On Animals
Ratings10
Average rating3.7
Not what I was expecting but wonderful regardless. Thought-provoking essays, mostly disconnected from each other, about humans and our connections with animals. Some are broad, some (Keiko) highly specific. Some relate to her own life, some not in the least. Most are essay length, the last 20% are short vignettes.
Orlean’s style is intriguing: she has a complex relationship with animals, is fascinated by them, gets attached, but she also manages to deromanticize then in her writing. Much of what she writes is uncomfortable, because much of what humans do to animals is uncomfortable. So is pretty much any aspect of any being’s life. I found myself thinking hard.
Not what I was expecting but wonderful regardless. Thought-provoking essays, mostly disconnected from each other, about humans and our connections with animals. Some are broad, some (Keiko) highly specific. Some relate to her own life, some not in the least. Most are essay length, the last 20% are short vignettes.
Orlean’s style is intriguing: she has a complex relationship with animals, is fascinated by them, gets attached, but she also manages to deromanticize then in her writing. Much of what she writes is uncomfortable, because much of what humans do to animals is uncomfortable. So is pretty much any aspect of any being’s life. I found myself thinking hard.