Customer Reviews

Animal Magnetism: My Life with Creatures Great and Small

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've read ALL of Rita Mae Brown's novels - other than the cat series - over the years, as well as her few works of non-fiction. I think she's a writer's writer. Some of the most beautiful paragraphs I've read come from her work, particularly "Six of One". She's a wonderful writer in that she often returns to the same characters many times, offering updates on our old favorites. I've really enjoyed most of her "Sister" Jane series and was looking forward to a new novel this fall, but I guess that's not to be. Maybe next year...

"Animal Magnetism" really should only be read by animal-lovers. I always refer to myself as a "'dog-liker', but a 'cat-lover'". Brown really is an "ALL-animal" lover and she writes in her latest book about the many dogs, cats, horses, birds, rabbits, and other animals she's loved over her lifetime. And, who've loved her right back. The book comes with pictures of her and various animals, I was only disappointed that while she often referred to her parents and grandparents, she never included any pictures of them. I would have loved to see the REAL "Juts" and "Aunt Mimi" ("Weezie"); her wild mother and aunt she's written about so many times.

Brown sort of makes herself seem as if she likes animals more than people. Maybe she does, but I remember standing in a long line, outside a Charlottesville book/coffee shop, in the early 1990's. She was inside, at a table, autographing her latest book. The line consisted of young, old, men, women, all ages and while it was a long evening, waiting in line, Brown was incredibly charming with EACH person, taking time to talk to everyone in turn. No one seemed to mind because we all knew we would get our own "face-time" with her!

Oh, and Rita Mae, if you read this, would you please - A. update your website and B. go to work on a novel about Celeste Chalfonte and her family. She's probably your most interesting character - after "Juts" and "Weezie", of course - and I'd love to know more about her family. Surely you can make her parents and her siblings the subjects of their own story. We got a look at her in Six of One, and references to her in other novels, but please devote a book to her. Please? Pretty please?

I read this book in one sitting after going to a book signing for Dr. Brown. The first book I read of hers was "Riding Shotgun" and her use of language was so incredible it led me to read all her books. When you hear her speak, it's like a good chapter of her books. She speaks how she writes and you wish that it would never end.

This book reminds us of what all animal lovers already know. Our animals know more than we do. If we listen to them, we would really be much better off. Having lived with dogs, cats and horses for the last 40 years, I know this to be true, and yet sometimes I forget it. They always remind me. Animals relate to the basic simple needs of life. Eat (hunt), sleep and have fun. We should remember those things and endeavor to do the same.

I think anyone who is looking for some direction in this incredibly endangered world that we live in should read this book and get back to what really matters for humankind. Perhaps we wouldn't have half the problems we now have if we would remember those basic needs.

And by the way, Dr. Brown, I, too, would love to see more Celeste Chalfonte.

The voice that emerges from the pages of Animal Magnetism is a strong woman's narrative. With a Yankee directness, somewhat urgent and straight to the point, the author calls to the reader to pay attention to important lessons about life that can be learned from the animal kingdom. This book was written during the throes of global economic turmoil in 2008-2009 and is full of common-sense wisdom gleaned from a life of observing and learning the language of cats, dogs, horses, foxes and birds.

Rita Mae Brown speaks with love about her farm and the animal companions with whom she shares her home, the rivers, and fields. The story begins and ends in the mountains of Virginia, deep in horse country where--to this horsewoman--life isn't complete without foxhounds, horses, foxes and cats. She writes about home and the significance of the places she lived growing up. Early chapters reveal more about family and four-legged characters than about herself and her descriptive language gives us a taste of what it was like growing up in the 1950's after WW2. We get to know her father and mother, and slowly we discover more about this fiercely independent woman who was carefully schooled in cotillion Southern manners. Terse sentences portray a woman who is usually short with words, yet the descriptive language she uses when sharing observations about her pets reveal her true passion.

The author makes no bones about her critical views of destructive human behavior when she speaks of California and Florida being lost to development. "The loss of animal habitat, the killing of the animals themselves can never be reversed." Her ideas are presented with an underlying wit and grit and the message is clear: "Country knowledge is shrinking."

There are plenty of prudent suggestions about living on this planet and treating each other, humans and animals, with love. In this story, nature and animals provide comfort, solace and a sense that we are not alone, but part of a greater plan.

Animal Magnetism is a touching account of a Rita Mae Brown's life lived with passion for the untamed and tamed natural world.

by Martha Meacham
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women

Lessons of love and their intelligence in sensing impending death or trouble are abound in books like A cup of Comfort for Dog Lovers. The author's first lessons from animals she lived with from her childhood are pretty much the same. So we can believe her lessons from her long experience with animals in foxhunting.
The news for me are the ones about dog shows antiquating some breeds by their nature, hunting behavior of owl, fox, listening to the animal, disabled animals being shunned, a child's tears might not get you a toy unless the toy is a suffering animal, hierarchies in herd and pack animals, patience, coat characterstic dependence on heat tolerance.

This book should be required reading for those with any curiosity about the true nature of animals, wild and domestic.

In sometimes funny, always heartwarming stories, Brown introduces us to the animals that have touched her life: Franklin, a parrot with a wicked sense of humor; Suzie Q, the horse who taught her the meaning of hard work; Baby Jesus, a tough tiger cat from New York City with an attitude to match; and of course, Sneaky Pie, who needs no introduction to the legions of fans of the Sneaky Pie Brown murder mystery series. Brown shares stories of these animals, and the lessons they taught her. She makes no secret of the fact that she prefers the company of animals to people. As Brown explains, "There's no such thing as a dumb dog, but God knows there are continents filled with dumb humans." By observing the animals on her farm and in her life, Brown has gained insights into herself and other human beings that she shares in her inimitable prose.

As someone who just published a book about the lessons one little cat taught me, this book resonated with me on many levels, but at times, I felt a bit lost in the author's lengthy descriptions of fox hunting. However, even though this is not a topic that is close to my heart, I was captivated by the passion with which Brown describes it, and I gained a better understanding of the practice in the process. You know you're reading a book by a great writer when they can make you keep reading about a topic you didn't think you really cared about!

I loved these words from the book, that perfectly summarize what the book is all about: "I hope you are lifted by the love of a cat, dog, horse, even a parrot... More, I hope you recognize it and return it. ... We are all in this life together. We need one another."

A wonderful book for all animal lovers, as well as fans of Brown's Sneaky Pie Brown and Sister Jane novels.

I enjoy a book that is well written, informative, entertaining, and heartfelt. This book included all of the above and more.

After listening to an interview with her on the radio about her book where she was defending participating in fox hunting, I knew this author hasn't a clue what she is talking about with respect to a connection with animals. No one who loves animals would harass an animal, any animal, as a form of entertainment. Anyone that participates in fox hunting cares more about themselves than animals. Running a wild animal off its territory and forcing it to use its resources to escape this sick human entertainment, when it needs to use its energy to hunt and keep itself alive, is not something anyone who loves animals would participate in.

No way will I read this book and any other new book coming from this author. She is completely banned from my reading list.

I like Ms. Brown's no-nonsense writing.
Her stories of funny happenings during the
late 40's and early 50's in Virginia
sound almost idyllic but she keeps it
real.

A so-so book. The parts about her life and animals are good (especially the stories about animals), but she falls into the trap that so many popular writers seem to - they start filling their books with rants and diatribes filled with their political views which is NOT why I read their books. And in her case I disagree with her politics so I really hate it. It gets tiresome really quickly when any author does it and I have dropped many an author off my list because they start doing that. I may have to add her.

Which would be a shame. I love her Sneaky Pie Brown stories (I have a Corgi myself) but the rants are so annoying.

Still, when I skipped over the rants (some longer, some shorter), the parts concerning animals were interesting and, in many cases, moving. Read the book if you are a big Rita Mae Brown fan; pick another one if you aren't.