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greenseeds's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I own and have read this book several times. It's one of my favorites. Gnomes have always intrigued me. It's been fun re-reading it again.
dblue236's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
mschlat's review against another edition
3.0
This is an illustrated guide about (well, of course...) gnomes, first created in Dutch and then published in English, eventually becoming a best selling book in the United States for over a year. It tells the stories of gnomes as they exist alongside humanity and as they aid, assist, and live in harmony with the rest of the natural world. (So, for example, there's a beautiful painting of a gnome couple riding in a basket held by a fox as they travel on their honeymoon.) There are copious diagrams of gnome homes (underground, surrounded by the roots of trees) and illustrated lists of the herbs and plants the gnomes use for cures and food. The piece has a strong documentarian feel, although there are some "Legends of the Gnomes" at the end of the book that vary in tone from fables to commentaries on modern society. And the very last piece is a discussion between the writer, the illustrator, and a gnome that drives that commentary home. (More on that in a bit....)
I got this as a Christmas gift as a preteen and ate it up. In many ways, it was a worthy successor to the picture books of [a:Richard Scarry|13901|Richard Scarry|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1188187401p2/13901.jpg] and a good companion to the fantasy descriptions and histories I was seeing in Tolkien. But I distinctly remember that this book awoke in me the idea of world-building and the concept that you could build fictional worlds without necessarily involving plot. In years to come, I would see this again and again in D&D modules, superhero encyclopedias, and yet more Tolkien (the ultimately disappointing [b:The Silmarillion|7332|The Silmarillion|J.R.R. Tolkien|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1610045590l/7332._SX50_.jpg|4733799]). But this is where I date the concept's first appearance for me.
Rereading it now, I see many of the flaws. Given its Dutch heritage, it's not surprising that its focus is Northern European. (There are no gnomes of color.) And the sexism appears to be baked in. Not only do male gnomes do all the work outside the home, interact the most with animals, and have the best adventures, the authors have males wear brightly colored clothing, while the females often wear drab brown. (I believe the allusion here is to the sexual dimorphism of many species of birds.)
But the biggest trouble I had as a twenty-first century reader was the message. Authors Huygen and Poortvliet portray gnomes as ideal humans, helping animals whenever possible and living sustainably off the land. (For some vaguely magical reason, gnomes couple and produce only one set of twins, leading to zero or slightly negative population growth.) Save for a gnome king and queen (whose reign is never described in detail), there are no classes or power structures. All of this utopianism is treated as subtext that is barely sub until the final piece, when a gnome makes it blindingly obvious text in discussion with the authors.
And it's an appealing message, but somewhat toothless. What makes the gnomes so effective at living at harmony with nature isn't even transferable to humans. The classlessness of gnome society is used to critique how humans treat their geniuses (e.g., Mozart and Rembrandt) instead of discussing economic exploitation in general (although one gnome legend does deal harshly with a tyrannical lord). It's a message delivered charmingly, but without avenues for following it, and the ham handed nature of its final delivery contrasts badly with the light touches in the first 95% of the book.
So, in the end, rereading this was a nice piece of nostalgia and a confusing mix of the delightful and the slightly infuriating.
I got this as a Christmas gift as a preteen and ate it up. In many ways, it was a worthy successor to the picture books of [a:Richard Scarry|13901|Richard Scarry|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1188187401p2/13901.jpg] and a good companion to the fantasy descriptions and histories I was seeing in Tolkien. But I distinctly remember that this book awoke in me the idea of world-building and the concept that you could build fictional worlds without necessarily involving plot. In years to come, I would see this again and again in D&D modules, superhero encyclopedias, and yet more Tolkien (the ultimately disappointing [b:The Silmarillion|7332|The Silmarillion|J.R.R. Tolkien|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1610045590l/7332._SX50_.jpg|4733799]). But this is where I date the concept's first appearance for me.
Rereading it now, I see many of the flaws. Given its Dutch heritage, it's not surprising that its focus is Northern European. (There are no gnomes of color.) And the sexism appears to be baked in. Not only do male gnomes do all the work outside the home, interact the most with animals, and have the best adventures, the authors have males wear brightly colored clothing, while the females often wear drab brown. (I believe the allusion here is to the sexual dimorphism of many species of birds.)
But the biggest trouble I had as a twenty-first century reader was the message. Authors Huygen and Poortvliet portray gnomes as ideal humans, helping animals whenever possible and living sustainably off the land. (For some vaguely magical reason, gnomes couple and produce only one set of twins, leading to zero or slightly negative population growth.) Save for a gnome king and queen (whose reign is never described in detail), there are no classes or power structures. All of this utopianism is treated as subtext that is barely sub until the final piece, when a gnome makes it blindingly obvious text in discussion with the authors.
And it's an appealing message, but somewhat toothless. What makes the gnomes so effective at living at harmony with nature isn't even transferable to humans. The classlessness of gnome society is used to critique how humans treat their geniuses (e.g., Mozart and Rembrandt) instead of discussing economic exploitation in general (although one gnome legend does deal harshly with a tyrannical lord). It's a message delivered charmingly, but without avenues for following it, and the ham handed nature of its final delivery contrasts badly with the light touches in the first 95% of the book.
So, in the end, rereading this was a nice piece of nostalgia and a confusing mix of the delightful and the slightly infuriating.
babs_jellymuck's review against another edition
5.0
I wish I knew who ended up with this book :( I miss it.
wombat_88's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
nadine_dolina's review against another edition
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
3.75
ashleylm's review against another edition
3.0
At the time it was especially delightful (I was younger, and the art really is charming), but it's one person's opinion about what Gnomes are like, and it's particularly didactic and specific. As a child I was particularly draw to rules and specifications, but I want them to be real--what exactly is a gnome, and how is it different from an elf or fairy or hobgoblin or troll? I suppose I prefer something more academic, with chapters about various folk traditions and how they differ, etc.
There's no plot--this is a coffee table book. Pick it up, browse, put it down.
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s. I feel a lot of readers automatically render any book they enjoy 5, but I grade on a curve!)
There's no plot--this is a coffee table book. Pick it up, browse, put it down.
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s. I feel a lot of readers automatically render any book they enjoy 5, but I grade on a curve!)
kasiabrenna's review against another edition
4.0
My parents have this and I loved it when I was a kid. Especially the part about the gnome toilets.
ladamic's review against another edition
5.0
I spent hours with this book as a kid, and now find even more extraordinary the beauty and warmth of its illustrations and the completeness of the descriptions of every aspect of these creatures' lives.
mrsthrift's review against another edition
5.0
This is the second in the series of gnome books I've been reading lately. This book was a best seller from the 1970s, which means you can get tons of copies of it at used bookstores for very affordable prices and you will never have to wait to get a copy at the library. It also means that I just barely missed being part of the generation that read this book as a child, since I was born a few years too late. It's a largeish format book with really delightful illustrations, the kind of stuff that makes you consider getting a gnome tattoo (or maybe that's just me?). The mythology of the gnome is explored here in great detail with a tongue in cheek scientific air, and data points ranging from physiology to sociology of the gnome. From lifespan to honeymoon rituals, basically every aspect of the gnomes lives are chronicled here. I never knew that gnomes gave birth to twins every time! And I never saw a picture of a gnome mama tandem breastfeeding her gnome twins before, and if you haven't either, this book is worth a gander.