Book Review - Playing Possum: How Animals Understand Death - Princeton University Press

 

        It is not so many years ago that animals were regarded as distinct from humans, lacking in emotion or even capable of experiencing pain, and horrific practices such as vivisection were practiced with alarming regularity. Thank goodness we have moved beyond that dismal, cruel perspective and are now even willing to concede that other animals (remember, we are but one), are able to understand the concept of death, and the finality entailed by the cessation of life.

     Susana Monsó has written an erudite account of the way animals relate to death, from the perspective of both predator and prey, and even the recognition of the end of life by those animals fortunate to live a long life, ultimately succumbing from natural causes. In a step by step manner, she takes us through the stages of cognition, demonstrating that animals have a concept of death, differing in detail from species to species, but present nonetheless. Natural history is not divorced from the end of life, the ultimate fate for all of us. Death is the great common denominator.

     The book is written in a style that is easy to read, yet compelling in its complexity. Along the way, a little humour is added for good measure. It's perhaps necessary that a chuckle here and there is part of a discussion of death, a topic that many are unable to discuss with equanimity. Many humans are incapable (or perhaps unwilling) of facing it with composure, assigning rituals to it, and inventing myths of afterlife and exalted status in the deep beyond. You may rest assured that the flowers left at the graveside will never be smelled, the offering of food will not be consumed by the deceased. While some animals appear to ritualize death, none approach the ceremonial complexity of humans.

    It might at first appear that this book falls squarely and exclusively within the realm of philosophers and deep thinkers, but it is germane to all of us, particularly those among us with daily connections to wild nature; arguably even more so to pet owners who provide an artificial world free from the perils of life for their domestic animals. 

     One minor distraction from the general excellence of the book is the fact that the illustrations are often very small and almost universally dark, rendering the detail difficult to see.

     As a scholarly text it ranks highly and is relevant to a universal audience.

     Enhorabuena y muchas gracias, estimada Doctor Monsó!

Playing Possum: How Animals Understand Death - Princeton University Press

Susana Monsó 

Hardcover - US$29.95 - ISBN: 9780691260761

264 pages - 5.5 x 8.5 inches (13.75 x 21.25 cm)

18 black-and-white illustration, 2 tables

Publication date: 15 October, 2024