Book Review--On Animals

On Animals

by Susan Orlean

read by the author

"Will brake for animals" is a bumper sticker I need on my car and on my backpack. Whether I'm driving, walking, jogging, or just hanging out in the great outdoors, I will stop in a heartbeat to look at any sort of animal that crosses my field of vision.  Bugs, dogs, birds, worms... I am indiscriminate in my curiosity and adoration.  I will confess to having a preference for mammals, dogs in particular.  But when I live with such beautiful specimens, how could I not be biased?!

Left to right: Pumpkin, myself, Hazel

Ms. Orlean is also a self-confessed animal lover and it shines through in this series of essay-style chapters in her newest book On Animals. She tells us about growing up and wearing her mother down to get a dog and then a mouse (word of caution: don't take your female mouse on playdates with a male mouse) and then detailing the menagerie she has amassed over the years to live a glorious, mildly chaotic life surrounded by animals.

While animal stories can frequently turn into maudlin sentimentality and start reading like Chicken-Free Soup for the Soul, Orlean dodges this trap completely.  She addresses animals as pets, as workers and Hollywood stars, and as spokesmen for the animal kingdom.  Some of the stories have a wistful tone, others are matter-of-fact, and still others will make you chuckle.

This is the perfect on-the-go book as the chapters are self-contained and easily read in small bits when life keeps interrupting.  But if you have an uninterrupted period of time, you can savor each chapter like courses in a fine restaurant and walk away satisfied at time well spent.

Once you have finished this book, I encourage you to switch gears and read The Library Book by Orlean, as well.  I am unashamedly biased in favor of this book because it gives an honest and frank look at libraries and librarianship through the history of the Los Angeles Public Library and the fire that ravaged it in 1986. Definitely worth reading!