Elephants, Whales, and Lost Penguins: Three Books about Other Species

This time I’m going to review three books about other species, their journeys, and their possible cultures and languages.


Shiloh 
By S A Moon
This tiny book is a beautiful enigma. Mr. Moon is a mysterious internet presence, known by several names; he is the creator of art, stories, songs, mythologies, conlangs, and something called the Blurry Rabbit Dream Klub. He is also the illustrator who created the moon-horse on the covers of my MadStones books. Many of these things (including, at this point, the moon-horse) ask more questions than they answer. This book is an example: with beautiful line-drawn illustrations, he tells the tale of a penguin who has wandered away from the others but doesn’t seem to know he is lost. The penguin speaks of the journey in a kind of running monologue, but he goes nowhere and comes to no conclusions. He merely observes his world. If you read this book quickly (I did it in a couple of minutes the first time), you miss the point. It may seem like nothing. Go back and read slowly. Study the illustrations. Then you will understand that you are on an alanygous journey, and the conclusion is up to you.


I posted these next reviews on the local public library first, before uploading them here.

The White Bone
By Barbara Gowdy
VAGUE SPOILER. An interesting and unusual book, told from the perspective of the world of elephants. Heartbreaking in the end, particularly about elephants' encounters with humans. I give it fewer stars than maybe I should have because I found the fantastical elements unconvincing; the book otherwise tries to explore the possible psychology and culture of another species in an "anthropological" (elephalogical?) manner but it seems a bit forced when the thought projections (for example) turn out to be "real". Otherwise I enjoyed it. The characterizations and setting are well-drawn, and the story line is engaging.

Thousand Mile Song
By David Rothenberg
I first heard recorded whale songs when Hovhaness' "And God Created Great Whales" came on the radio when I was 12 or so. At the time I thought it was electronic sounds, and I found it somewhat frightening. Several years later I found out what I'd heard; by that time my musical experience had broadened to include George Crumb's "Vox Balaenae" and I understood the beauty of these underwater sounds. (I had only heard one of the pop examples that Mr. Rothenberg mentions, and somehow I didn't make the mental connection.) Anyway, understanding the beauty of something is different from knowing what it means; the author takes several chapters to explore and explain the research into the possible meanings of the "language" of several species of whales, as well as their similarities/differences with music made by humans. The sonogram charts are fascinating. (Spoiler: there is little consensus among humans on what whale sounds mean to other whales.) The last third of the book is a chronicle of an experimental interspecies music project: Mr. Rothenberg teams up with musicians and recordists to set up situations where whales might interact with his clarinet (and other instruments); in many cases this did in fact result in two-species improvisations, though of course what the whales thought of the process is a mystery. Some of the resulting tracks are presented on a CD that comes with the book. It's interesting and sometimes beautiful stuff. One complaint: early in the book, after listing many compositions and songs that have incorporated whale-sounds, the author goes on to lament that such sounds have become a new-age cliche. I agree that this is often, sadly, the case. However, he then goes on to the same kind of quasi-spiritual rhapsodizing that characterizes new-age music. Yawn. (He also states that the George Crumb piece is "too quiet" for today's world; but that's exactly the reason that like it.) At any rate, the science (not the new-age pseudoscience) is fascinating, and the CD will bring delight to listeners of many tastes.


So that about wraps it up for this time. See me at my other blog, The SoundScroll (that one’s about music), or check out my bright shiny new! blog, The Fronds in Tond (that one’s about my writing, and the name is references to two of my, oh never mind, you’ll figure it out).

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