Bambi: A Life in the Woods by Felix Salten: A Tale of Innocence, Growth, and the Natural World

Most people are familiar with the story of Bambi the deer from the Walt Disney animated film of 1942. Likely not as many people are aware of the fact that the movie is based on the book Bambi: A Life in the Woods by Austrian author Felix Salten, originally published in Austria in 1923. The standard English translation by Whittaker Chambers was published in North America by Simon and Schuster in 1928. It traces the life of Bambi, a male roe deer, from his birth through childhood, the loss of his mother, the finding of a mate, the lessons he learns from his father, and his experiences with the dangers posed by human hunters in the forest. Bambi is born in a thicket to a young doe in late spring one year. Over the course of the summer, his mother teaches him about the various inhabitants of the forest and the ways deer live. When she feels he is old enough, she takes him to the meadow which he learns is both a wonderful but also a dangerous place. Bambi meets his Aunt Ena, and her twin fawns Faline and Gobo. While they are playing, they encounter the princes, male deer, for the first time. After the stags leave, the fawns learn that those were their fathers, but that the fathers rarely stay with or speak to the females and young. As Bambi grows older, his mother begins to leave him alone. While searching for her one day, Bambi has his first encounter with "He"--the animals' term for man. During the winter, hunters enter the forest, killing many animals including Bambi's mother. Gobo also disappears and is presumed dead. The novel then skips ahead a year to the third summer when Bambi is now sporting his second set of antlers. After Bambi battles and defeats first Karus then Ronno, he and Faline express their love for one another. However, as Bambi continues to age, he begins spending most of his time alone. When Bambi is later shot by a hunter, the old Prince rescues him. The two remain together until Bambi learns that there is "Another" over all creatures, including "Him." The stag tells him that he has always loved him and calls him "my son" before leaving to die. In the end, Bambi meets with twin fawns. He thinks to himself that the girl fawn reminds him of Faline, and that the male was promising. Later, Salten wrote a sequel, Bambi's Children, that follows the lives of Bambi's twin offspring, Geno and Gurri. Disney's Bambi is less raw than the book. The novel, originally written for an adult audience and considered to be one of the first environmental novels, was thought too "grim" and "somber" for the young audience Disney was targeting, and was work required to adapt the story, severely downplaying the naturalistic elements. Some might object to what they see as the "anti-man" and "animal rights" theme of the book, but if one takes it as it was originally intended, simply a fantasy look at the kind of lives that animals experience in the forest, it is an interesting story. A few of the killing scenes might be a bit too much for small or sensitive children, but we did it as a family read aloud and everyone enjoyed it.

I bought this book as a prelude to my revisiting the restored Disney film of "Bambi." Like other readers I did enjoy reading the book though it is somewhat sad. As you know, if you've seen the original Disney film, it is about life and living and things in between and subsequently dying alone--as we all must.I collect children's stories and often try to analyze them from the perspective of Joseph Campbell's "The Hero's Journey," as well as Jung's archetypes as described by Jung and Marie-Louise von Franz. I look for what is called mythic structure in the stories for children as well as for adults.In this story, the various animals, both human and otherwise, depict the mythic archetypes--trickster, shadow, threshold guard, and so on, generally according to their orientation as living creatures. The story serves me well in that regard.Though the book is considered a classic, I was not at ease over the way Bambi is learning the semantics of some terms: Being a newborn he must learn about danger, the meaning of danger and certain actions that do not depict danger. In one such scenario he sees his first butterfly, and exclaims "Look, look, Mother!" "There's a flower flying." Well, okay, he doesn't realize that it's a butterfly, not a flower, but we are not given a clue as to how he learned the meaning of the term FLYING. He just seems to pluck that term out of thin air--no pun intended. There are many such examples that IMO weaken the story. In that regard I think the writer needed some editorial assistance from the publisher. I'm looking forward to seeing how the Disney film deals with such factors.

Don't get me wrong, I still love the Disney movie. It will always be one of my all-time favorites, but this book...this book...it just blows my mind. It takes subjects that were only touched on in the movie (The Circle of Life, dealing with loss, the passing of time, falling in and out of love, growing up in a dangerous world, loss of innocence, Nature Red in Tooth & Claw, Man's role in Nature), and takes them to a whole new level of beauty and terror. Characters we loved in the movie (Thumper, Friend Owl, and others) are given much deeper, more meaningful roles here, beyond your typical "cute-critter comedy relief", and not all of them make it out of this book alive...While Bambi does have its fair share of pretty nature scenes, cute animals being cute, and lovingly poetic descriptions of the woods' flora and fauna, this is oftentimes a very dark, very violent, out-right bloodbath of a story. Though these characters are given human speech and are reasonably anthropomorphic, they are still wild animals, who do not hesitate to kill for the sake of survival. There are a lot of throats being ripped out in this novel, and Bambi is not afraid to get blood on his antlers from time to time.And be sure to have a box of tissues on hand for this one. If you thought the death of Bambi's mom in the film was depressing, just wait 'till you read this. I'm telling you, the death of Bambi's mom is ONLY THE BEGINNING.

I read this book first when I was a child of 8 or 9. I have never forgotten it, and some of the scenes have stuck in my mind ever since.A few weeks ago, I just thought - I will read that again, and I read it with the same delight with which I read it over 60 years ago. Beautifully written, very moving, and not afraid of confronting sadness. John Galsworthy's introduction says this is a delicious book, "not only for children but for those who are no longer so fortunate." A wonderful book about animals, better even than the marvellous Disney film.

Amazing story and writing, incredibly harsh and shocking at times, but so deep in meaning. Some passages still haunt me. It had been a while since I had read something that left such an impression on me. Absolutely unforgettable.

A present for someone who trmrmbers Bambi from childhood

Although obviously old edition, the book arrived as described: unused. Very happy!

First read this book in 1963/64. Great read.