Timothy, or Notes of an Abject Reptile

Author - Verlyn Klinkenborg ... [Goo?] [Posters]

This Paperback Book item from Vintage was reviewed on 3-Nov-2008.

Search ISBN:0679737537 offer from Abebooks or used books from Alibris. Timothy, or Notes of an Abject Reptile Reference Book. Classifications : Historical Genre Fiction Literature & Fiction Subjects Books General Mythology World Literature Literature & Fiction Subjects Books General AAS Mythology World Literature Literature & Fiction Subjects . Click the following link to view the cover of Timothy, or Notes of an Abject Reptile.

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1) Paperback Book Timothy, or Notes of an Abject Reptile by Vintage. Clever, charming, sweet and touching. Timothy´s voice
shares life all around in a most unique and creative way.
Enjoy!!!¤

2) Paperback Book Timothy, or Notes of an Abject Reptile by Vintage. I just started reading the book .
I think so far it´s ok , a bit confusing ,but
I like animal stories.¤

3) Paperback Book Timothy, or Notes of an Abject Reptile by Vintage. I have enjoyed other writings of Klinkenborg - appreciated their direct style with carefully chosen words and well-formed thoughts. As I began Timothy; or, Notes of an Abject Reptile a found the short and often fragmentary sentences slowed my reading. As I progressed I was further slowed by unfamiliar vocabulary - huckaback, shambles, scute, taw ... Then I discovered the glossary in the back which provides a definition when context is insufficient.

As I delved further into the book my complaints turned to admiration. Klingborg´s fragmentary sentence structure fits perfectly into the very concrete thought patterns he attributes to Timothy the tortoise. While Timothy may be philosophical at times it is a philosophy of life firmly planted in the natural world not the abstract philosophy of humans. The vocabulary is necessary to embed the story in a particular place and time - a critical aspect of Timothy´s world.

Wisely, Klinkenborg does not carry the conceit of narration by a tortoise to the extreme. Timothy reports and/or comments on more that she would have actually been in a position to observe - most notably the travels of her owner´s nephew, Gilbert White´s observations re: sex and instinct in the "natural kingdom" (which, naturally, excludes humanity). But in these observations, Timothy quietly exposes the foibles of man.

Combining these elements, Klinkenborg creates a story that not only holds your attention but also requires introspection of the reader - what is the reader´s (and Timothy´s) place in the world?¤

4) Paperback Book Timothy, or Notes of an Abject Reptile by Vintage. Timothy is a tortoise. She understands and speaks English---albeit in incomplete sentences. She knows some geography. She knows the thoughts, the worries and beliefs of the inhabitants of 18th century Selborne, England. She knows what goes on in their churches and their homes, even though she has presumably never entered any. She knows what takes place in winters, even though she has hibernated through every one.

Never mind!

Suspend your disbelief. Accept that Timothy is omniscient. Enjoy her descriptions and commentary. It reads like poetry, with lots of witty bits and little jabs at the absurdity of humans. It had me laughing out loud at times.

On Easter: " ´The lamb who was slain now liveth again,´ he [Mr. Gilbert White] believes. And so he says aloud to his parishioners. Though on this earth, the lamb who is slain is supper."

This book is a rare treat, so read it slowly. There´s a glossary in the back to help with the names of local areas, the obsolete and botanical terms.

BTW, The Natural History of Selborne by Gilbert White, which inspired this book, is available to download at Project Gutenberg [...]. A search for "tortoise" points to several letters that mention an unnamed, old Sussex tortoise.¤

5) Paperback Book Timothy, or Notes of an Abject Reptile by Vintage. I plodded at a tortoiselike pace through this tedious, monotonous work of fiction that sluggishly shares the assumed thoughts of a snobbish tortoise. Yes, yes. I get it. Klinkenborg deliberately paced his novel to evoke the slow-creeping crawl of Timothy, but, like this book, a dozing tortoise seldom holds my interest.¤

6) Paperback Book Timothy, or Notes of an Abject Reptile by Vintage. Few writers have attempted to explore the natural history of a particular animal by adopting the animal’s own sensibility. But Verlyn Klinkenborg has done just that in Timothy: an insightful and utterly engaging story of the world’s most famous tortoise, whose real life was observed by the eighteenth-century English curate and naturalist Gilbert White. For thirteen years, Timothy lived in White’s garden. Here Klinkenborg gives the tortoise an unforgettable voice and keen powers of observation on both human and natural affairs. Wry and wise, unexpectedly moving and enchanting at every–careful–turn, Timothy surprises and delights.¤

Page Updated: Robert N. Goolsby, 1-Dec-2008, 06797375379780679737537, 190-530-150-630-370-621-8

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