Jonathan Gottschall

I found this book to be readable, enjoyable, but ultimately lacking depth. I'd read a couple of writing books that discussed how the human brain was attracted to stories, but those books were aimed more towards writing stories that would play to that attraction. I was hoping that Gottschall would explain the attraction itself. Instead, he described the attraction. So there are detours into describing religions as stories that inspire people's real-life actions, that conspiracy theories are show more the need for story and meaning gone to an extreme, and that MMORPGs and LARPs may be the beginnings of a form of story that may seem more attractive than real life. All of which was interesting to read, but frustrating. As the book went on, I wanted to know if the need for story is equally strong in everyone, or are there people who are "astory"? Gottschall mentions, almost in passing, that people who are more realistic about their lives and less likely to make themselves the heroes of their own stories are more prone to depression, but that was about it. And the book was surprisingly short, winding up at the 63% point in my Kindle (the remaining 37% seems to be acknowledgements, notes, bibliography, etc.). Basically, I'd thought this book would focus on the science behind story. I was disappointed that it didn't do so as much as I'd hoped, but I still thought it was entertaining. show less

Very well done. I wouldn’t say I read it in a white-hot heat, but in this small volume Gottschall manages to pack in a lot: dreams, identity, online fantasy worlds, Wagner/Hitler and that most destructive of myths which resulted, the real nightmare quality of children at play. There was something mildly depressing about the whole enterprise, story as a concept reduced in parts to a balm we slather over ourselves in order to get through life. Story is something else for me, as I suspect it show more is with most writers. Story hums with life, especially when it comes unbidden to the writing mind, transporting the soul to someplace altogether bigger, realer, weightier than the shell which normally houses us and our day-to-day experiences. Definitely worth one’s time though, this book. Just don’t expect a paean to escapism. show less

I always find it humourous when people try to distinguish themselves by claiming that they never waste time reading fiction, just non-fiction.

Listen: ALL animal species communicate non-fiction. Bees tell each other where the flowers are, ants leave pheremone trails to food, and mammals, birds and amphibians of all varieties advertise mate-seeking status, warn kin of predators nearby, and announce food availability. To be sure human non-fiction communications are more detailed, various and show more knowledgeable, but that is a difference in quantity, not quality, and places us squarely with our evolutionary kin.

However, humans are the only animals that talk about things that never happened to people who never existed. As a universal trait that exists in all cultures, appears spontaneously in childhood, and where parents spontaneously encourage this behaviour by engaging their children in pretend play and story-telling, one might think that it is an adaptative trait--no?--that confers evolutionary advantages. And one would be right, as this book describes. Fiction enhances social skills and enables people to practice problem-solving skills; it coheres societies around common sets of moral values and principles (the author places religion with fiction, which he uses as a prime example of this tendency, but not the only one); it bonds social groups; and along the way it provides people with a tremendous amount of pleasure, although, as the author points out, this is beyond odd as successful stories are almost always about trauma and trouble. Why should that be pleasurable?

It's also a very well-written, entertaining and compulsively readable book--one of the first non-fiction books in a long time I stayed up late to finish. Did you know that exposure to even just one short story or short TV show (fiction) can alter someone's moral stance on an issue, or even alter the person's results on a personality test? Fiction is potent stuff.

Fun book. If you're a big fiction-reader (or fiction-viewer, or both), read it--and the next time someone gives you a hard time for wasting so much of your life on fluff when you could be engaged in serious, productive pursuits like reading about the history of braille or baking a loaf of bread or spending the time working so as to make more money etc., you'll have the perfect riposte. Fiction is one of the things that truly sets humans apart from the other animals. Without fiction, we're beavers or ants, running around looking for mates and food and building houses and alliances.

But fully evolved human beings can generally be found, at least sometimes, loafing around with a good novel or watching a good movie. And that is just as it should be. show less

Summary

Whether it is through children's play, a book we read, a movie or t.v. show we watch, or even commercials, video games and music, according to Gottschall, our brains are "wired for story." We don't just use story to escape our everyday lives; we also use story to practice responses to real life dramas and even to unconsciously tie us with other members of our society. Our brains are constantly telling stories, many times when we don't even realize it. Marketing strategies, religion, show more our own personal identities, and even propaganda are based on the fact that our brains are wired for story that explains the world around us...something to fill in the blanks, whether or not that something is actually true or false.
Story touches many more parts of our lives than most of us probably realize, and this has been true historically as well.

What I Liked

The notes section and the bibliography - for researchers, these sections are like drugs...
This is one of the reasons my PhD took 8 years to complete. I just couldn't focus on one question...every document I read led me to 6 more, and those 6 led me to 6 more each...before I knew it I was flailing around in academic Neverland trying to make all the pieces fit, no matter how vague the connections were. Only because of my sweet, loveable, but strict and serious chairperson was I able to be turned around time and again to the only question that mattered right then...my dissertation question. She told me I could do all that other research later...we had to finished one thing at a time.
Because of 8 years of searching endless bibliography sections to make sure I wasn't missing some key piece of research, it is an OCD habit of mine to read them when they are offered by authors like Gottschall. That doesn't mean I'll read all of the items on his resource list, but I will probably look up many of them.

Gottschall weaves in characters and plotlines from literature...classic selections as well as more contemporary examples.

The very thorough discussion of story morals and violence...essentially that some of these very stories we think cause more violence in a sense force us to think about these acts and the consequences of them and become an even more moral or nonviolent society. However, the science and research behind the effects of fiction such as horror movies also shows that our minds can be "molded" and even traumatized by fiction. The brain can also be led to believe things that are not actually true. This part was a little scary to me, but I think very important for all of us to remember.
The discussion of historical literary effects on the world at large was one of my favorite parts.

The Future of Story - I loved the discussion of how story has evolved and will continue evolving and the specific examples used.

What I Didn't Like

Redundant information - for me, the investigations of Bruner, Piaget, Chomsky are old hat...information that was drilled into my head all the way back to undergraduate days. As an elementary ed major, it was imperative that I understood the purpose of children's dramatic play. I also spent a lot of time reading and writing about children's literature, classic fairytales, gender roles among children at play, etc. I was very worried at first that I would have to slog through The Storytelling Animal ...until I reached the chapter on night stories.

I HATED the part about Jouvet's 1950's experiments with cats. I don't even want to talk about it.

The example of Tom and Sarah's Paris affair...even the author admits it was "questionable taste"
Ewwwww.
I understood the author's point just fine with literary examples like Swift's "A Modest Proposal" - I understand satire and know that its intent is to make people uncomfortable to point out the ridiculousness of a situation but gracious!

There were at times extended examples of story that got on my nerves, and I skimmed...I realize the author was just giving detailed examples of what he was saying, but I didn't feel he had to explain to me every minute detail of the newest technologies, specifically the grown up role playing games. In all fairness to the author, the only experience I've ever had with these games is through a student essay every now and then.

Overall Recommendations

If you're the least bit interested in brain research, psychology, learning theories, etc. I think you'll enjoy this one. show less