Friday, February 19, 2016

If Only They Could Talk ( All Creatures Great and Small #1) 4.5 Stars


If Only They Could Talk - James Herriot This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot. wordpress.leafmarks.com & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: If Only They Could Talk
Series: All Creatures Great and Small
Author: James Herriot
Rating: 4.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Autobiography
Pages: 205
Format: Scan







Synopsis:
Jim has just graduated from Vet school in England, at a time when the tractor is literally putting the horse out to pasture.
Thankfully, he gets a post as an assistant in a small rural town and these memoirs are the various adventures, funny and sad, that he has with the animals and the owners.

My Thoughts:
Thoroughly enjoyed this. Herriot's writing style is laid back and calm and I was swept along with each story. Even in the midst of some of the sad stories, Herriot's ability to keep it light made it easier to deal with.
At the same time, the funny stories didn't have me roaring with laughter, but they had me laughing out loud and nodding when human nature shown through, the same then as it is now.

He doesn't shy away from describing some of the very nasty and gross things that a vet had to deal with. And he doesn't shy away from describing how he felt at 2am, after getting back from one call, grabbing all of 15min of sleep and then having another come in. The descriptions feel genuine. Not all shiny, not all crap.

I also connected with his love of his job. On the good days and the bad.

On a book'ish side of things, I didn't realize that this was re-released, or re-titled or something, as All Creatures Great and Small. I guess it isn't just indies who can screw their fanbase over.

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