The Book of the Dun Cow, by Walter Wangerin, Jr.
This book is weird. I'm quite certain that I don't understand all the analogies/the allegory. I'm quite certain that Wangerin is likely more of a genius that I'm quite ready to deal with. He is certainly fascinating. I hesitate to say that this book is a "classic battle of good and evil" although it is that. But to say so makes it sound simple and it was a bit more complex than one sentence can give it credit for.This book tells the story of Chauntecleer, a rooster, who is battling against Wyrm, an evil creature who is buried in the center of the earth. Wyrm desires to escape his confines and eradicate the "Keepers" of the earth. The "Keepers", I assume, are the animals under Chauntecleer's dominion. These Keepers have been placed upon the earth by a god who pretty much gave up on the planet and had half a hope that his Keepers would manage to protect the earth from Wyrm (since the god was too discouraged to do so).
In order to not spoil the ending, there is a Christ-figure in this book (who starts out as one of the most annoying characters in the entire book). Plenty of parallels and analogies can be found between these pages. I was curious about Wangerin and his religion/philosophy after having read this. Turns out, he is a Lutheran pastor and professor at Valparaiso University in Indiana. If you want to know more about him, (which I am going to assume you will), click here. You might be familiar with some of his other works. I'm not quite certain why the god in this book is mentioned as having left the earth pretty much alone. I'm using little "g" on purpose even though it's a big "G" in the book. I didn't agree with some of the attributes Wangerin seemed to want to give to the god.
This isn't as clear an allegory as, say, Narnia. I'm confused by the importance of particular aspects of the story. For example - exactly who/what does Pertelote represent? Is the a representative of the Holy Spirit? I'm not certain who Chauntecleer is supposed to be. At times I thought his role was that of Mundo Cani Dog. I'm very curious for everyone's thoughts on this book. It's very intriguing.
I started off hating this book. I found it crass at times and rude at others. I wasn't fond of Chauntecleer or anyone else for that matter. If I had a gun and opportunity, I would have taken Mundo Cani Dog out of the picture all together! However, by the end, when the story concluded to some degree, I found it mystifying and was ready to recommend this read to just about everyone I know if merely to help me better understand it. I found this book in the juvenile fiction section of our library and, quite frankly, I would not have put it there myself. I definitely think this lands in the 16 yrs. + pile. It can be a bit vulgar. However, if you pick up this book and read it to the end, I think you'll find reason enough to like it.
posted by Carrie @ 11:57 AM
4 comments
4 Comments:
I have been wanting to read this book for a long time now, and was delighted to finally sit down and read it. It is a good, maybe even great, book. Wangerin has the ability to put together old and familiar things in an unfamiliar way that sheds a new light on the mundane.
The book is too rich and complex to be a straight allegory, but to the extent it is an allegory, I felt it related more to the life of Christians in the world than to redemption. Chauntecleer--roosters, with their blend of the lordly and the ludicrous, are underused as human representatives--seems pastoral in his liturgical crowing of the hours, his watchfulness over his flock, and his very human failings. And Pertelote is simply his wife. I found their relationship very touching and very real; sometimes one is down, sometimes the other.
I do think the Dun Cow most resembled the Holy Spirit.
I think the god in the book leaves the world alone because that is the position we seem to be left in. We are not in fact alone, and yet, for all we can see, we are. The comfort and power we receive come not at our bidding and seldom in the way we expect.
I don't think the book implies that God has abandoned the earth, but that he has placed the animals there as His representatives, with their job to do. Even the keepers he has chosen are themselves an insult to Wyrm--the weak and foolish against the wise and strong.
Two more things~Although having grown up in a barnyard, so to speak, I wasn't particularly troubled by the barnyard frankness, I do agree that it's not really a book for children. (Judging by the author's website, it was not intended to be.) The evil is too close to home and too twisted. Talking animals alone do not a children's book make.
Also, I'm not entirely sure about who or what Mundo Cani Dog is. I think I'll need to read the sequel to be entirely satisfied.
Mundo Cani Dog is the embodiment of humility. He is the true Christian. In the Orthodox tradition such a character as Mundo would be known as a Holy Fool. He is the greatest and purest of fools and as such he is shown to be the wisdom of God.
If you like Harry Potter think of Mundo as a more prominant Dobby figure.
I thought this book was fantastic, although I certainly don't profess to understand it all. There's a sequel too, called The Book of Sorrows, which continues and completes the story. It's much darker in nature, almost depressing at times, but I enjoyed it nevertheless.
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