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seraphjewel 's review for:
Walden or, Life in the Woods
by Henry David Thoreau
This is another one of those classics I heard about but never read before today. I knew it was about a man living a simpler life, but apart from that I was coming into this reading blind. And I was surprised by how much more this book talks about than just what it was like living that simple life.
This book meanders in subject matter, sometimes even between paragraphs. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it can lose the reader when Thoreau switches subjects so suddenly like that. And it might be that I wasn't giving the book my full attention, but sometimes his thoughts confused me. I didn't feel like I was ever completely sure of his stance on Christianity or slavery, for example.
Thoreau does make some very good points about how living a simple life can be less of a burden, or how fancy things can't compare with a person of good morals, or how people can be alone without feeling lonely. These are ideas that people today can understand and find truth in. Other ideas are dated by the times, but it's always good to read how people viewed themselves and society during certain time periods.
Overall it was an interesting book. I couldn't give it my full attention, but it did touch on some good ideas and I can see how it would develop a following.
This book meanders in subject matter, sometimes even between paragraphs. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it can lose the reader when Thoreau switches subjects so suddenly like that. And it might be that I wasn't giving the book my full attention, but sometimes his thoughts confused me. I didn't feel like I was ever completely sure of his stance on Christianity or slavery, for example.
Thoreau does make some very good points about how living a simple life can be less of a burden, or how fancy things can't compare with a person of good morals, or how people can be alone without feeling lonely. These are ideas that people today can understand and find truth in. Other ideas are dated by the times, but it's always good to read how people viewed themselves and society during certain time periods.
Overall it was an interesting book. I couldn't give it my full attention, but it did touch on some good ideas and I can see how it would develop a following.