Bambi A Life in the Woods
Felix Salten, Illustrated by Richard Cowdrey (2013)
I grew up watching Walt Disney's Bambi. I loved it as a child, and today I see it as cinematic perfection. I hold it in high regard. Little did I know that there was a book that the movie was originally based on, and that it was nothing like the movie at all. If you've grown up with the movie and are interested in reading the book, I'd definitely say go for it! But be warned, it's much more cruel and realistically portrays what Deer have to go through in life. Bambi starts out his life well enough, meeting friends, discovering new things, etc. But over the course of the book, his mother begins to push him away (and eventually dies) and the threat of Man (called He in the book) forces him into a life of isolation. Which is also what an old stag Bambi idolizes encourages him to do.
Honestly, I wasn't sure how this book could keep my interest for 272 pages, but it managed to do just that. In the first two chapters of this book, a mouse was brutally killed, and blue jays yelled obscenities at Bambi. I knew I was going to like this book. And for such an easy read, I got so much out of it. On one hand it was a brilliant, entertaining story that I can get really invested in. On the other it was a very interesting study of a deer's life and the impact Man (called He in the book) has on not just his life, but the rest of the forest as well. The animals practically think of He as an all powerful being that they can't get away from, they think of him as there ultimate god-oppressor. I wouldn't doubt for a minute that real animals would think of man that way if they could. And one of the saddest parts of the book is when Bambi's cousin Gobo is captured by a hunter as a fawn then is released back into the wild. He becomes too trusting of man and is shot, further proving to Bambi that man is cruel and unmerciful. But by the end of the book, Bambi learns that Man is not the all powerful being he thought he was, and that there is another being or power above them and Man. After he finds the corpse of one of course.
This book is probably loaded with all kinds of allegory, but honestly I'm not too observant to notice most of them. But the one's I do notice are the ones that revolve around Man and his influence, and most definitely the eighth chapter, which contains the conversation between the leaves. Which has to one of the best parts of the book, if not the best part. It has nothing to do with the story, it's basically a pointless detour. But, this chapter probably has more depth than the rest of the book combined, and the rest of the book is pretty deep. Who would have guessed a conversation between two leaves at the beginning of winter could carry so much weight? I actually really felt for the leaves. You heard (or read) right, I actually had emotion for a couple of leaves. That's a pretty impressive feat. And this chapter pretty much sums up the book and its themes.
But my favourite part of the book has got to be Bambi's relationship with the old stag. I thought the stag was, for lack of a better term, an asshole at first for scolding Bambi when he was calling his mother. But over the course of the book, he becomes more and more of a presence in Bambi's life. I was never sure what his deal was, but he was so mysterious and interesting and I wanted to learn more about him. And I eagerly awaited the times he appeared. And as he became more of a presence in Bambi's life, and as Bambi began to become more increasingly isolated as everyone around him was slowly starting to die one by one, him and Bambi formed a close bond. It was very touching. As a matter of fact, at the end when the stag goes off to die, I actually nearly teared up! I'm not sure I've ever felt that much emotion from a book before. And it's mainly because I feel really bad for Bambi at that point. He's forced himself into isolation when he clearly wants companionship and company, and the stag is the only company he has left. But the stag had taught him that if you want to preserve yourself, if you want to survive, you must live alone.
It's amazing how much is packed into this 272 page edition of the book. I've heard that the original 1928 English edition is 293 pages long, so the edition I'm reviewing is probably abridged or trimmed down a bit, but if it is, I'm completely satisfied. As much as would love to see what I'm possibly missing, I'm perfectly content with this version. For such an easy read, I got so much from it and adore it. It might have even possibly replaced Watership Down as my #1 favourite novel. I highly recommend this book (and I wish I could get my friend's to read it). But I'd say try to get a hold of a 1928 edition. But if not, this 2013 edition will suffice.
As I said in your movie review, I loved the book as much as I loved the movie. I did feel the Great Prince was more and more a help to Bambi, especially after Gobo was killed. It's really a shame that even though a man saved Gobo's life Gobo learned the hard way that all men are not kind. Gobo was probably the pet of the forest gamekeeper for a year or so. The scene where Bambi is shot and then helped by the Great Prince(who reveals then that he is Bambi's father)was in the movie...with the addition of a forest fire. The next-to-final scene when Bambi learns that,"there is Another who is over all of us," was highly memorable.
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