vampiricduck 's review for:

Being A Beast by Charles Foster

4.0

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Totally fascinating. The author starts this by pre-warning the reader that he is destined to fail in his task to become the beasts whose lives he wishes to inhabit. A man is always a man and cannot 'become' a badger, but Foster's efforts to express the reality of life on a different plane to the human experience is great. His descriptions can be a little high brow and esoteric, but he attempts at all times to present the world of the animals as they would see it, as opposed to how he himself would- it makes for some super interesting reading and the facts he builds in about some of these animals are amazing. There some brilliant moments of levity featuring his kids and his wife's restrained acceptance of his efforts- Tom licking various manner of insects and reporting back his results is particularly hilarious. I think the author succeeds in presenting the 'other' parts of a world humans preach to know in its entirety, while explaining the real truth- the animals know different worlds entirely.