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tbuehler's review against another edition
4.0
I read this in high school and felt it was time for rereading.
smile_red's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
annguyen98789's review against another edition
2.0
The parallels between Jonathan Livingston Seagull and Jesus Christ are very obvious and heavy-handed.
The main seagull lives differently, preaches a different lifestyle. An elder of seagulls rejects him and exiles him. He finds some followers. Eventually he dies. Rumors of his life become exaggerated, he becomes worshipped, etc, etc.
Basically the lessons/morals of the book are
- Live as Jesus did. Don't sit around worshipping him and holding him above you. He was a man like you. When you raise someone to such great heights you are saying, "You are unlike us. We can never be like you. We will either kill you or worship you, but either way you can not exist as one of us."
- There is more to life than just eating bread.
- Life is existential not philosophical. Wisdom is gained by doing things, knowledge is gained by memorizing things. You can fly or you can discuss flying.
One particularly beautiful passage deals with Heaven. It says Heaven is not a place or a time but a moment, in this book it is perfect speed. It reminds me of a scene from Waking Life, where one of the characters says he has a dream. In it he realizes that Heaven and Hell are real but they aren't places. They exist on Earth. Heaven was within grasp at every moment and Time was a continuous saying "No" to Heaven, which was really just the present moment.
The main seagull lives differently, preaches a different lifestyle. An elder of seagulls rejects him and exiles him. He finds some followers. Eventually he dies. Rumors of his life become exaggerated, he becomes worshipped, etc, etc.
Basically the lessons/morals of the book are
- Live as Jesus did. Don't sit around worshipping him and holding him above you. He was a man like you. When you raise someone to such great heights you are saying, "You are unlike us. We can never be like you. We will either kill you or worship you, but either way you can not exist as one of us."
- There is more to life than just eating bread.
- Life is existential not philosophical. Wisdom is gained by doing things, knowledge is gained by memorizing things. You can fly or you can discuss flying.
One particularly beautiful passage deals with Heaven. It says Heaven is not a place or a time but a moment, in this book it is perfect speed. It reminds me of a scene from Waking Life, where one of the characters says he has a dream. In it he realizes that Heaven and Hell are real but they aren't places. They exist on Earth. Heaven was within grasp at every moment and Time was a continuous saying "No" to Heaven, which was really just the present moment.
kay1313's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.0
qwjfbdj's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
helen000's review against another edition
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
martinaminguella's review against another edition
informative
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
acciolostgirl's review against another edition
4.0
So happy to have read the complete edition with the rediscovered part 4! Such a wonderful read.
dontforgetthelights's review against another edition
inspiring
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Read for shits and gigs as it's kind of a meme in my circles and whilst I can see it's place in Christian primary schools or similar I found myself at odds with some elements of this book - namely in the belief that excellence must be sought for a meaningful life and also the apparent ignorance towards the biological need for female seagulls. Anyways I could see similarities in its short form existence to children's books that I've loved, e.g. the little prince or the alchemist, but this didn't do it for me