<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: Great dog book
Review: All the hunters in my family read and loved this book - although not a training book but the love between a dog and man is clearly defined. If you loving hunting and especially with a bird dog you will love this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Gettin' it
Review: Live your own life, for you will die your own death This is chiseled on a grave stone in the book, Jenny Willow by Mike Gaddis and is the pivotal point for the human characters in the book. On the surface, the story is about an elderly widower who decides to train one more English Setter to hunt grouse before he dies. However, it is much deeper than that - it is a story about an individual who is true to his own nature and feeds his love of dogs, hunting, nature. He manages to have a loving marriage, close friends, earn a living and be true to the essence of his avocation. It also is about a life long friend, voluntarily fulfilling the bonds and promises of friendship at the end of life. Finally, it is about the rhythm of the Earth, the call of nature, man's abilty to age with grace and love. Through the book the little tri-color setter, Jenny Willow, stitches the story together, just like she would stitch the undercover looking for a grouse. "Live your own life, for you will die your own death" applies to everyone. Are we doing what we love? Are we true to our nature? Do we meet our own expectations? Do we stitch together relationships to last a lifetime? At the end our our days, will we still take joy our lives? Give the book a read and a thought beyond the story line. It is not "just another dog story."
Rating:
Summary: Dogs, hunters, relationships and poetry
Review: Mike Gaddis has caught the mood of many things in this beautiful novel: with a poetic narrative and believable dialogue, he has outlined the life of a dog in relation to the human lives she touches. First, there is Ben Willow, yearning for another pup to train and hunt and still grieving the death of his beloved wife. In quick succession, we meet his best friend, his daughter, some local characters and a caring family with a son about to embark on his own set of adventures. All of these center upon the dog, and the description of her reaction to things rings true, from her first discovery of curious things to her instinctive response to the call of her senses.
The language of the book is wonderfully descriptive, recalling mind-pictures of nature seen, smelled and sensed. The reader is swept up into the story line, impatient to turn the page. There is a small glitch in the center of the book, a confusing description of local politics, but one can forgive this in a first novel, especially when it is overshadowed by so much of the book that works.
The only problem with this book is one encountered before, the inability to put it down for a moment before reaching the satisfying conclusion.
Rating:
Summary: Dogs, hunters, relationships and poetry
Review: Mike Gaddis has caught the mood of many things in this beautiful novel: with a poetic narrative and believable dialogue, he has outlined the life of a dog in relation to the human lives she touches. First, there is Ben Willow, yearning for another pup to train and hunt and still grieving the death of his beloved wife. In quick succession, we meet his best friend, his daughter, some local characters and a caring family with a son about to embark on his own set of adventures. All of these center upon the dog, and the description of her reaction to things rings true, from her first discovery of curious things to her instinctive response to the call of her senses.
The language of the book is wonderfully descriptive, recalling mind-pictures of nature seen, smelled and sensed. The reader is swept up into the story line, impatient to turn the page. There is a small glitch in the center of the book, a confusing description of local politics, but one can forgive this in a first novel, especially when it is overshadowed by so much of the book that works.
The only problem with this book is one encountered before, the inability to put it down for a moment before reaching the satisfying conclusion.
<< 1 >>
| 
