Book Review of Ask Now the Beasts

Ask Now the Beasts

Our Kinship with Animals Wild and Domestic

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Review of Ask Now the Beasts, by Ruth Rudner ( 2007)

(You can print this review in landscape mode, if you want a hardcopy)

Reviewer: Mark Lamendola, author of over 6,000 articles.

This book is a collection of 23 short essays. Each essay is about a particular experience the author had. As the title suggest, these experiences involve animals. The animals in this book include dogs, horses, and cats--familiar to any reader. But then there were the more exotic animals, such as penguins and walruses that she encountered in Antarctica. Other animals that appeared in her essays include gorillas, mules, coyotes, hawks, ducks, and wolves.

Two things about the author become apparent right away.

First, she's an accomplished writer. Her grammar is flawless (such an oddity, these days), her composition is clear, and her writing style is engaging. This is perhaps why her work has appeared in several major newspapers and magazines, and perhaps why she has other books to her credit.

The second thing is her respect for animals. For example, she respects horses as individuals. None of the essays revolve around generalized notions, such as "love the planet." All of them revolve around Runder's thoughts and feelings in her encounters with various individual animals. Some of these were domestic, some were wild. All were respected.

In many of the essays, Rudner reveals a lesson the animal taught her. In others, she just observes without feeling a need to draw any lesson at all. Some of the essays are quite touching, for example when Rudner reveals the joy of holding a baby gorilla or when she fondly recalls her special relationship with her dog Blue.

A few of the essays are sad, as when Rudner shares her heartache over losing two horses during a summer storm. She ponders how an animal can be living and vital one minute, and simply dead the next.

Rudner frequently talks about the relationship between life and death, and how they are intertwined. She observed this in such brutal environments as Antarctica and in such familiar environments as her own backyard.

Another thing that Rudner frequently talks about is personally connecting with the animals she encounters. She sees them as the living, feeling creatures that they are. And knowing this, they respond to her. If you are the kind of person who orders the family dog about, you won't understand this. If, on the other hand, you are the kind of person who interacts with that dog and understands exactly what the dog is saying to you, then you also understand the kinship theme that underlies these essays.

If you are that first person, consider this book essential for your personal growth. If you approach it with open eyes, what you learn could enrich your life on many levels.

If you are that second person, you will enjoy this book because it will resonate with you. It'll probably bring back memories of your own wonderful interactions with the animals you've encountered. In my case, I fondly recalled the time I was tending my garden and a robin hen perched only a few feet from me. She looked right at me and sang one lovely song after another. I sat quietly and listened. Perhaps you have had similar encounters of your own.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.