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Consider Her Ways
Book by Grove, Frederick Philip
- GenresFictionScience Fiction
298 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1947
1 person is currently reading
117 people want to read
About the author
Frederick Philip Grove
72 books8 followersFrederick Philip Grove was a German-born Canadian novelist and translator.
He was a prolific translator in Germany, working under his original name Felix Paul Greve and posing as a dandy, before he left Berlin to start a new life in North America in late July 1909. Settling in Manitoba, Canada, in 1912, he became a well known Canadian fiction writer exploring Western prairie pioneer life in vibrant multi-cultural communities. A bigamist, married twice, Grove constructed his entire life as an intricate web of fact and fiction. He died in 1948 on his estate in Simcoe, Ontario, where he had resided since 1930.
He was a prolific translator in Germany, working under his original name Felix Paul Greve and posing as a dandy, before he left Berlin to start a new life in North America in late July 1909. Settling in Manitoba, Canada, in 1912, he became a well known Canadian fiction writer exploring Western prairie pioneer life in vibrant multi-cultural communities. A bigamist, married twice, Grove constructed his entire life as an intricate web of fact and fiction. He died in 1948 on his estate in Simcoe, Ontario, where he had resided since 1930.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 5, 2015
I expected anthropomorphic ants, but did not get ants that acted like humans. Instead, because of a telepathic connection with a human, I got a story of All antdom. In recounting of an exploratory expedition, sponsored by a Venezuelan ant colony, other colonies are either killed, vanquished or visited, thereby described in all of their diversity.
Since several members of the journey are highly regarded scientific scholars and philosophers, there are some philosophical musings provided; such as an argument for abandoning or continuing the scientific expedition. “Proven” scientific theory, it is argued, is obsolete as soon as the notion is presented; just witness the “science” of our predecessors. The pursuit of art and philosophy, however, has endured through time for the benefit of all generations."
Humans, notably North Americans, are comically portrayed with poor awareness of senses, odd exteriors, sometimes with four eyes, as wasteful creatures.
This had me believing that the book was just the author’s clever way of educating me about different types of ants (PBS style); and demonstrating some parallels to human behavior,... that is until I got to around page 111. Here I am told of members of a certain ant colony who sacrifice a “normal” life in order to sustain the remaining members of the community. They ingest little food for themselves, while providing sustenance for others. They bloat up on liquids. They are ostracized and ridiculed for being a lazy bunch, who don’t have a real job. They get no recognition for the contribution that they make, until posthumously their name is placed in a hall of fame. They are called authors!
This clever satire caught me off guard. Was I supposed to have been noticing a satirical narrative from page one?
Since several members of the journey are highly regarded scientific scholars and philosophers, there are some philosophical musings provided; such as an argument for abandoning or continuing the scientific expedition. “Proven” scientific theory, it is argued, is obsolete as soon as the notion is presented; just witness the “science” of our predecessors. The pursuit of art and philosophy, however, has endured through time for the benefit of all generations."
Humans, notably North Americans, are comically portrayed with poor awareness of senses, odd exteriors, sometimes with four eyes, as wasteful creatures.
This had me believing that the book was just the author’s clever way of educating me about different types of ants (PBS style); and demonstrating some parallels to human behavior,... that is until I got to around page 111. Here I am told of members of a certain ant colony who sacrifice a “normal” life in order to sustain the remaining members of the community. They ingest little food for themselves, while providing sustenance for others. They bloat up on liquids. They are ostracized and ridiculed for being a lazy bunch, who don’t have a real job. They get no recognition for the contribution that they make, until posthumously their name is placed in a hall of fame. They are called authors!
This clever satire caught me off guard. Was I supposed to have been noticing a satirical narrative from page one?
August 31, 2023
This book was so much fun. An expedition of leafcutter ants goes forth into the unknown continent of what we call North America. Along the way they encounter new species of ants with new ways of living and document their astounding discoveries into the world of humanity and ant-kind.
The journey is epic, the philosophies discussed by the ants are fascinating and relevant, and there is even an amazing 'cameo' by a famous myrmecologist. The format of the book is so much fun, with footnotes lending the document a verisimilitude that I loved (for example the human discoverer of the document mentions his confusion at certain phrases but opted to leave them in for completeness). The ending was rather abrupt and I was a little disappointed that the main encounters and discoveries discussed were limited to ants and humans rather than any other species that the ants would have encountered.
Overall, a very fun read, a tour through the world of ant diversity told from the perspective of some ants themselves. Amazing.
The journey is epic, the philosophies discussed by the ants are fascinating and relevant, and there is even an amazing 'cameo' by a famous myrmecologist. The format of the book is so much fun, with footnotes lending the document a verisimilitude that I loved (for example the human discoverer of the document mentions his confusion at certain phrases but opted to leave them in for completeness). The ending was rather abrupt and I was a little disappointed that the main encounters and discoveries discussed were limited to ants and humans rather than any other species that the ants would have encountered.
Overall, a very fun read, a tour through the world of ant diversity told from the perspective of some ants themselves. Amazing.
February 18, 2016
What a treat! I am not going to get into a long review, but just say I rather enjoyed the misconceptions (and great insight) from an ant's point of view when describing humans and human activity. It reminds me of how wrong we have been/may currently be/will be again about ancient cultures, space, and other areas in which we have only a portion of information.
September 28, 2022
Hmm… decades before “Antz” and “A Bugs Life”. Grove demonstrates his genius in this fascinating adventure!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews