This Christmas I received “The Complete Short Stories” of Oscar Wilde. I was pleased, and dove right in.
Bad, bad mistake.
Don’t get me wrong. I love Wilde. But, in my current “f.r.a.g.i.l.e” state**, “The Nightingale and the Rose” proved a bit too much for my paranoid heart.
So, I sent Wilde back to the shelf, and picked up one of my all-time favorite books: “The Book of the Dun Cow” by Walter Wangerin Jr.
I first read Dun Cow when I was 12, and have read it several times since then.
What is it about? In short: there is a Chauntecleer the Rooster, leader of a Coop, the surrounding land, and its inhabitants. And then there is Wyrm and his minion Cockatrice, evil incarnate, ready to take over the world. It is an epic tale of good versus evil, played out by animals.
But, oh, this book is so much more than that!
Walter Wangerin Jr. is a Christian author and his fantasy is embedded in Christian themes: faith, evil, guilt, and forgiveness. As a child, I was also a Christian, and all of these themes struck me to the bone. Oh, how I understood the close relationship between Chauntecleer and his God!
Then, as time went by, both my faith and my life transformed. I explored many many religions, I became an atheist, I went back to believing in God, and then I decided to stop thinking about the issue altogether.
However, The Book of the Dun Cow never stopped having its impact on me.
Why? Because what Wangerin wrote is in no way an allegory, it is in no way a moralizing book, it is, above all a HUMAN book. Not one homosapiens crosses its pages, yet the full range of human emotions is incarnated in the animals of the Coop.
Who has not wanted to sit on top of a pile of mud on a rainy day and mope? Who has not, like Chauntecleer, raised his fist at the universe and asked “Why?” Why am I here? Why are these things happening to me? Why should I go on?
Wangerin knows human emotion to perfection, and shows it in all its filthy detail. The Book of the Dun Cow has been compared to The Lord of the Rings, but I must say, the comparison doesn’t do it justice. Where Tolkien painted a black and white picture of good versus evil, Wangerin recognizes many shades of gray. Where Aragon is ever the honorable and brave leader, Chauntecleer is as flawed as any real leader would be. In fact, it is refreshing to find that the main character of the book is also the most flawed. He feels lonely, he feels unjustly mistreated, he throws tantrums and is selfish and proud—and yet, despite all this, despite all of his flaws, he does what he has to do. This is a Rooster we can relate to, and in that relation we can find hope. Hope that we too, despite loosing Faith (be it faith in God, the universe, life, our loved ones or ourselves…), can move on.
This lesson we learn through the Odyssey that Chauntecleer and his animals have to go through. The book is full of humour and ridiculous moments. It opens up with a snoring rooster and a bunch of scared chickens. Yet, Wangerin soon shows war in all of its brutality: here we have children dying, here we have hundreds of hens being brutally raped in public, here we have cruelty and murder-- and here we also have kindness and laughter.
What is it about? In short: there is a Chauntecleer the Rooster, leader of a Coop, the surrounding land, and its inhabitants. And then there is Wyrm and his minion Cockatrice, evil incarnate, ready to take over the world. It is an epic tale of good versus evil, played out by animals.
But, oh, this book is so much more than that!
Walter Wangerin Jr. is a Christian author and his fantasy is embedded in Christian themes: faith, evil, guilt, and forgiveness. As a child, I was also a Christian, and all of these themes struck me to the bone. Oh, how I understood the close relationship between Chauntecleer and his God!
Then, as time went by, both my faith and my life transformed. I explored many many religions, I became an atheist, I went back to believing in God, and then I decided to stop thinking about the issue altogether.
However, The Book of the Dun Cow never stopped having its impact on me.
Why? Because what Wangerin wrote is in no way an allegory, it is in no way a moralizing book, it is, above all a HUMAN book. Not one homosapiens crosses its pages, yet the full range of human emotions is incarnated in the animals of the Coop.
Who has not wanted to sit on top of a pile of mud on a rainy day and mope? Who has not, like Chauntecleer, raised his fist at the universe and asked “Why?” Why am I here? Why are these things happening to me? Why should I go on?
Wangerin knows human emotion to perfection, and shows it in all its filthy detail. The Book of the Dun Cow has been compared to The Lord of the Rings, but I must say, the comparison doesn’t do it justice. Where Tolkien painted a black and white picture of good versus evil, Wangerin recognizes many shades of gray. Where Aragon is ever the honorable and brave leader, Chauntecleer is as flawed as any real leader would be. In fact, it is refreshing to find that the main character of the book is also the most flawed. He feels lonely, he feels unjustly mistreated, he throws tantrums and is selfish and proud—and yet, despite all this, despite all of his flaws, he does what he has to do. This is a Rooster we can relate to, and in that relation we can find hope. Hope that we too, despite loosing Faith (be it faith in God, the universe, life, our loved ones or ourselves…), can move on.
This lesson we learn through the Odyssey that Chauntecleer and his animals have to go through. The book is full of humour and ridiculous moments. It opens up with a snoring rooster and a bunch of scared chickens. Yet, Wangerin soon shows war in all of its brutality: here we have children dying, here we have hundreds of hens being brutally raped in public, here we have cruelty and murder-- and here we also have kindness and laughter.
Ever truthful, Wangerin shows us the REAL DEAL.
And from this truth we can find satisfaction. Whatever battles we fight, whether they be giant monsters living under the earth, or the petrifying knowledge that you have to get on the subway every morning, they CAN be fought, and they can be fought by any regular nincompoop, whether his name be Chauntecleer, Dusty, or you.
And from this truth we can find satisfaction. Whatever battles we fight, whether they be giant monsters living under the earth, or the petrifying knowledge that you have to get on the subway every morning, they CAN be fought, and they can be fought by any regular nincompoop, whether his name be Chauntecleer, Dusty, or you.
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** The verdict is in, ladies and gentlemen: they are panic attacks! (which I already knew), due to stress! (which I already knew), because I am way too self-demanding! (which I already knew). Isn’t it amazing how enlightening psychiatry is? I am oh-so-glad I spent this month’s savings on discovering this surprising truth. However, not all is bad. I have two more weeks off work, while they “stabilize” my situation. More time to read and write, I say!
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