Musings from the Inner Duck

by Michael Leunig

Musings From the Inner Duck, Michael Leunig's poignantly hilarious new cartoon collection, ranges from Curly Flat to the global positioning sausage, accompanied by the direction-finding duck.

This collection of 138 cartoons tilts towards the whimsical, the wise and the sublimely misaligned; it's less heavily political than previous collections, although the political system cops a serve here and there. Mr Curly features often. There's the Global Positioning Sausage. The Effect of the Carbon Tax on Your Sausage. Duckwhistle Politics. A Soliloquy for Strange Times. The Ordinary Oddness of Existence. In a nutshell: all the questions (and some very funny answers) that can be put about human existence.

Cartoons, reflections, musings, suggestions, reveries, rhymes, blessings, jokes, lamentations, theories, mysteries, tributes, lapses, and experiments.

144 pages, Paperback

First published May 27, 2015

About the author

Michael Leunig, typically referred to as Leunig (his signature on his cartoons), was an Australian cartoonist. His works include The Curly Pyjama Letters, cartoon books The Essential Leunig, The Wayward Leunig, The Stick, Goatperson, Short Notes from the Long History of Happiness and Curly Verse, and The Lot, a compilation of his "Curly World" newspaper columns. Leunig also wrote a book of prayers, When I Talk To You.
He was declared an Australian Living Treasure by the National Trust of Australia in 1999.

Reviews

[Tracey Allen at Carpe Librum · Rating 3 out of 5]

Filled with cartoons, poems and sketches, Musings from the Inner Duck by Michael Leunig is a deep reflection on life; if you're willing to look deep enough that is.

Most Australians will be familiar with Leunig's signature style cartoons, often featuring people with exaggerated noses and of course the curly man.

Leunig's latest offering Musings from the Inner Duck contains countless observations on life (some subtle and some not-so-subtle), commentary on social issues, politics, technology and an underlying love of nature and the environment.

Complete with his signature sense of humour and wit, Musings from the Inner Duck is a great little book to have around at Christmas.

[Betty Macdonald Saudemont · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found it less political than previous work, more poetic and playful. I enjoyed how Michael Leunig represented the messiness and craziness of life, the paradoxes that built our modern society.⁣
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One of my favourites would be the cartoon about lockdown, reading it in 2021 felt very on point. ⁣
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Would make a great Christmas present!⁣

[Ann-maree · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love Michael Leunig. He has the perfect way to say in his cartoons what is on our mind or thoughts and we to afraid to. He represents the hustle, bustle and craziness of life so perfectly. I love his idea with the ball of string. Musings from the Inner Duck is another one of his wonderful books, so vibrant, so funny and so real. I love Mr Curly and the Duck, come to think of it we all need an inner Duck!

[Carol - Reading Writing and Riesling · Rating 5 out of 5]

My View:
Witty, poignant and intelligent observations mixed in with some pertinent social commentary all sandwiched into glorious cartoons that say it all so simply. A delight to read. (I particularly like the colour images.) You need to read this yourself to appreciate the cleverness, the cover gives you an idea of just what to expect – and that is, the unexpected. :)

[Lee Belbin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a somewhat 'down' version of Leunig's wonderful cartoons. His perspective on life comes through loud and clear: He makes you 'stop and smell the roses'. For that alone, we can be thankful. Right now, I am not in the best position to better appreciate this collection.

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always a pleasure.
Peaceful, clever, funny, whimsical, intelligent, lovely common sense.