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A review by skylacine
Raaf: cultuurgeschiedenis in vogelvlucht by Kristof Smeyers
4.0
Overall a great read about ravens, particularly about their position in culture throughout history. I may have enjoyed the book about wolves by the same author a bit more, but this one was also really good and definitely delved into many topics regarding the bird's cultural standing throughout time in many societies.
If I do have two gripes, it's that A) the book is very short, B) the subjects sometimes change a bit quickly, feeling disorganized and C) I wish there was more of a spotlight on Asian, Australian and African philosophies and stances regarding ravens.
Discussion of ravens in European and American cultures is delved into pretty deeply, but there is almost no mention of how Asian, Australian and African peoples and cultures see the animal. Which just confuses me because ravens live across almost the entire northern hemisphere (Asia included), Australia and Africa (based on a quick Google search they're not in South America though). It feels weird to only include western perspectives on the bird when other cultures around the world might have different things to offer. Just doesn't make this book feel like a very complete picture, if you get what I mean.
If I do have two gripes, it's that A) the book is very short, B) the subjects sometimes change a bit quickly, feeling disorganized and C) I wish there was more of a spotlight on Asian, Australian and African philosophies and stances regarding ravens.
Discussion of ravens in European and American cultures is delved into pretty deeply, but there is almost no mention of how Asian, Australian and African peoples and cultures see the animal. Which just confuses me because ravens live across almost the entire northern hemisphere (Asia included), Australia and Africa (based on a quick Google search they're not in South America though). It feels weird to only include western perspectives on the bird when other cultures around the world might have different things to offer. Just doesn't make this book feel like a very complete picture, if you get what I mean.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death