Santuary: A Tale of Life in the Woods

by Paul Monette

Book Overview

In a fairy tale that captures the strangeness of society's rules and the liberating nature of love, the Great Horned Owl sets his intolerant agenda for the forest. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0684832860
• ISBN13: 9780684832869
• Release Date: February 1997
• Publisher: Scribner Book Company
• Length: 93 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.3" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

A Forest Fable

To read this is to see the plight of the forest creatures from their point of view. The animals in the forest convey how they feel about two different animals that share their affection, where others despise such a union. Each critter has his own opinion of how things should be and each differs from the others. Some feel disturbed while others threatened. The owl is wise. He understood the distinctions between the different animals and knew he had to lay down laws of nature. Actually, the affair between the rabbit and fox marks only a small part of the greater picture. Sanctuary tells of the innate abilities of each creature, how they came to individuals from their parents. A tale of life in the woods drawing upon the roles each animal plays in the larger scheme of things. Each is born to a special life. Rabbit and fox seem to violate the sanctity of what the forest bestows. Yet, Paul Monette cleverly sees how variations evolve. It is a tale of how two individuals dare to go a different way, apart from their origin, changing the order of things. It is the kernel of change, the cornerstone of evolutionary processes. Even the wise old owl had to rethink what he thought was the way things are supposed to be. The reader's responsibility is to allow himself or herself to be permeated with the theme and enter the realm of the author. To find the depths of his literary genius we must allow the language to enter our soul and then ride the waves of its insight. The book has a mystical quality, yielding its secrets slowly, the way nature works. Its style is consistent, compact and economical. It seems as though the author has his theme and his message under full control. The author describes the brutal hand of nature in careful detail, careful to allow each creature of nature to play his role. Nature is not absolute. Still, she is persistent, not allowing change to come so easily. She will exact a price to allow change to occur, which seems to violate what everything stands for. This tale is full of symbolism. One must read it carefully, lest he miss the nuances between the lines. Read it with your eyes, but hear it with your heart.

An Original Tale of Love Conquers All ... with a Modern Twist

Everything about this book amazed me. The story of a forbidden love which is not only interspecial but lesbian. The characters, the beneficent Witch, the feisty Renarda, the shy Lapine, the clever (albeit idiosyncratic) Albertus, and the conservative Owl. The idea of a central authority of exiling two of their own citizens, simply because of their difference, and the two exiles still manage to find each other. The satisfying ending which entails the central authority being ruled out by a more reasonable authority. An instant classic.

teaching compassion to children

the most important aspect of a tale is its moral lesson: the point here is acceptance. as a gay author monette was interested in helping people in general to understand and accept those of alternative gender/sexuality/health status. he was excrutiatingly honest and allowed the world to know him deeply in his autobiographical texts. in this "lighter" work he brings his lessons of love to the young in the hopes that they might grow up to know compassion and empathy. the lessons are subtle but powerful, and the metaphors and analogies are intelligent: monette does not patronize. i would say the story is appropriate for children and adults, and that its inentions are courageous and focused.

Illustrations bring Sanctuary to Life

Sanctuary: A Tale of Life in the Woods, is a touching fable about a rabbit and a fox who fall in love at the wrong time. Not only does the woodland creatures think a fox and rabbit should not love each other, they also are repulsed by the fact the two animals are both female.The sory itself was created from scraps of the author's works, since he died before it's completion. The selling point to this book lies in the gorgeous illustrations. I personally would like to have the cover blown up and framed to hang in my living room. The second selling point of this books is that it teaches children about matters of love that most of the population of North America have deemed as taboo. Overall this is a very decent and useful book in teaching children.

A thoroughly enjoyable fable ...

Such a cute little tail ... er ... tale! I think it would be great if someone would solicit fairytale stories from current best-selling authors, and compile them. Certainly this one deserves to be the frontispiece. In the forward the editor mentions that this is a fable about the gay and lesbian experience, and it is. Yet it can be read and understood by adult and child alike without hitting the reader over the head. First and foremost it is a love story. It also tells of the abuse of power, and how a people can fall so easily under the spell of a strong personality, and follow that person's hatred down the path that leads to persecution of those around them who are in some way different.