The Lot
In Wordsby Michael Leunig
Overview
From the Publisher
There are few aspects of existence to which Michael Leunig has not turned his renaissance mind, as a bemused and committed member of the human plight. From his cartoonist's sensibility comes a peculiar journalism made of parable, memoir and soliloquy, on subjects ranging from the sublime to the subhuman.
My thoughts
Anyone who knows me knows that I love Michael Leunig. I have most of his books, his poems on CD, his video, a t-shirt, a coffee mug, Christmas decorations (homemade and store bought) and ... um ... I think that's it.
But I have to say that this isn't my favorite of the Leunig collection. Leunig is a complicated man with very deep feelings. I can pass lightly over a cartoon that is dark, but not so easily over a chapter of the book that deals with complicated and emotional issues. I suspect that's the point of this book, but I think I'll stick to the drawings.
Favorite Passage
It's vital then to understand that the world of nature includes human nature, and the imbalance in the natural world at large might be more or less in proportion to the imbalance in human nature. If the world is heating up and the climate going haywire, it is worth considering the idea that so too is humanity overheating and becoming more extreme - and that perhaps there's a link and there are questions to be considered.
