Penguin Island
'Penguin Island' Summary
Penguin Island is written in the style of a sprawling 18th- and 19th-century history book, concerned with grand metanarratives, mythologizing heroes, hagiography and romantic nationalism. It is about a fictitious island, inhabited by great auks, that existed off the northern coast of Europe. The history begins when a wayward Christian missionary monk lands on the island and perceives the upright, unafraid auks as a sort of pre-Christian society of noble pagans. Mostly blind from reflections from the polar ice and somewhat deaf from the roar of the sea, having mistaken the animals for humans, he baptizes them. This causes a problem for The Lord, who normally only allows humans to be baptized. After consulting with saints and theologians in Heaven, He resolves the dilemma by converting the baptized birds to humans with only a few physical traces of their ornithological origin, and giving them each a soul.
Thus begins the history of Penguinia, and from there forward the history mirrors that of France (and more generally of Western Europe, including German-speaking areas and the British Isles). The narrative spans from the Migration Period ("Dark Ages"), when the Germanic tribes fought incessantly among themselves for territory; to the heroic Early Middle Ages with the rise of Charlemagne ("Draco the Great") and conflicts with Viking raiders ("porpoises"); through the Renaissance (Erasmus); and up to the modern era with motor cars; and even into a future time in which a thriving high-tech civilization is destroyed by a campaign of terrorist bombings, and everything begins again in an endless cycle.
Book Details
Language
EnglishOriginal Language
FrenchPublished In
1908Author
Anatole France
France
Anatole France was a French poet, journalist, and novelist with several best-sellers. Ironic and skeptical, he was considered in his day the ideal French man of letters. He was a member of the Acad&ea...
More on Anatole FranceDownload eBooks
Listen/Download Audiobook
- Select Speed
Related books
The Quest for the Rose of Sharon by Burton Egbert Stevenson
It is an exciting adventure novel for young readers. The book was first published in 1909 and has since become a classic in the genre of adventure fic...
Ten Kittens by G. A. Puckett
The stories of the ten kittens told in this book are true to life. They have been gathered from here and there over the country. All the kittens have...
The Mysterious Rider by Zane Grey
In the rugged expanse of the American West, a lone rider emerges from the desolate plains, shrouded in an aura of mystery and intrigue. This enigmatic...
The Book of the Cat by Mabel Humphrey
In the enchanting world of feline mysteries and captivating tales, comes a literary masterpiece that will leave readers spellbound. Brace yourself for...
One Hundred Years In Yosemite: The Story Of A Great Park And Its Friends by Carl Parcher Russell
In One Hundred Years in Yosemite: The Story of a Great Park and Its Friends, Carl Parcher Russell takes us on a captivating journey through the histor...
The Alley Cat’s Kitten by Caroline Fuller
This is a captivating story that will whisk readers away into a world where a feline family embarks on a remarkable journey of survival, resilience, a...
Penrod and Sam by Booth Tarkington
Penrod and Sam is a novel by Booth Tarkington that was first published in 1916. it is set pre-World War 1. The book has a sequel, Penrod, and focuses...
The Natural History Volume 7 by Pliny the Elder
It is a comprehensive study of the natural world in ancient Rome. Written in the 1st century AD, this volume is a part of Pliny's larger work, Natural...
The Boys' and Girls' Pliny Vol. 3 by Pliny the Elder
The extraordinary world of natural wonders with the legendary Pliny the Elder as your guide. Brace yourselves for an exhilarating adventure like no ot...
The Mentor: Game Animals of America by William T. Hornaday
In the heart of the untamed American wilderness, William T. Hornaday's "The Mentor: Game Animals of America" invites readers on an extraordinary exped...
Reviews for Penguin Island
No reviews posted or approved, yet...