LD4all Book Club: [Ishmael by Daniel Quinn]

Will we do a second book? Although we hardly discussed this one :tongue:.

I just felt compelled to pick up a new one a propos du Dracula The review in that link just came out, and I’m itching to buy that book. Amazon’s reviews are just as positive. Anyone with me?

Actually I would feel like doing something completely different. But I am not a native english speaker, so someone else should pick the book :tongue:

I wish I found this topic earlier, is it too late to join?

I would love to be a part of this :smile:

No problem at all :content: We have finished Dracula and want to start with a new book. Any suggestions?

sweet, and I would suggest Ishmael by Daniel Quinn :smile:

it gets you thinking and everyone can take something from it

Ooo I have such a history with this book. It completely influenced me for a while there, and by overcoming its many arguments I learnt to think in higher levels, which is also of course in great part thanks to that book. It’s been so long since I last read it. Let’s do it? Guys, this is a seriously engaging book. You will get passionate about its arguments (positively and/or negatively) but the story itself is a thrill.

I completely agree with Bruno :smile: It drastically changed the way I look at things.

Fine with me :content: Need to find it first though :tongue:

Is it online as far as anyone knows? :smile:

Funny, i have Ishmael on the list of the next batch of books i get. Heard nothing but good things about it and it seems the type i like - makes you think, isn’t a closed narrow (albeit those can be engaging as well) waltz through the story.

It’s a copyrighted work, so forum rules forbid us from posting links to online versions of it. If it’s not against the laws of your country (as it isn’t in mine), search around. :smile:

oops! sorry for the link, didn’t know about that.

It’s a book worth buying though, you’ll definitely want it on your shelf :content:

I’ll be back home in less than two weeks. I really had no time to get into Dracula, but I’m definitely joining in the new one, whatever you guys end up going with. :happy:

So is the situation still “deciding next book” or is certain now?

I found a copy of Ishmael while I was randomly looking through some shelves and read a few pages. It already looks interesting to me.

I have a copy of it and I would like to read it :smile: So I think we have decided? Or does anyone disagree?

Apparently not.

I’m currently at chapter 8, part (or whatever it is called) 6; and I find the novel pretty engaging. In fact, I’m trying to keep my reading speed down a bit so I can contemplate it at times.

The one detail that really draws my attention is the words being connected to the top of the page by lines at the title page and chapter beginnings.
(spoiler until chapter 1, part 6)

SPOILER - Click to view

At first it was intriguing because I thought that Ishmael, being the very much commended novel it is, wouldn’t include details like that just for the sake of aesthetics or anything like that. There had to be a reason for the lines. After Ishmael declared to his newly-found student that their subject would be captivity, those lines started looking like the strings of a marionette controlled by an unseen force.

One thing that pushed me away from the book a bit was…
(spoiler until chapter 1, part 4)

[spoiler]…the use of religious themes. Well, that was obvious from the name of the novel, but my lack of knowledge in that area made reading less enjoyable for me in the beginning. I had to read up a bit on religion after the ending for the 4th part, where Walter Sokolow references the namesake of Ishmael the gorilla and mentions that they had decided to name the newly-born child “Isaac” if it was a boy. I didn’t even realize that “Goliath” was also the name of someone until then, therefore the scene where Walter approaches Goliath-Ishmael in the menagerie and saying that he was not Goliath had made no sense whatsoever to me while reading it for the first time.

As I said, this is probably just because of my lack of knowledge, but I still think that the book was a bit unclear at that part. [/spoiler]

Other than those, the fact that…
(spoiler until chapter 8, part 2)

SPOILER - Click to view

…the “lessons” have a question & answer sort of plan in themselves helped me get used to the novel and its situation. Sometimes intentionally, sometimes unintentionally, I stop reading after Ishmael asks a question and try to answer it on my own. This was especially evident when the topic was the myth of Mother Culture and the rule(s) men considers himself exempt from. At those times, especially in the latter, having been able to find the answer/part of the answer expected by the teacher affected my view of the novel a bit.

One other detail that aided in me getting absorbed in the novel is that…
(spoiler until chapter 8, part 6)

SPOILER - Click to view

…the student is not named at all. This helps my imagining him alienated from the society and putting myself in his shoes. I don’t know if this is going to continue this way, but my bet would be on “the novel will end before we learn his name”.

Also, I keep a little notepad with me when I’m reading because I feel like I’m in a hunt for sentences that should be written down. I have a few that really do get to me, be it very basic sentences that induce haunty feelings or paragraphs that explain Ishmael’s perspective.

Anyway, that’s generally my thoughts at this point.

Found Ismael* at the library today so I’ll join too I have only read chapter one so far though.
Spoilers for all parts in chapter 1

SPOILER - Click to view

And puce interesting thing with the lines, I haven’t really thought of them when I read, unfortunately I was spoiled that there was going to be a gorilla in the room. I didn’t know it was going to be the teacher though. I was a bit confused if the gorilla was talking or not at first until I came to the explanation of telepathy and that cleared things up.

*Yes Ismael without an h due to it being a swedish translation

Chapter one

SPOILER - Click to view

I immediattly liked the book :content: I like the Gorilla :smile: I have to agree with Puce though, that my lack of knowledge concerning religion was a bit of a problem. But that is probably more my problem then the books :tongue: I really want to know what Ishmael has to teach.

Ishmael, I am reading the english version :smile:

I have read untill chapter 8 now.

[spoiler]The story has definally gotten my attention. It is a good thing that a gorilla is the teachers. The lessons wouldn’t have had a good impact with a human as teacher (for mother cultures works on this human also). I do not totally agree though, I have never thought that humans were the ending station. The story is just told this way because we don’t know what happens next, and because it is easiest to explain this.

I am currently also reading this book: A short of history of nearly everything by Bill Bryson. I haven’t finished it yet but it seems like it is indeed heading the way as described in Ishmael. Ending with humans.
[/spoiler]