Proud to be a Mammal is a collection of essays by the Polish poet Czeslaw Milosz. I found them a bit patchy, especially the more recent ones that ruminate on the Catholic Church, but there are still some gems here.
The highlights of the collection are the essays that cover Milosz's early adulthood spent in what the Nazi's called the General Government – i.e. the part of Poland that th
ey did not annexe to the Reich itself. There is writing of biting sarcasm mixed with total contempt, but also of great humanity and humour.
The essays are very personal, and yet also steeped in irony. I suppose that this is what one expects from European intellectual writers in autobiographical mode, but just occasionally it becomes a bit wearying. Still, even with these objections, Miloz's writing is full of intelligence and mischief.
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