Book Review:
“Our love of stories is as old as humanity, and for good reason, according to a
brilliant young scholar/scientist named Jonathan Gottschall (The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us
Human by Jonathan Gottschall, Houghton Mifflin, 272 pages. Hardcover or
digital, $24.). It’s one of the things that makes us human. Stories allow us to
share experiences across generations and teach us how to live properly. Stories
are the original ‘virtual-reality’ technology, enabling human beings whether
around an ancient campfire or grouped in a prehistoric cave, to learn the way
the world works from the safe distance of secondhand narrative. The long-lost
story of the first caveman to walk into a lion’s den probably saved untold
numbers of lives and may have been the first blockbuster story ever.” P. 20.
Quote: “This
is a wonderful book, filled with science (especially neuroscience and
evolutionary theory) about the primal appeal of story. Our love of story is
what makes us human. ‘Until the day we die,’ Gottschall concludes, ‘we are
living the story of our lives. And like a novel in process, our life stories
are always changing and evolving, being edited, rewritten, and embellished by
an unreliable narrator. We are, in large part, our personal stories.’ Little
wonder that we seek to share our stories with others: Our brains are hard-wired
to construct and absorb stories This provocative and brilliantly accessible
book shows us how and why we’ve always been story telling animals.” P. 21.
Comment:
Your students may be interested in these
two quotes when questioning the value of literature. And in the book itself.
RayS.
Title: “A
Provocative Book Delves Into the Science Behind Storytelling.” Chuck Leddy. The Writer (June 2012), 20-21.
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