Penguin Island

By Anatole France

Penguin Island is a satirical fictional history by Nobel Prize winning French author Anatole France. It is concerned with grandnarratives, mythologizing heroes, hagiography and romantic nationalism. It is about a fictitious island, inhabited by great auks, that existed off the northern coast of Europe. The history begins when a wayward Christian missionary monk lands on the island and perceives the upright, unafraid auks as a sort of pre-Christian society of noble pagans. Mostly blind and somewhat deaf, having mistaken the animals for humans, he baptizes them. This causes a problem for The Lord, who normally only allows humans to be baptized. After consulting with saints and theologians in Heaven, He resolves the dilemma by converting the baptized birds to humans with only a few physical traces of their ornithological origin, and giving them each a soul.

Thus begins the history of Penguinia, and from there forward the history mirrors that of France (and more generally of Western Europe, including German-speaking areas and the British Isles). The narrative spans from the Migration Period ("Dark Ages"), when the Germanic tribes fought incessantly among themselves for territory; to the heroic Early Middle Ages with the rise of Charlemagne ("Draco the Great") and conflicts with Viking raiders ("porpoises"); through the Renaissance (Erasmus); and up to the modern era with motor cars; and even into a future time in which a thriving high-tech civilization is destroyed by a campaign of terrorist bombings, and everything begins again in an endless cycle.

The longest-running plot thread, and probably the best known, satirizes the Dreyfus affair — though both brief and complex satires of European history, politics, philosophy and theology are present throughout the novel. At various points, real historical figures such as Columba and Saint Augustine are part of the story, as well as fictionalized characters who represent historical people. Penguin Island is considered a critique of human nature from a socialist standpoint, in which morals, customs and laws are lampooned. For example, the origin of the aristocracy is presented as starting with the brutal and shameless murder of a farmer, and the seizure of his land, by a physically larger and stronger neighbor.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookRix
• Release date: Jun 14, 2019
• ISBN: 9783736815247

Anatole France

Anatole France (1844–1924) was one of the true greats of French letters and the winner of the 1921 Nobel Prize in Literature. The son of a bookseller, France was first published in 1869 and became famous with The Crime of Sylvestre Bonnard. Elected as a member of the French Academy in 1896, France proved to be an ideal literary representative of his homeland until his death.

Reviews for Penguin Island

[ari4joki · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

There is a risk with topical writing. The section "Modern times" builds on events that were current or recent at the time of writing, and today we remember only a vague reflection of a shadow of them -- and some perhaps were not terribly notable outside France anyway.In general, Anatole France is portraying the follies, aggrandishments, vanities, and futilities of humanity through the ages with surprisingly small amount of caricature and satirising; the effect, however, is pretty strong still.The work is episodic in nature, so it fits well with the modern short attention span; it can be faced in small spurts.

[stbalbach_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I only read the first 177 of 324 pages - I'm not a huge fan of old satires when the historical context is unclear, I'm reading the words but not really understanding, it's an in-joke with me on the outside. The first half was a lot of fun because I knew European history enough to understand the allegories and allusions . The second half of the modern period is beyond me and tiresome. One day I may return to finish when I have more context.

[rscotts_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A beautifully written allegorical tale of the history of France intertwined with insight and wisdom.

[thecrow2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An episodic satire about the penguin who were baptized by a half-blind priest and therefore granted human soul and form. Based on mostly the french history sadly I didn't get most of the inner jokes but still a funny twisted work about the past and the future of human history....

[aliceanna-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I was very disappointed in this satire. The reviews I read made it sound hilarious. It wasn't. It was very dry and hard to get into. The Pyrot Affair was the best part as a condemnation of the justice system and a look at the mob mentality. I'm not sorry I read it, but I wouldn't go out of my way to read it again, or read anything else by France. I would give it 2-1/2 stars given the option.

[deinonychus_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a wonderfully witty and thought-provoking novel that presents the history of the state of Pingouinie as an allegorical story of (mostly French) history. Reading the original French is definitely recommended as France's command of language is second to none, and his nuanced text proves a delight to read. While I know enough French history to pick up on many of the allusions, I am sure there are many more that would meet a more discerning eye, but there is much that is also a commentary on society in general. The book ends with a poignantly apocalyptic vision of the future that is, in many ways, the most beautiful and heart-rending part of the book, and rings even more true now, 103 years after it was written.