My Ishmael

Rating:
Summary: Innovative but insulting
Review: As Literature with a capital L, folks, this is as bad as it gets. The writing is irredeemably sloppy and weak. An amateurish, self-indulgent ramble. The characters are flat and unbelievable, especially Julie, a 12-year-old with wisdom and insight beyond even the most gifted pre-adolescent, not to mention an absurdly mature vocabulary, who (we are asked to believe) is allowed to conduct a mission overseas that is just plain silly. No matter: character is not her real function in the novel. Her job is to pat the preachy telepathic ape on the back. Ishmael proclaims himself a "maieutic" teacher, a midwife who claims to bring enlightenment to his pupils by helping them to uncover for themselves truths that already lie within them, a la Socrates. But then he goes on to tell and preach, preach and tell, and talk and talk and talk ad nauseum and in redundant circles!!! There's nothing maieutic about it! ...but, of course, this is really just Quinn himself talking, up on his soapbox. The ape and author are one, and the only other character is a 12-year-old whose sole function is to respond to his sermons with "Gosh, Ishmael (Quinn), that's really deep!" and "Wow, Ishmael (Quinn), you sure are smart! How'd you ever come up with these AMAZING ideas, Ishmael (Quinn)?!" ...shameless, self-congratulatory goop. Gimme a break.

And did I mention? The writing is really bad. Really.

It isn't that the novel doesn't harbor a few provocative questions, worth thinking on, penetrating, and discussing. I'm both a teacher and an environmentalist (in fact, I teach environmental science), and there are important issues raised here about human consumption, modern culture, sustainability, and public education (although the notion that schooling is a conspiracy to keep young folks out of the workforce is just laughable...). But Quinn doesn't penetrate these questions with much depth, nor does he tackle their complexities. He skirts around many of the tough questions (I kept thinking "cop out... cop out..."). It's pseudoprofound - the sort of shallow philosophizing I read 20 years ago in Bach's Jonathan Livingston Seagull and Illusions ...yuck.

Finally, I was eager and hopeful when I read in the forward Quinn's acknowledgement that many of the novel's ideas are extensions of Richard Dawkins' The Selfish Gene. But believe me, he screwed even that up. If you want to read a REAL thinker and a REAL writer, spend your money on Dawkins instead.

Rating:
Summary: My Ishmael Review
Review: Daniel Quinn's My Ishmael is the third installment in his "Save the Earth" trilogy (Ishmael, The Story of B, and finally, My Ishmael). In this book, Ishmael, the telepathic gorilla, attempts to seal up some of his many loose ends found in Quinn's previous two installments by relaying his knowledge to a 12 year-old girl. I liked the first two books enough to keep on reading, however, Quinn's style takes a grain of salt to take it all in.

The entire concept of the Quinn's books are to convey to the reader that we "civilized" humans have developed, and entrenched ourselves, in a system of living that is doomed to fail. It's not an anti-capitalism, pro-socialist treatise per se, however, most of the tenets of capitalism could be found flawed in Quinn's assessment. Basically, Ishmael (Quinn) has determined that native peoples have survived for hundreds of thousands of years longer than "civilized" peoples because: a) tribal cultures don't lock up their food so that you have to buy it (this locking up of food results in poverty, war, and dissent, according to Quinn); b) hunter/gather societies (with some agriculture) have been able to sustain their likelihood without disrupting family, wealth (in tribal terms), prosperity, and the environment.

Contrary to this, are the tenets of our "civilized" society. They lock up food (a substance that should be free to all humans just like air or water) and place it in the power of the wealthy who then redistribute it to those who can pay for it. This basic concept (capitalism, essentially) spawns a vast array of problems: poverty for those that can't afford to pay for the simple necessities of life (no tribal system would allow any of its members to go hungry, simply because that would mean the degradation of the tribe); family degradation, war over who owns what, and crime in general because basic necessities are no longer open for the taking. Also, this "civilized" system can only grow and live if it constantly consumes (with no regard to replacing that which it consumes). So, on this note, Quinn is quite right; we cannot continually consume. There is simply not enough resources to sustain our population (and what do we do when we run out of resources? Traditionally, we destroy or displace other populations to gain their resources).

So, we're all supposed to revert to some grand-scale tribal system (also known as socialism to some)? The 12 year-old girl asks exactly this. Ishmael (Quinn) makes a strong point here that he has never suggested such a thing. He is merely pointing out the flaws, and suggesting a starting point to fixing the problem. I can buy that on some levels, but mostly, he is suggesting that tribal systems are better than our current system, which is true on many levels, but a tribal system of living would be impossible with over 6 billion people on the planet (which, to Quinn's defense, he poignantly acknowledges).

Overall, it's a good read even if it leaves the reader with a million more questions (which I supposes is the whole point). Quinn leads the reader to believe in each of these books that his message is complete when in fact, it is far from it. He leads one to believe that he's done his job as a "Save the world" teacher when in fact he leads much to be desired. However, with that said, Quinn's book is definitely worth reading (start with the first book Ishmael). Even his conclusions are naive, they raise some vital questions about where our culture is heading. With all his flaws, Quinn is a must, if only to get you thinking in a completely different direction: can we continue to consume without replenishment, and while capitalism has proven extremely fruitful, is there a better form of capitalism that is more conducive to global prosperity on all levels?

Rating:
Summary: Save the Planet, and Tie-up Loose Ends
Review: Daniel Quinn's My Ishmael is the third installment in his "Save the Earth" trilogy (Ishmael, The Story of B, and finally, My Ishmael). In this book, Ishmael, the telepathic gorilla, attempts to seal up some of his many loose ends found in Quinn's previous two installments by relaying his knowledge to a 12 year-old girl. I liked the first two books enough to keep on reading, however, Quinn's style takes a grain of salt to take it all in.

The entire concept of the Quinn's books are to convey to the reader that we "civilized" humans have developed, and entrenched ourselves, in a system of living that is doomed to fail. It's not an anti-capitalism, pro-socialist treatise per se, however, most of the tenets of capitalism could be found flawed in Quinn's assessment. Basically, Ishmael (Quinn) has determined that native peoples have survived for hundreds of thousands of years longer than "civilized" peoples because: a) tribal cultures don't lock up their food so that you have to buy it (this locking up of food results in poverty, war, and dissent, according to Quinn); b) hunter/gather societies (with some agriculture) have been able to sustain their likelihood without disrupting family, wealth (in tribal terms), prosperity, and the environment.

Contrary to this, are the tenets of our "civilized" society. They lock up food (a substance that should be free to all humans just like air or water) and place it in the power of the wealthy who then redistribute it to those who can pay for it. This basic concept (capitalism, essentially) spawns a vast array of problems: poverty for those that can't afford to pay for the simple necessities of life (no tribal system would allow any of its members to go hungry, simply because that would mean the degradation of the tribe); family degradation, war over who owns what, and crime in general because basic necessities are no longer open for the taking. Also, this "civilized" system can only grow and live if it constantly consumes (with no regard to replacing that which it consumes). So, on this note, Quinn is quite right; we cannot continually consume. There is simply not enough resources to sustain our population (and what do we do when we run out of resources? Traditionally, we destroy or displace other populations to gain their resources).

So, we're all supposed to revert to some grand-scale tribal system (also known as socialism to some)? The 12 year-old girl asks exactly this. Ishmael (Quinn) makes a strong point here that he has never suggested such a thing. He is merely pointing out the flaws, and suggesting a starting point to fixing the problem. I can buy that on some levels, but mostly, he is suggesting that tribal systems are better than our current system, which is true on many levels, but a tribal system of living would be impossible with over 6 billion people on the planet (which, to Quinn's defense, he poignantly acknowledges).

Overall, it's a good read even if it leaves the reader with a million more questions (which I supposes is the whole point). Quinn leads the reader to believe in each of these books that his message is complete when in fact, it is far from it. He leads one to believe that he's done his job as a "Save the world" teacher when in fact he leads much to be desired. However, with that said, Quinn's book is definitely worth reading (start with the first book Ishmael). Even his conclusions are naive, they raise some vital questions about where our culture is heading. With all his flaws, Quinn is a must, if only to get you thinking in a completely different direction: can we continue to consume without replenishment, and while capitalism has proven extremely fruitful, is there a better form of capitalism that is more conducive to global prosperity on all levels?

Rating:
Summary: Daniel Quinn Does it again
Review: Hey, I am 17 years old and have managed to cram down a total of 3 of Daniel Quinn's novels. I'll admit that some of them lack a little bit of a plot but he makes many good points about or education and system of rules. I agree with all of his ideas, because as I student in today's educational system I can acknowledge from a first hand experience that what we are doing isn't worth it. I have two classes that actually challenge me and motivate me to learn. Journalism and Environmental issues. As for the other six classes that are on my schedule I view all of those and a waste of time and pointless to go to other then to keep my GPA up. This is what Quinn so obviously points out throughout the book. It explains how wealth should be measured as and what our society thinks of it. How our society views it is completely obscure and this book extrapolates that idea and expands it ideas that make sense. One of the best books I have read in my life.

Rating:
Summary: Pre-chewed food
Review: Maybe I made a mistake of not reading Ishmael before reading My Ishmael: A Sequel. I was aware of the concepts in Ishmael, the talking gorilla, the fate of society, our culture, etc., but I was not aware of what exactly was brought up in Ishmael that might be re-treaded in this sequel for a more youthful readership.

The book follows the same pattern of Ishmael, except the narrator this time is a twelve year-old girl writing about her talks with the gorilla Ishmael four years after they took place. For a twelve year-old she bandies words like "Vis a vis" and "Ipso facto" a little too naturally to be believable, especially when most of her interjections are of the likes of "Gee" and "Duh". But this can be chalked up to a middle-aged man trying to dump copious amounts of heavy thinking through the narrative of a girl, so it is not that big of a deal. (Though the frequent pauses of ten minutes or longer in the conversations hint that Quinn does not grasp how long ten minutes is when silently starring at a person, especially a gorilla.)

I had read The Story of B before reading this, so I was a least aware of what Quinn is trying to do with these books. Judging from what I learned in The Story of B, My Ishmael tells enough of what was said before to familiarize the reader and then takes his ideas down a different path. In this case the gorilla Ishmael's discussions discuss our culture, the problems we all have, the purpose of education, and ultimately tries to help the narrator, and hopefully the reader to come to terms with the fate of our culture in this world and what might be done to help things. No definite solutions are given, but Quinn does a better job of trying than anybody else I have encountered. For that I must give him respect.

The first third of the book comes in jumps and starts, setting up for the middle third which makes for the best and most edifying reading. Somewhere three quarters into the work the thinking ends and a plot begins. A plot should be a good thing for a novel, but in a world where a talking Gorilla tries to play a modern day Socrates to a girl about how to save the world, the plot is more or less distracting. Nevertheless, My Ishmael gave me ideas and thoughts I would never had without reading it, and for that it is worth reading.

Rating:
Summary: Ishmail is awesom My Ishmael is even better!
Review: Quinn is the man! You know a book is good when it tells you something that you already kind of know but with a clarity and confidence that defines what you'be been wanting to make of it. For those who deny the first book because, "A talking gorilla come on." are missing a bigger picture and are not giving the book its propper due. People should try to worry about the message not the messanger.

Ishmael started a lesson with Allen in the first book and teaches another similar yet very different lesson to Julie. My life is better for reading both these books and I know others who feel the same. You CAN make a difference and Ishmael sheds a little light on how. You can't find a solution if you don't know the problem. Daniel Quinn and Ishmail try to define that problem and it's up to you to help solve it! Great great books both Ishmael and My Ishmael. If you don't like Ishmael don't be too critical on those who do. Every negative review that I've read mentioned that "a talking gorilla" is rediculous, and the plot was boring, and the characters are dull and it's just a diolog, well that is basically true but I try to see the forest through the trees. My Ishmail is in fact very exciting as is Ishmael. I read Ishmael and immediately went out and bought the second book (My Ishmael) and couldn't put it down. Quinn offers an important message, even if you don't agree at least you can understand his message and maybe even offer another.

Rating:
Summary: Now I know why...
Review: This book makes you think, makes you think a lot. I enjoyed this book, even though it started out slow and was sometimes hard to swallow... a 12/13 year old girl (regardless of her parentage) going on a trip 'by herself' arranged by people she didn't know... other than an ape. But if you put the ape thing aside, this book is quite good, and like I said... makes you think about cultures and why things are done the way they are done... and know, that it is not too late.

Rating:
Summary: Now I know why...
Review: This book makes you think, makes you think a lot. I enjoyed this book, even though it started out slow and was sometimes hard to swallow... a 12/13 year old girl (regardless of her parentage) going on a trip 'by herself' arranged by people she didn't know... other than an ape. But if you put the ape thing aside, this book is quite good, and like I said... makes you think about cultures and why things are done the way they are done... and know, that it is not too late.

Rating:
Summary: Ishmael and More!
Review: This is the third Quinn I've read (Ishmael then Story of B, being the other two), and I felt that, as a novel, it was quite poorly written, and somewhat uninteresting. But as far as putting forth his theories, this is Quinn's most lucid work (out of the one's I've read obviously). I think one of Quinn's strengths is that he is able to pack such a powerful - and actually quite simplistic - message into a fictional novel; he keeps the reader interested in the theory by keeping the reader interested in the story. Now, that's not to say that Quinn's ideas could not stand alone in a non-fiction work, for I believe they certainly can. But as a fictional writer, he is able to find a balance between theory and story, and I dont' think he achieved that here.