- Paperback: 232 pages
- Publisher: Wildside Press (October 2002)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1587155486
- ISBN-13: 978-1587155482
- Product Dimensions: 23.1 x 15.7 x 1.5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 354 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,841,882 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
Book Description
Penguin Island in all its peculiar glory: this is the tale of the enchanted island island where the nearsighted Abbot Mael baptised penguins in error. These penguins ? posessed of Divine Grace by dint of baptism ? are remarkably like and unlike men; they rule the fictional land of Penguinia.
From AudioFile
A foolish, old priest with weak eyes comes upon an island full of penguins. They look like people to him, so he baptizes them. This creates a crisis in heaven; God and the saints have to decide whether to give the penguins souls. From there France runs us through the history of the great penguin race, and if the birds weren't so venal and ridiculous, you too might mistake them for people. First published in 1908, this satire is certainly not contemporary, but it is, nevertheless, very fine stuff. France won the Nobel Prize, and this was considered his masterpiece. Frederick Davidson gives a strong, but conventional reading. B.H.C. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
--This text refers to the
Audio Cassette
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
An exceedingly unusual but very entertaining novel,
By "johnmarshall64" (Anywhere but here) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Penguin Island (Paperback)
This novel simply isn't like anything else ever written.A monk visiting an island populated by nothing but penguins accidentally baptizes them, and the saints in heaven debate what is to be done, since baptism can only be done to those with souls. The conclusion is to make the penguins human! The remainder of the book is a history of Penguin Island, which is a clever parody of European history. It may not be everyone's piece of pie, but I defy anyone to say that they have seen its like before.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.2 out of 5 stars (14 customer reviews) 21 of 22 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
savagely funny critique of human nature,
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
I first read this book at the age of 12. I remember receiving it for Christmas--an irony in itself. I recollect my feelings of incredulity as I read the chapters--how could such blasphemy go unpunished?! And then, slowly, my disbelief turned into pure joy at the nose-thumbing this author gave all institutions. The Church, the State, Socialism--you name it, he mocked it. I recommend this book for all those who continue to believe in Ideals.
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Should have been a Monty Python movie!!!,
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
Anatole France spares no one in this satire about the the birth life and death of the Penguin empire. Starting from the baptism of the Penguins by St. Mael (and the associated debates in Heaven about the devine status of penguins) through the founding and subsequent fall of the empire, this story pokes fun at the Church, military, courts and every political movement known to man. The trial of poor Pyrot had me in stitches. If you like satire, READ THIS BOOK.
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Outrageous satire,
By wiredweird "wiredweird" - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Penguin Island (Paperback)
A pious monk discovers a previously unknown island. He is half deaf and more than half blind with age. Even so, he can see that the diminutive people here are gentle, serious, and not yet Christian. He performs a mass baptism, not realizing that he has created Christian penguins.So begins France's straight-faced satire of the church, the state, and anything else he can think of. First, the innocents must clothe their nakedness. This creates modesty for them, but also creates immodesty, lust-inducing arts of skirt and bodice, and avarice for finer clothes and baubles. Next, they develop property law, proven by disputes over farmland. They create a noble class, when one demonstrates his nobility by killing another penguin and taking his land. They create a royalty, by means of fraud and extortion. They even create their first saint, the miraculous virgin Ste. Orberosia. She seemed best known for her miraculous virginity, which she proclaimed until her dying day (and we don't argue with saints). In fact, she was able to proclaim her virginity even after dozens or hundreds of encounters that would have destroyed it in less holy a woman - miraculous indeed. Perhaps the penguins weren't born subject to Original Sin, but they're mighty quick with the imitation. The History of Penguinia moves forward, through ages of avarice, adultery, elaboarate scams, false accusations, and all the usual goings-on of the political world. The events are painfully funny, right down to the cynical, cyclical view of modern times, locked into an historical rhythm. The views are painful only because they're so very true. I imagine they would have been even more true for me if I knew more about the political current events of France and Europe circa 1900, when this book was being written. I also suspect some wordplay in characters' names that would have been amusing if I knew French. It is a measure of Anatole France's genuius that now, nearly a hundred years later, it's still true enough for a modern reader, and one unfamiliar with the book's original milieu. I imagine this book will reward the prepared reader even more richly. This is satire at its finest - funny, but with an edge, and funny because it's so very true. //wiredweird |
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