Why Look at Animals? - John Berger

This Penguin pocket guide to a selection of John Berger's essays and reflections is a well-written and provocative read on our problematic relationship with nature, dealing with the topic from a psychgeographical angle. These eight pieces, together with a short memoir on the revolutionary writer Ernst Fischer just before his death, made for an engaging if brief dip into a powerfully lucid mind. I actually bought this book as research towards my dissertation but ended up reading it all on its own merits.

The piece which stands out the most is 'Why Look at Animals?', a critique on the institution of the zoo and the deflection of the human gaze when we try to connect with other animals. Other pieces include a very interesting essay on the differences in the ways peasants and the bourgeois eat, a story about catching mice, a great ape exhibition in a French zoo, some poetry on our disconnection from animals, and more. I would probably recommend individual chapters from this book to different people.

Rating: 4/5