Steadfast animal lovers might be willing to overlook Trout’s inconsistent tone, but he’s unlikely to garner a wide audience.
A seasoned veterinarian shares some memorable cases.
With several decades of experience as a veterinary surgeon, the author has seen his share of animal emergencies, which he now structures as parts of one fictional day, a tactic that detracts from, rather than adds to, the urgency of his narrative. It begins at 2:47 a.m., when Trout is roused out of bed to perform emergency stomach surgery on Sage, a ten-year-old German shepherd who is the sole companion of an aging widower. Next up is a particularly unusual case, a hermaphroditic boxer named Thor who has begun secreting female hormones. Later in the morning the vet helps a family decide whether or not to put a beloved pet to sleep. This sparks a lively discussion of euthanasia, a high point in the book. A 40-pound cat aptly named Chunky Bear inspires Trout’s musings on canine and feline obesity, an epidemic nearly as dire as the same among humans. Just past noon, the vet acquires David, a tag-along “shadow” with veterinary aspirations from a nearby high school, and enters the world of small animal plastic surgery. With Tinkerbell, Trout is cleaning up scar tissue from an earlier cancer surgery, but her case causes him to pause and pontificate on more cosmetic procedures, such as ear cropping and tail docking, which he opposes. Later in the afternoon, he embarks on a canine hip replacement. Finally, he ends his day with a cat named Snowball, who managed to swallow one of her own teeth. Trout brings up some interesting ethical issues, but readers looking for a heart-warmer will be bored by these tangents, and intellectuals will feel belittled by the tongue-in-cheek prose and frenetic pacing.
Steadfast animal lovers might be willing to overlook Trout’s inconsistent tone, but he’s unlikely to garner a wide audience.Pub Date: March 11, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-7679-2643-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Broadway
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2008
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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