It might at first seem hopelessly dated; rather, it is hopefully dated, it is searingly modern, it is genuinely classic and therefore timeless. It is a Medieval morality play, characters sharply drawn, clean-cut bestial caricatures—but they are fully human. It is in the diction of the Old Testament. Full of talking animals, a small-scale realm unto itself, an epic of good-and-evil with Homeric battles, virtues and vices embodied in fur, noses, claws, wings, beaks…, great geo-political problems ensconced in a farmyard or forest. The creatures are real, three-dimensional, lovable and complex. The battles are heart-breaking, as bloody and horrific as those before the walls of Troy, yet the combatants are ants, sheep, rabbits, a dog, a weasel, against basilisks.
The diction has the weight of the Prophets, the phrases the tone of another world. Humour, suffering, courage, and profound meaning are couched in the very words of this brilliantly written book. It is a novel unlike any other, and you must read it, read every word, to understand and know what words can do.
The diction has the weight of the Prophets, the phrases the tone of another world. Humour, suffering, courage, and profound meaning are couched in the very words of this brilliantly written book. It is a novel unlike any other, and you must read it, read every word, to understand and know what words can do.
nipnock's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
shieldbearer's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book is essentially "What if the Anti-Christ was a chicken" and while this is a somewhat flippant, tongue-in-cheek summary, this is played terrifyingly straight. Wangerin has absolutely done his homework on the cosmic lore of the middle ages and it shows. This is a devastating read, but a beautiful one
juleswells's review against another edition
So very disturbing & grotesque. I know there's a deeper meaning there, but I just can't...
dansiger's review against another edition
5.0
Deceptively simple story that turns out so compelling and full of heart; an adventure with fleshed out characters, comedy, drama, and imagination. It's an older book, and I suspect nowadays people would label it as "written to be a movie" because it fits the story beats of a film so well. Then again, until this age of computer effects it would have been unfilmable.