Hm. Famous guy writes about his dog. I know his family loved the dog very much, and he was special to them, but I just didn't feel anything special about this book. There was nothing amazing about Sprite like, say, the feats of Moobli, nor was the book funny like Marley. It's not very well-written (in my opinion) so aside from that, just a nice (rather sad) story about a family dog. On the one hand, there are tons of families out there with beloved dogs who can relate to his story, on the other hand I'm not sure why the effort to write Rescuing Sprite. Half of it seems to be the author gushing about how wonderful and special his dog is, without making me understand why; and the other half he's just talking about himself and outpouring his guilt for not having prolonged the dog's life more. Sprite was an older dog adopted when he already had most of his life behind him and a plethora of health problems. Unfortunately by the time his new family figured out what was going on, it was pretty much too late to save him. They only owned him for two years. (All the more reason why I kept wanting to know what was so special about Sprite? He says the dog gave their family so much more than they ever did for him, and yet I didn't see it). The ending is really very sad, especially the months of grief and guilt he went through after the dog's death. So... I would say unless you are a dog-lover, or have owned and lost a dog, or don't mind crying at the end of a dog story, this book probably won't have much for you. It was merely an okay read for me. It's simply that I've read so many other dog stories that were much better told.Rating: 2/5 ........ 216 pages, 2007
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Thoughts, Commentary and other Various Ramblings
It just sounds like the author was trying to ride the gravy train of dog books out there. I love animals but it gets old. Yes, I would probably cry because I always do, but then I'd be mad.
ReplyDeleteI think dogs are like kids - it's easy to see why yours is special, but it's hard to understand why others are. A book like this needs to be written well to make it stand out.
ReplyDeleteSandy- Yep. I read a lot of reviews (after reading the book, probably should have read them before and saved myself trouble!) that said "if you're looking for another Marley and Me, this isn't it."
ReplyDeleteBermudaonion- Of course everyone's dog is special to them. But it's hard to make it feel the same to other people, I think because the bond is so personal. So it either has to be an amazing story that shines through the poor writing, or very well-written that makes it entertaining to read about an ordinary dog.
I agree with you -- if your dog is not exceptional in some way, a brief essay is the longest amount of writing you should really devote to it. And I say this as a girl stupidly besotted with her puppy. :p
ReplyDeleteI've avoided all the dog books for just that reason!
ReplyDeleteJenny- Actually, when I got to the afterward where he tells how the book came about, it turns out originally the story was just a short article or essay. I'm not sure why the author decided to expand it into a book- I think it didn't quite work out.
ReplyDeleteEva- for the sad ending reason, or the lame storytelling reason?