Book Review: "Monsters" by Christopher Dell

Full Title: Monsters: A Bestiary of the Bizarre by Christopher Dell

I found this book on Vinted for a huge reduction in comparison to what it was on Amazon for and so, of course I had to have it. Monsters becomes a book not only about teaching us the history of where these things came from and how they came to scare us so. Christopher Dell makes an excellent point for reading more into the folklore that kept us from endangering ourselves yes, but there's another thing: the human imagination. For long stretches of time we had no idea what was in the sky or the depths of the ocean and so, we conjured up monsters so that people did not wander into them unchecked. But if all of this folklore has some connection to reality, then we have to ask ourselves one question: what did our ancestors see? what did they really see?

Christopher Dell tells us the story of folklore and monsters in the introduction. He goes through the topics he will discuss, the histories he will explore and types of monsters we may see throughout the book. From the Japanese to the South Asian, from the British to the Classical and Ancient ages, there is not a stone left unturned by this fun preface to a study of monstrous historical beings from fictions and fables. Spurred on, as the author states, by eras of superstition and fascinations with travel, there seems to be a timeline from the ancient monsters all the way down to say, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. One thing he seems to want to get through our heads is that there aren't only depictions of fright here, but there are valuable lessons about humanity often shown through metaphor.

One thing I loved about this book is the illustrations that were shown throughout. These weren't just random pictures of various monsters, but they often demonstrated the point being made or the section being covered. For example: the section on 'Gods and Monsters' starts off with a depiction of the Ancient Egyptian Anubis. Throughout the text, we also get more illustrations, some of statues, some of masks, some of art and others including manuscripts and sketches. Some would argue (as I have seen online) that the book goes into no depth but, as someone who has read plenty about monsters it is very interesting and fun to see a book that would want people who are not already into the topic get into it.

Atop of this, the chapters are often split up into smaller sections with one chapter on transformations having a page or two on werewolves and the history of them. There is a line that is drawn between the history of the dog-headed people, the jackal-headed gods and the werewolf and yes, it is very surface layer but that doesn't take away from any of the fun. Some of the illustrations depicting our range of monsters spread across two pages as well - like those of the sea monsters.

It is another section I enjoyed thoroughly. Sea Monsters are amongst my favourites to read about, especially the giant octopus and Kraken-like ones (see picture above). The chapter entitled 'water monsters' goes through the reasons why sailors would go to great lengths to keep random people from sailing out to unknown waters, making up stories of horrible monsters. But then again, they didn't really know what was out there if anything. Perhaps once upon a time, the giant octopus could have been real. On a similar note, I have actually been researching giant prehistoric penguins recently (not in the book) and have been very interested to find out about what kind of creatures they were.

All in all, this was a fun read. I would say that it is best recommended for anyone looking to get more into monsters. From monsters as protectors to dragons across different cultures and how they're depicted, from sea monsters to how to fend off the monsters entirely. There is so much within to be enjoyed. I especially enjoy the fact that I'm getting into the Halloween spirit. With great illustrations of depictions of monsters from all over the world and throughout history - this book is unmissable.