Synopsis
Anatole France (Jacques Anatole François Thibault; 1844-1924. Member of the Académie Française. Awarded the Nobel Price for Literature in 1921. Penguin Island (1908) has been called "the best social satire ever written" (Toni Ungerer). The story takes place in Antarctica, where a fictional penguin population mirrors the foibles of human beings. With the devil's help, a missionary arrives in Antartica and baptizes the local penguins. With God's help, he then turns them into human beings. As a result, the penguins must now try to figure out how to live together and create a civilization. They experience their own barbaric Ancient Times and Middle Ages, and in their efforts to create a modern age, they undergo social conflicts and devastating wars. Written in the spirit of rationalism and enlightenment,Penguin Island is a wickedly funny, incisive portrait of religious fanatacism.
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About the Author
Anatole France (pseudonym of Jacques Anatol Thibault, 1844- 1924) was the most prominent French man of letters of his time. France's style was precise, elegant, gentle, ironic, and humorous. He was elected to the French Academy, and in 1921 was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature. Some of his other works include The Aspirations of Jean Servien, The Revolt of the Angels, and Penguin Island.
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
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Penguin Island
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