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There are currently 18 member reviews
for Still Life
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Jane N. (Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey)
Watching You!
If you ever thought that the stuffed head in your grandparents' house was watching every move you made, you will enjoy reading this book.They could be watching you! Ms. Milgrom goes into great detail about the art of taxidermy and the pains that the people who do it go to to make the animals life like. Her sections on museum dioramas is wonderful. She has taken a dull subject and brought it to life. A bonus for the book would be the inclusion of more photos. There is only one in the book and that is not labeled. Overall a decent read.
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Suri F. (Durham, NC)
Coulda, Shoulda, ...
For the most part, this book felt like an unedited set of lists. It seemed she took the advice of one of her subjects, and put it all out without worrying about the story. The only really interesting section is her own attempts to preserve a squirrel. I have read any number of books about natural history, that have successfully conveyed the passion of museum people for their subjects, the shifting interest of the viewing public, and the odd connections between seemingly disparate ideas. This wasn't one of them.
Just what did the editors do in putting this book together?
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Becky H. (Chicago, IL)
interesting but flawed
I really wanted to like this book. The people discussed were interesting. The topic of taxidermy is so odd that it in itself is interesting. The references to the Smithsonian, historical museum exhibitions and dioramas were compelling. (I'm a docent at a well known history museum.) Unfortunately the writing was so bad I found myself paying so much attention to the writing - wandering chronology, paragraphs with several subjects or no subject at all, incomprehensible sentences, and strange metaphors - I could not attend to the subject and often exceptional information. This book needs a good editor. There is a good book here, you just can't find it.
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mainlinebooker(Narberth, PA)
Mixed feelings
I had hoped to really enjoy this novel, but was so put off by the writing of the first two chapters, that I had difficulty pursuing the rest. I counted 2-3 digressions in parentheses per page that were annoying and irrelevant. That said, there were amusing tidbits on the minutiae of what is sold in trade fairs,and interesting snapshots of taxidermists' lives. This is a book that you will either love or hate.
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