“Ishmael” leads you to question subconscious beliefs and behaviours that have evolved into societal norms, and discover that their roots are not as irrelevant as we may believe. When reading this book, I felt as though I was transported into Quinn’s mind, watching alter egos question each other, and hence cohesively form rational thoughts. Quinn’s creation of the character Ishmael is an effective tool in finding a convenient and entertaining medium to tell his story. This novel reads like Quinn’s personal manifesto, allowing for his own ideologies, answers and personal beliefs to shine. Written as though the reader is Ishmael’s student, Quinn excels at clarifications, questioning his own ideas, and presenting reasonable responses from Ishmael’s students. He argues for an alternate way of living (enacted by those he coins “leavers”) that current people (“takers”) have attempted to exterminate in order to appease their belief that humans are the be and end all of the planet. Ishmael challenges his student to consider how our world came to be, and what consequences will ensue if humanity continues on the path they always have.

The dialogue between the two characters deals with controversial topics like: religion, climate, overpopulation, world hunger, and much more. This eye opening and compelling book details the interactions of a Gorilla named Ishmael during his undertaking to educate a student about the mythology of the “takers and leavers,” and the disregarded science of how humans ought to live.Ĭompelled by a mysterious ad, the protagonist of our novel finds himself entrenched in Ishmael’s recounts of his past and explanations of the world. Ishmael, Daniel QuinnĪt the top of our completed summer reading list is “Ishmael” by Daniel Quinn. Must have an earnest desire to save the world.

Ishmael daniel quinn review