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Being a Beast
- Narrated by: Jot Davies
- Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins
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Being a Beast
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Summary
Charles Foster wanted to know what it was like to be a beast: a badger, an otter, a deer, a fox, a swift. What it was really like. And through knowing what it was like, he wanted to get down and grapple with the beast in us all.
So he tried it out; he lived life as a badger for six weeks, sleeping in a dirt hole and eating earthworms. He came face to face with shrimps as he lived like an otter, and he spent hours curled up in a back garden in East London and rooting in bins like an urban fox.
A passionate naturalist, Foster realises that every creature creates a different world in its brain and lives in that world. As humans, we share sensory outputs, lights, smells and sound, but trying to explore what it is actually like to live in another of these worlds, belonging to another species, is a fascinating and unique neuroscientific challenge. For Foster it is also a literary challenge.
Looking at what science can tell us about what happens in a fox's or badger's brain when it picks up a scent, he then uses this to imagine their world for us, to write it through their eyes, or, rather, through the eyes of Charles the beast.
An intimate look at the life of animals, neuroscience, psychology, nature writing, memoir and more, it is a journey of extraordinary thrills and surprises, containing wonderful moments of humour and joy but also providing important lessons for all of us who share life on this precious planet.
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What listeners say about Being a Beast
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Rose
- 13-02-22
Marvelous and delightfully thought provoking
An absolute masterpiece in philosophy. Charles Foster's methods of observation and practical study are remarkably individual and provocative. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and was disappointed when it ended.
The narrator also did an excellent job of maintaining the essence of Foster's work.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mr. J. Ambler
- 06-03-16
Thought provoking
excellent book, wasn't sure what to think when it started... but as it went on, I was fascinated by the journey taken.
Has made me reconsider an awful lot, and get into the world... the real world... a bit more
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- tamara
- 28-05-19
A storytellers dream
Smitten with the content and verbosity from the very first sentence. I honour the research, time, resources, context and narrative each animal and element took on. There was so much of a lost me in its metaphors and momentum. Contemporary and historic references to culture, theology, biology and botany all lifted the prose into a prize. A book I will return to, to feel more, connect more and remember more. About myself, the human condition and the land that we occupy.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- jillian grant
- 19-09-16
A beast of a read.
Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?
I'm not sure. I had to listen to it twice and some parts more. found it wordy and difficult to really get my head around.
Would you recommend Being a Beast to your friends? Why or why not?
Don't think I would because I don't think my friends would either be interested or wouldn't be able to concentrate.
Which scene did you most enjoy?
None in particular.
Do you think Being a Beast needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?
No. This book was difficult enough to listen to.
Any additional comments?
I really don't know what the point was in this book. I don't think it is possible for humans to really get inside the heads of animals and live like them and think like them and I just wasn't there with the author. I thought it was well read though.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Emily
- 26-05-16
Great concept
Thought provoking and funny but could be more accessible and less opinionated. Definitely worth a read
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Jennifer Coldwell
- 11-05-21
The narrate drove me mad
I imagine this book is fascinating but I couldn’t hear what was being read because the reader stressed every alternative word. Deeply irritating.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
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- 17-10-21
meh, voice actor was good
personally I found the book itself too pretentious. there is a bias in the author and when je comes to discribe stags he fails to to them justice. his history as a hunter of them gets in the was of that. but the voice actor has a nice voice.
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