The Romantic Reader

"A Natural History of the Senses"

by Diane Ackerman

reviewed by Lucky Bones

This book isn't a "romance" as in boy meets girl. It's romantic in the broadest, most encompassing sense of the term. Open it at random and the emotions, feelings and sheer joy of life flow from the pages. Seamlessly combining essay, anecdote, history, science and whimsy, Diane Ackerman's prose has the lyrical nature of poetry and the power to make any of us a sensualist, or devotee of the senses. She takes us on a tour of the five senses, and I don't think anyone can read this book without feeling wonder and even that all-too-rare experience, joy. Whether it's describing the sensations of a kiss or imagining the meeting of Cleopatra and Mark Antony in her boudoir carpeted ankle deep with rose petals, the entire book is a celebration of being alive and aware. Ms. Ackerman has written books of poetry, but this book is about the poetry in our souls as smelled, seen, tasted, touched or heard.