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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
HERBACEOUS FOLIAGE!
Anyone who knows anything about Fossey and her research knows the highlights (or lowlights, as the most memorable are also the saddest) of her story. This really gives a closer look at the day-to-day and the way Fossey worked from her own point of view. It's understood straight away that she feels strongly, very, no extremely strongly. She beats you over the head with what her views are, how she thinks things should be done in regards to conservation, and how they should not. This book is largely personal and intimate in regards to individual gorillas and that is where it succeeds best. She endears the reader to the gorillas as creatures both mysterious and yet so very like us in many ways. Fossey also provides a lot of solidly scientific information, but it's the points of endearment and contention that are the most compelling in her writing.
Chronologically this book is a mess. There seems to be little regard for the explanation of when. Normally I don't mind a little play with the chronology, but I do mind when it is not purposeful. I also left with a feeling that Dian had a hard time seeing past herself. Through her writing I got the sense that she was not the most receptive to anything except that which supported the conclusions that she had already reached - though perhaps this is a bit unfair.
Dian Fossey was a champion for the gorillas and in the end it would seem that her passion in their conservation most likely was the cause for her own murder. This was of coarse not part of the book, but I feel it necessary to pay tribute at this point to the passionate woman that gave everything to her cause.
Anyone who knows anything about Fossey and her research knows the highlights (or lowlights, as the most memorable are also the saddest) of her story. This really gives a closer look at the day-to-day and the way Fossey worked from her own point of view. It's understood straight away that she feels strongly, very, no extremely strongly. She beats you over the head with what her views are, how she thinks things should be done in regards to conservation, and how they should not. This book is largely personal and intimate in regards to individual gorillas and that is where it succeeds best. She endears the reader to the gorillas as creatures both mysterious and yet so very like us in many ways. Fossey also provides a lot of solidly scientific information, but it's the points of endearment and contention that are the most compelling in her writing.
Chronologically this book is a mess. There seems to be little regard for the explanation of when. Normally I don't mind a little play with the chronology, but I do mind when it is not purposeful. I also left with a feeling that Dian had a hard time seeing past herself. Through her writing I got the sense that she was not the most receptive to anything except that which supported the conclusions that she had already reached - though perhaps this is a bit unfair.
Dian Fossey was a champion for the gorillas and in the end it would seem that her passion in their conservation most likely was the cause for her own murder. This was of coarse not part of the book, but I feel it necessary to pay tribute at this point to the passionate woman that gave everything to her cause.
informative
sad
slow-paced
informative
sad
medium-paced
I feel conflicted in rating a book like this. The subject is so absorbing that my rating couldn't possibly be lower than it is, but the book is also profoundly disturbing and really terrible to read in places. Though for me the horror of the toll poaching takes on gorillas stands out the most, some of the behavior of the gorillas themselves (the constant infanticide, mainly), and, especially at the beginning, some shocking choices that Fossey makes to retaliate against poachers frequently made it a relief to put the book down. A complicated book and a very interesting one.
adventurous
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Although it's an important and inspiring read to anyone interested in [or working with] conservation, the way Dian wrote about her African colleagues and assistants was very off-putting. Most of her European / US-citizens researchers, students and colleagues are mentioned by name, but there's only mention of one or two 'Africans' in her book.
The book is also out of order, mentioning some events repeatedly throughout different chapters and jumping through years or even decades without proper warning. Although I appreciate the way she was able to describe the life of some of the gorillas' groups, these chronological inconsistencies made for a confusing reading at times.
The book is also out of order, mentioning some events repeatedly throughout different chapters and jumping through years or even decades without proper warning. Although I appreciate the way she was able to describe the life of some of the gorillas' groups, these chronological inconsistencies made for a confusing reading at times.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death
This book is a true classic with a tireless message of conservation. The story of Dian Fossey and her work with the mountain gorillas in the Virunga Volcanic region of Rwanda is nothing short of incredible. She gave her life in an effort to make us aware of the importance of conservation issues all over the world.
My only problem with the book is its slightly confusing chronology. For example, Fossey would write about a particular animal in one chapter as an adult but then in a later chapter, would write about its infancy and childhood. It was particularly disruptive to me if she had already written about the animals death. This made the storyline hard to follow even though I read it pretty quickly.
Despite the confusing series of events, Gorillas in the Mist is a captivating and moving story about a woman who was passionate about her work with the mountain gorillas.
My only problem with the book is its slightly confusing chronology. For example, Fossey would write about a particular animal in one chapter as an adult but then in a later chapter, would write about its infancy and childhood. It was particularly disruptive to me if she had already written about the animals death. This made the storyline hard to follow even though I read it pretty quickly.
Despite the confusing series of events, Gorillas in the Mist is a captivating and moving story about a woman who was passionate about her work with the mountain gorillas.
informative
inspiring
sad
slow-paced