crowded in the middle of nowhere

Name: crowded in the middle of nowhere
Author: Bo Brock
ISBN: 978-0615971070

by Bo Brock ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 19, 2014

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The casebook of Brock, a Texas veterinarian, reveals his most memorable cases and larger-than-life characters.It may be the fate of any veterinarian’s memoir to languish in the long shadow of James Herriot, but author Brock’s humorous reminiscences will fit the big boots reserved specifically for Texas veterinarians. Inspired to become an animal doctor after seeing too many horses die of colic, Brock studied at Texas A&M and set up his practice in Lamesa (the “middle of nowhere” affectionately cited in the title). Gifted with a folksy storytelling style (not unlike Grit magazine but with occasional curse words), Brock recounts, in nonchronological order, his more memorable (and, more often, funnier) cases, as well as encounters with peculiar creatures of the two-legged variety. Horses do seem to predominate in the narrative. There’s the one owned by a menacing tribe of bikers, on whom Brock paid a midnight call to sew up the equine’s laceration. At the other end of the size scale, an eccentric client asked the author to operate on a pet mouse with a tumor larger than the animal itself. We learn that cows, far from being passive and tractable, can turn violently on intruders with medical bags. In a late chapter, Brock lists his wounds and scars, proving that veterinary medicine (at least in Texas) is not for weenies. Otherwise, details about Brock’s family life and extracurricular activities only come in incidental fragments. Readers still in major depression from the end of Marley and Me (2005) should know that tales of animal suffering and mercy killing are far outnumbered by positive outcomes (including an unnamed pig who survived his own euthanasia procedure—three times—to become a 4H winner). Still, the author pays sentimental tribute to the bonds between critters (horses, especially) and their people. An unexpected bonus is a touching guest eulogy (a masterful piece of prose) for Randy—the resident horse of Brock’s clinic—contributed by intern Emily Berryhill.You don’t have to live in the Lone Star State to enjoy these companionable tales of a country vet.

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Pub Date: May 19, 2014

ISBN: 978-0615971070

Page Count: 380

Publisher: Rare Bird Books

Review Posted Online: July 29, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2014

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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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

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.