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marjorieapple 's review for:
Walden
by Henry David Thoreau
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
I read this because I grew up in southern New England and have visited the towns around Concord MA. All my life, Walden Pond was a reference point. And yet, I somehow circumvented the reading of Thoreau's chronicle of his time in the woods. The Reads Good Book Challenge for June suggested we read a book that either we are ashamed to read or that we are ashamed to have never read. Walden fit the latter criterion perfectly.
So now I have read it. Every. Preachy. Word.
I completely agree with every observation Thoreau makes about industry vs rest; about creativity; about civilization; about the differences between peoples; about the small miracles of nature; about the joys of quiet existance; about vegetarianism; about New England. He's correct. And in many long, delightful passages his poetic leanings make for evocative prose.
Perhaps because I agreed with him, I found his evangelizing to be overbearing. Mel Foster, the narrator of this audiobook, reads the text without enlivening it. The memoir of Thoreau's time living in a self-made cabin at the edge of Walden Pond droned on.
He built his cabin on land owned by his friend, Ralph Waldo Emerson. Emerson agreed to let him live on his land if he built a cabin that Emerson could later use as a writing studio. I enjoyed the chapter on ponds in which he describes the differences between Walden and two other nearby ponds. And from that point until the end of the book, I enjoyed the book more than during the first half.
Because I had grown up surrounded by Walden and Thoreau's legacies, I didn't learn much from reading the book. Thoreau's homesteading story is overshadowed by his desire to convert his reader to his progressive mindset. And the quiet details he describes make for a very slow reading experience. I'm glad to have read it. Thoreau must have been quite an interesting fellow.
So now I have read it. Every. Preachy. Word.
I completely agree with every observation Thoreau makes about industry vs rest; about creativity; about civilization; about the differences between peoples; about the small miracles of nature; about the joys of quiet existance; about vegetarianism; about New England. He's correct. And in many long, delightful passages his poetic leanings make for evocative prose.
Perhaps because I agreed with him, I found his evangelizing to be overbearing. Mel Foster, the narrator of this audiobook, reads the text without enlivening it. The memoir of Thoreau's time living in a self-made cabin at the edge of Walden Pond droned on.
He built his cabin on land owned by his friend, Ralph Waldo Emerson. Emerson agreed to let him live on his land if he built a cabin that Emerson could later use as a writing studio. I enjoyed the chapter on ponds in which he describes the differences between Walden and two other nearby ponds. And from that point until the end of the book, I enjoyed the book more than during the first half.
Because I had grown up surrounded by Walden and Thoreau's legacies, I didn't learn much from reading the book. Thoreau's homesteading story is overshadowed by his desire to convert his reader to his progressive mindset. And the quiet details he describes make for a very slow reading experience. I'm glad to have read it. Thoreau must have been quite an interesting fellow.