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Product Description
From Library Journal
In this sequel to Quinn's controversial best seller, Ishmael, the telepathic gorilla has another pupil intent on saving the world: 12-year-old Julie Gerchak.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Kirkus Reviews
Another irresistible rant from Quinn, a sequel to his Turner Tomorrow Fellowship winner, Ishmael (1992), concerning a great, telepathic ape who dispenses ecological wisdom about the possible doom of humankind. Once more, Quinn focuses on the Leavers and Takers, his terms for the two basic, warring kinds of human sensibility. The planet's original inhabitants, the Leavers, were nomadic people who did no harm to the earth. The Takers, who have generally overwhelmed them, began as aggressive farmers obsessed with growth, were the builders of cities and empires, and have now, in the late 20th century, largely run out of space to monopolize. Quinn's books have not featured many memorable characters, aside from Ishmael. This time out, though, he invents a lively figure, 12-year-old Julie Gerchak, who is tough and wise beyond her years, having had to deal with a self-destructive, alcoholic mother. Julie responds to Ishmael's ad seeking a pupil with an earnest desire to save the world (a conceit carried over from the earlier novel). Once again, the gentle ape shares his wisdom in a series of questions and answers that resemble, in method, a blend of the Socratic dialogues and programmed learning. Moving beyond his theories about Leavers and Takers, Ishmael presents a detailed critique of educational systems around the world, suggesting that their function is not to usefully educate but to regulate the flow of workers into a Taker society. This is all very well, but what does Ishmael/Quinn suggest be done to redeem the Takers, and to save the earth? Quinn seems to want to sketch out how change might come about, but it's never fully explored. Instead, the novel is increasingly taken up with the mysteries surrounding Ishmael's travels and fate. This is the weakest of Quinn's novels, but his ideas are as thought-provoking as ever, even so. (Author tour) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
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Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ishmail is awesom My Ishmael is even better!,
By Stratos McMoffa (Tacoma, WA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: My Ishmael (Paperback)
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.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
12 years old?,
By Gerry Gosselin (Agawam, MA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: My Ishmael (Paperback)
I wanted to write a positive review of My Ishmael but everyone else's reviews have covered all the great points. Instead I'd like to bring up the main character. She's a 12 year old girl named Julie. Perhaps its because Daniel Quinn was never a 12 year old girl, but it seems to me that her vocabulary and lines of thought don't exactly match the age. Even if you consider the character is 16 when telling the story. I thought this was annoying at first, then I realized something. The girl's age was perfect for the book. Her dialogues with Ishmael were perfect as well. It came to me when I considered that she was picking up what Ishmael was saying and taking it further because she had far fewer years of Mother Culture's taint on her. She still had the wide eyed quizical probing child in her. It made sense in that respect and I certainly didn't feel the same way towards her character after that. She did have a place, even if sometimes she seemed much older and wiser than she was.Like Ishmael and Story of B, I am again absolutely amazed at what Quinn has accomplished here. Great job!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Reaching Out to the Youth,
By Theresa (Upstate NY) - See all my reviews
This review is from: My Ishmael (Paperback)
My Ishmael is another thought-provoking look at our destructive lives. The difference between "My Ishmael" and the other books in the series, though, is that Quinn offers insightful solutions. The use of a 12 year old girl offers a completely different take on the situation than Quinn has ever gone down. It was a good path to take, though. It is more important for the youth of the world to read Quinn's books than it is for adults. In my experience, adults who have read Quinn's books do not like them; they either don't see a problem, or they take his criticism personally. All of the young people I have spoken to have liked the book, though, because it is a real and present danger for us. Quinn's use of the curious young girl as the main character brings the book down to a younger level. It is still excellent to read as an adult, but compared to the other books in the series, it really reaches out and makes sense to young people. Instead of the stuffy lecturing of "The Story of B" or the contemplative learning style of "Ishmael" this book is fresh and upbeat. I recommend it to everyone I speak to, and I think it should be required reading for high schoolers everywhere.
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