Review of Ishmael

Ishmael, by Daniel Quinn, is a novel that explains “how things came to be this way,” how the history of our culture has lead us up to our present and dire situation. When the unnamed narrator comes across an ad in the newspaper seeking a pupil with “an earnest desire to save the world,” he is skeptical, but goes to the address listed anyway. There, the narrator meets Ishmael, who soon becomes his teacher. What follows is a fascinating discussion between teacher and pupil, and reader, concerning the story of our culture, the agricultural revolution, and our destruction of Earth.

Quinn posits that everyone in our culture has been told “an explaining story.” A story “that keeps them from becoming excited, that keeps them relatively calm when they view the catastrophic damage they’re inflicting on this planet.” With his pupil, Ishmael, a giant talking gorilla, deconstructs the creation story told in our culture, which positions man as the final product of evolution. Also, the narrator discovers the law, like gravity or aerodynamics, that make the natural world run smoothly. He examines how our culture is in opposition to this natural law. Another crucial element to our culture’s story is revealed through close examination of biblical stories, especially those that seem to have been written by the older culture that didn’t choose to practice destructive agriculture. One very noticeable, but appropriate aspect of Ishmael, is the lack of any meaningful plot. Most of the book recounts discussions between Ishmael and the narrator, with dialogue often progressing without interruption for pages at a time. The eventual situation involving Ishmael’s home, what may be called the climax of the story, is admittedly thin, but I don’t care. What makes Ishmael a great novel is not the plot, but the ideas presented for the reader to mull over. The style of writing succeeds in involving the reader in Ishmael’s stories and lessons, and that’s what counts. Anyone who seeks an action packed adventure in Ishmael will be sorely disappointed. It is an adventure in its own right, but an adventure in culture and intellect. This is a book for people who like to exercise their minds. If you have ever wondered how we could have possibly ended up in such a dire situation, or if you feel like you aren’t getting the whole story, I highly recommend Ishmael. The power of this book is in it’s ability to teach anyone with a desire to save the world.

The issues and ideas presented in Ishmael are very compelling. One example is how Daniel Quinn compares our civilization to an early attempt at aviation by humankind. Everything seems grand when you leap off a cliff with wings. You see failed aircraft on the ground below, and wonder why they failed. Unfortunately, the ground is approaching faster and faster. Eventually, you look down and realize you aren’t really flying, because you aren’t in accordance with the laws of aerodynamics. “Trial and error isn’t a bad way to learn how to build an aircraft, but it can be a disastrous way to learn how to build a civilization.” The inconvenient truth, is that we are destroying our world. Even with more recent efforts to compel our culture to change its destructive ways, crucial changes to our perceived position on this planet still progress slowly. Ishmael makes us look to the ground below, and confront the fundamental issues plaguing our culture.