Born Naked

W.J. Keith is a retired professor of English at the University of Toronto and author A Sense of Style: Studies in the Art of Fiction in English-Speaking Canada.

Like so many of Farley Mowat’s books, Born Naked, ostensibly a memoir,
exists in the intriguing no-man’s-land that separates nonfiction from
fiction. Insofar as it presents the story of his early years up to the
age of 16, it is, of course, genuine autobiography. But Mowat has always
been an inveterate raconteur, and none of his early escapades becomes
less vivid as a result of his vigorous retelling.

Certain situations tend to recur in childhood memoirs, and Mowat rings
his inimitable changes on every one. They include falling into a manure
pile; causing an explosion during a parental party by trying to
construct dynamite out of a chemistry set; bringing home used condoms
found in a local wood; having a bottle of fermenting forbidden liquor
blow to bits revealingly during Prohibition; keeping a rattlesnake as a
pet in his room; and trying unsuccessfully to establish a relationship
with his first girl. Such adventures are both personal and
representative, and Mowat recounts them with characteristic verve and
directness.

This is Mowat in a (relatively) mellow mood, and it casts light on his
other writing by showing how he came to be so passionately committed to
the world of wild creatures, the outdoors life, and the nonconforming
rights of the individual. In short, it is precisely the kind of early
memoir we might expect him to write.

The book is attractively produced, with each of its 18 chapters
introduced by an appropriate photo from the period. It should please
Mowat admirers both old and new.