Status
Available
Local notes
Fic Muk
Collection
Genres
Publication
Dutton Books for Young Readers (1968), 192 pages. $17.99 (Sept 2017).
Description
The story of the training of a carrier pigeon and its service during the First World War, revealing the bird's courageous and spirited adventures over the housetops of an Indian village, in the Himalayan Mountains, and on the French battlefield.
Awards
Newbery Medal (Medal Winner — 1928)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1927
Physical description
192 p.; 5.64 inches
User reviews
LibraryThing member Whisper1
While this 1914 Newbery Medal winner is not one of my favorites, it is worth the time spent reading the poetic, beautiful allegorical, lyrical language of the author
It is the story of a carrier pigeon named Gay Neck and his owner, a young 14 year old Indian boy.
As Gay Neck's owner trains him to be
It is the story of a carrier pigeon named Gay Neck and his owner, a young 14 year old Indian boy.
As Gay Neck's owner trains him to be
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a carrier pigeon, they travel many miles throughout Indian jungle wherein both lives are in danger. Weaving between the voice of the owner and then the pigeon, the reader soars with the vivid images of war waged both man against man and beast against beast. Show Less
LibraryThing member AbigailAdams26
Originally published in 1927, Dhan Gopal Mukerji's Gay-Neck: The Story of a Pigeon was awarded the Newbery Medal in 1928, the seventh book to be so honored. As the sub-title suggests, it is the story of a pigeon, his early experiences in India, where he was hatched and trained, his service as a
Chitra-griva, or Gay-Neck - Chitra meaning "painted in gay colors," and griva meaning "neck" - is an interesting choice for main character, particularly as the narration is rather uneven, alternating between the young Indian boy who trained him, and his own "imagined" pigeon viewpoint. As my goodreads friend Wendy notes, you never really get much of a sense of the human narrator, although the character of Ghond - the hunter extraodinaire who guides the young narrator through the dangers of the jungle, and the Himalayan highlands, and accompanies Gay-Neck to war - does come alive. Oddly, the reader gets as little of an internal view of Gay-Neck himself, even in those chapters told from his perspective.
In fact, I would say that the chief weakness of this juvenile novel - which I suspect won't appeal greatly to today's young readers - is its external quality. I found the details of pigeon life and training fascinating, enjoyed reading about the trips into the Himalayas, and found the battlefield scenes involving. I also thought that Mukerji's writing itself, particularly the descriptive passages focusing on the natural world, was just beautiful, as were the illustrations by Boris Artzybasheff. But this is a book that holds the reader at a bit of a distance, from its human narrator, and from its avian hero. I can't help wondering, in light of Mukerji's suicide in 1936, just nine years after its composition, if this sense of distance somehow reflected the author's sense of isolation and alienation in his new homeland. Or perhaps Gay-Neck, and other such children's novels set in the India of his youth (Kari the Elephant, and the like), represent an effort - obviously unsuccessful - to recapture a sense of home.
In any case, I'm glad to have read this, both because of its status as an early Newbery Medal winner, and because Mukerji was one of the first authors of South Asian descent to be successful in the United States. I think I might have to read his autobiography, Caste and Outcast, at some point.
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carrier-pigeon on the battle fields of World War I, and his eventual return to India, where he finds healing and peace through the kind offices of a Buddhist monk and abbott.Chitra-griva, or Gay-Neck - Chitra meaning "painted in gay colors," and griva meaning "neck" - is an interesting choice for main character, particularly as the narration is rather uneven, alternating between the young Indian boy who trained him, and his own "imagined" pigeon viewpoint. As my goodreads friend Wendy notes, you never really get much of a sense of the human narrator, although the character of Ghond - the hunter extraodinaire who guides the young narrator through the dangers of the jungle, and the Himalayan highlands, and accompanies Gay-Neck to war - does come alive. Oddly, the reader gets as little of an internal view of Gay-Neck himself, even in those chapters told from his perspective.
In fact, I would say that the chief weakness of this juvenile novel - which I suspect won't appeal greatly to today's young readers - is its external quality. I found the details of pigeon life and training fascinating, enjoyed reading about the trips into the Himalayas, and found the battlefield scenes involving. I also thought that Mukerji's writing itself, particularly the descriptive passages focusing on the natural world, was just beautiful, as were the illustrations by Boris Artzybasheff. But this is a book that holds the reader at a bit of a distance, from its human narrator, and from its avian hero. I can't help wondering, in light of Mukerji's suicide in 1936, just nine years after its composition, if this sense of distance somehow reflected the author's sense of isolation and alienation in his new homeland. Or perhaps Gay-Neck, and other such children's novels set in the India of his youth (Kari the Elephant, and the like), represent an effort - obviously unsuccessful - to recapture a sense of home.
In any case, I'm glad to have read this, both because of its status as an early Newbery Medal winner, and because Mukerji was one of the first authors of South Asian descent to be successful in the United States. I think I might have to read his autobiography, Caste and Outcast, at some point.
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LibraryThing member tjsjohanna
This was an interesting (though very anthropomorphic) account of training pigeons, and one pigeon in particular who served a stint as a messenger pigeon during war. Also nice was the glimpse of India from the turn of century (19th - 20th).
LibraryThing member BettyB112
I was dreading this book, but I actually found myself enjoying it. It was very peaceful, so I did not keep wanting to read it and find out how it ended. It took me a week to finish it. But each time I picked it up I found myself enjoying the story and learning more about the peacefulness of one's
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heart. Quite unexpected, but welcome just the same. Show Less
LibraryThing member klburnside
In Gay-Neck: The Story of a Pigeon, Dhan Gopal Mukerji tells the story of his childhood adventures with his messenger pigeon, Gay-Neck. (Yes, it is quite a name in today's usage. It is a reference to the pigeon's colorful neck, and can also be translated as iridescence-throated.) Mukerji and
There was a lot I appreciated about this book. It wasn't racist like other early Newbery winners have been. It is by an author of Indian descent and exposes children to Buddhist thought and culture. I liked the fact that Mukerji was a curious and reverent observer of the natural world. There were several quotes I really liked about the awe-inspiring nature of gazing daily upon mountains.
There was also a lot I didn't like about this book. There is a lot of anthropomorphism of which I am not a fan, although I am much more tolerant of it in books written for children. Often, the overly reverent Buddhist language became a bit much for me. Most of the book was actually pretty boring, but at least I didn't actively hate it. (Although actively hating a book can make it more fun to read.)
Wouldn't recommend this Newbery winner.
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Gay-Neck have a lot of adventures and scrapes with death in the Himalayas, and Gay-Neck is also sent to France to serve as a messenger pigeon with the army during World War I. There was a lot I appreciated about this book. It wasn't racist like other early Newbery winners have been. It is by an author of Indian descent and exposes children to Buddhist thought and culture. I liked the fact that Mukerji was a curious and reverent observer of the natural world. There were several quotes I really liked about the awe-inspiring nature of gazing daily upon mountains.
There was also a lot I didn't like about this book. There is a lot of anthropomorphism of which I am not a fan, although I am much more tolerant of it in books written for children. Often, the overly reverent Buddhist language became a bit much for me. Most of the book was actually pretty boring, but at least I didn't actively hate it. (Although actively hating a book can make it more fun to read.)
Wouldn't recommend this Newbery winner.
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LibraryThing member Cheryl_in_CC_NV
I liked it - and I would have loved it, as a 'tween avid reader in the late 60s. I loved learning about other cultures - and the culture here is not just the Buddhist & Indian, but also that of carrier pigeons. And I would have just loved the nifty big words. But yes, the Buddhist philosophy would
Yes it's akin to Kipling's Just So Stories but also to Felix Salten's stories, like Bambi and Perri. (Salten was another author disturbed by war, a Jew, whose books were banned by Hitler.)
The illustrations are also wonderful. I probably would have attempted to create my own, as inspired by them. The abstract designs look doable, even by someone with my limited talents - and the birds, elephant, etc are amazing.
I think it seemed odd" or "dated" to some because they were expecting more of a novel. Once I started to read it as Philosophical Memoir I was more comfortable and appreciative.
The more I think about it, the more it sings to my heart. Though as I was reading I was thinking 3*s, by the time I'm done writing this review I'm sure it'll be at least 4*s.
And now for the book-dart marked passages:
"It is a pity that we have to win our pigeons' confidence by feeding their stomachs, but alas! I have noticed that there are many men and women who resemble pigeons in this respect!" (Gay-Neck)
Speaking of the geese, Gay-Neck says, "Compared with them, we pigeons seem paragons of cleverness."
The pigeon also says, provocatively, "Why is there so much killing and inflicting of pain by birds and beasts on one another? I don't think all of you men hurt each other. Do you? But birds and beasts do. All that makes me so sad." Well, Gay-Neck was in old India at the time, among vegetarian Buddhists. I'm sure he wised up when he became a carrier pigeon in France in WWI.
The author/main character says of the Hindu tradition of cremation, "Their ashes are scattered to the winds, and no place is marked or burdened with their memory." Lovely thought, imo.
He also observes, about zoos, "What a pity that most young people... must derive their knowledge of God's creatures from their appearance in prisons! If we cannot perceive any right proportion of man's moral nature by looking at prisoners in a jail, how do we manage to think that we know all about an animal by gazing at him penned in a cage?"
And even scavengers have a fitting place in the ecology, as Mukerji tried to show us decades before the Green movement, "They had already learned that someone had died and they must clean up the jungle."
Yup, the more I think about this book and look it over and reread bits, the more I'm enchanted by it. I do wish I'd read it when I was a child. I hope I've talked you into spending some time with it.
"
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have made a big impact on me.Yes it's akin to Kipling's Just So Stories but also to Felix Salten's stories, like Bambi and Perri. (Salten was another author disturbed by war, a Jew, whose books were banned by Hitler.)
The illustrations are also wonderful. I probably would have attempted to create my own, as inspired by them. The abstract designs look doable, even by someone with my limited talents - and the birds, elephant, etc are amazing.
I think it seemed odd" or "dated" to some because they were expecting more of a novel. Once I started to read it as Philosophical Memoir I was more comfortable and appreciative.
The more I think about it, the more it sings to my heart. Though as I was reading I was thinking 3*s, by the time I'm done writing this review I'm sure it'll be at least 4*s.
And now for the book-dart marked passages:
"It is a pity that we have to win our pigeons' confidence by feeding their stomachs, but alas! I have noticed that there are many men and women who resemble pigeons in this respect!" (Gay-Neck)
Speaking of the geese, Gay-Neck says, "Compared with them, we pigeons seem paragons of cleverness."
The pigeon also says, provocatively, "Why is there so much killing and inflicting of pain by birds and beasts on one another? I don't think all of you men hurt each other. Do you? But birds and beasts do. All that makes me so sad." Well, Gay-Neck was in old India at the time, among vegetarian Buddhists. I'm sure he wised up when he became a carrier pigeon in France in WWI.
The author/main character says of the Hindu tradition of cremation, "Their ashes are scattered to the winds, and no place is marked or burdened with their memory." Lovely thought, imo.
He also observes, about zoos, "What a pity that most young people... must derive their knowledge of God's creatures from their appearance in prisons! If we cannot perceive any right proportion of man's moral nature by looking at prisoners in a jail, how do we manage to think that we know all about an animal by gazing at him penned in a cage?"
And even scavengers have a fitting place in the ecology, as Mukerji tried to show us decades before the Green movement, "They had already learned that someone had died and they must clean up the jungle."
Yup, the more I think about this book and look it over and reread bits, the more I'm enchanted by it. I do wish I'd read it when I was a child. I hope I've talked you into spending some time with it.
"
Show Less
Similar in this library
Lexile
1040L
Pages
192