All God's Creatures [Kindle Edition]

Carolyn McSparren (Author)

Book Description

Often compared to the novels of James Herriot, ALL GOD'S CREATURES follows the life of a woman veterinarian in modern Tennessee. From an unlikely start as a white-glove debutante in the 1960's to a sexism-defying launch in vet school to the adventures, sorrows, joys and oddities of a long veterinary practice, our heroine spins tales of the animals and people who share her life.

By veteran author and dedicated horsewoman Carolyn McSparren, who also writes the Merry Abbot Carriage Driving Mysteries-- THE CART BEFORE THE CORPSE and ONE HOOF IN THE GRAVE.

Product Details

• File Size: 865 KB
• Print Length: 305 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0967303583
• Publisher: BelleBooks (July 12, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B005CFL5E8
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Not Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #72,710 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

98 of 100 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars What a pleasure December 21, 2004

By S. Rozanski

Format:Paperback

All God's Creatures is a full fledged local color novel chock full of vivid characters, of both the two and four legged varieties.

The novel traces the life of Maggie McLain, the spunky woman vet. Masterfully written, All God's Creatures weaves together a series of vignettes into a beautiful testament to the power of love, devotion and spirit.

Whether you are an animal lover or not, you will chuckle at the antics of Maggie and company as they build a thriving veterinary practice and struggle to keep their human relationships on an even keel.

Ms. McSparren has done her research and writes with authority. Page by page, she pulls you into her book with her wonderful humor and descriptive prose.

All God's Creatures was a pleasure to read.

42 of 43 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars AGC wonderful story for all November 30, 2004

By Jessica Lynn Shields

Format:Paperback

All God's Creatures is about an unlikely Southern debutante in 1960s Memphis who becomes a large animal veterinarian. Gawky, restless, smart and opinionated, young Maggie McLain isn't cut out to fill the patent leather pumps of a Southern belle. When she ditches a Cotton Carnival ball to save a drowning pup, Maggie realizes her destiny.

Over the years, Maggie earns the devotion and respect of crusty farmers, snobby horse breeders and doubtful pet owners throughout western Tennessee. She's an inspiration to up-and-coming women vets, a loving wife to her proud husband, a patient mother to her demanding kids, and above all, a champion to sick and injured animals.

This is a wonderful story for the whole family. The stories in the book are both heart-felt and fun. McSparren's love of animals and joy of story-telling come out in this book.

44 of 47 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful writing suffers from poor focus January 23, 2010

By B. Slocum

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I purchased All God's Creatures when it was still a Kindle freebie. After the first dozen chapters, I was delighted, wondering how such an excellently written story could possibly have been given away for free. Not long after, however, I began to realize that the story did, in fact, have its share of flaws: specifically, this novel is burdened with poor pacing and a lack of focus.

Reading almost like a memoir, All God's Creatures follows the life of veterinarian Maggie McClain, providing several anecdotes from both her professional and private adventures. We see Maggie find her initial passion in animals, struggle through vet school, establish her own practice, raise a family, and manage an empty nest. Carolyn McSparren writes in a manner that makes all of these encounters, of both the two- and four-legged varieties, enjoyable and understandable even to those not well-versed in veterinary vernacular.

Unfortunately, it often seems like the author bit off more than she could chew by deciding to cover Maggie's life from start to finish. McSparren often ends up skimming parts of Maggie's life in which we would like more depth. How did Maggie eventually earn her mother's approval? Did Maggie and Morgan ever have relationship issues? What was it actually like for Maggie to manage life with two kids? When does Eli find happiness? Just as the reader develops interest in an aspect of Maggie's life, McSparren speeds on with the story, and with the change of a chapter, several years have passed. It would have been much preferable for the author to focus on one period in Maggie's life; in particular, I would have liked the story to focus on Maggie's struggles during the earliest years of the clinic.

Now, the above complaint is almost ironic as I make my next point. Sometime in the second half of the book, a life-changing event occurs, and all of a sudden the plot screeches to a halt as Maggie's entire life revolves around this change. Seldom does a page go by without the character's internal dialogue mentioning this event. All of a sudden, the plot becomes incredibly dull, not aided by the now repetitive nature of Maggie's veterinary cases. There comes a point when you have to make an effort to see the book through to its conclusion. It's as if the author waited until she was halfway done before realizing the plot needed to focus on something, which suggests poor revision.

All things considered, I think the author was quite skilled and seemed quite comfortable in this genre. I will definitely pick up other books by this author if the price is right. She had an ability to keep me interested--for a while--and I will give her the opportunity to capture my interest again. Writers this good don't often get it wrong more than once.

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