10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another tour de force from Katrina Kittle, August 5, 2010
This review is from: The Blessings of the Animals: A Novel (P.S.) (Paperback)
This is a wonderful book and a decidely positive (and fitting) follow up to the gripping and much darker "Kindness of Strangers." Kittle's story of love, forgiveness and personal committment has an enduring message about being true to yourself in order to find real happiness. We picked up this book and read it straight through in one day. Kittle's first book, "Traveling Light," showed the power of her literary voice in exploring complicated, layered interpersonal relationships, and "The Blessings of the Animals" is simply more evidence of her staying power as an author and story teller.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing, August 29, 2010
This review is from: The Blessings of the Animals: A Novel (P.S.) (Paperback)
What a wonderful and incredible feeling to sit down with a book, open up the cover and instantly become engulfed within a story. That was exactly my experience with The Blessings of the Animals. I have been yearning to read Katrina Kittle for a while now and when the opportunity came to be part of her tour for The Blessings of the Animals, I was thrilled to death. Though this is my first book by Ms. Kittle, it will definitely not be my last.
It is a well known idea that animals have the power to heal and the bond between human and animal can be a very special and unbreakable one. The Blessings of the Animals takes that idea and creates a highly memorable and engrossing story that will ring within the reader's minds long after the book has been finished. Katrina Kittle's talent for creating realistic, heart-rendering and amazingly descriptive story prose draws the reader in and holds them tight until the very end. One such instance occurs in the beginning, on page 15:
"Helen filmed and I narrated in a voice that sounded tight and swollen no matter how many times I cleared my throat. "The mare ate the wood. She was eating her own stall in an attempt to survive. Look." With gloved hands, I pulled back the mare's upper lip and opened her jaw. "Her tongue and gums are full of splinters, and her mouth is full of manure."
The shouting, hammering, and barking continued as we filmed empty feed bins, an empty hayloft, empty water buckets.
I euthanized a black gelding and shipped off four other raggedy survivors with the last of the volunteers. Helen got on her cell, trying to round up more foster homes.
When I opened the last stall in this barn, two fillies stared at me from the dark, sweet eyes in deep hollows. Their hip bones pushed up so starkly that sores oozed where bone threatened to push through the skin, but their hearts and lungs sounded strong."
Just the wording created a visual that pulled at my heart and made me ache for these poor horses that had long been neglected.
Cami Anderson is a veterinarian whose talent and love for animals runs incredibly deep. Cami has long since had a visceral need for "highs" and the powerful rush of adrenalin, be it from adventurous undertakings, such as close encounters with tornados, starving herself or the rush she feels next to a powerful animal. This desire is what first brings her and her future husband, Bobby, together. However, after eighteen years of marriage and a wonderful seventeen-year-old daughter, Bobby's depression and restlessness leads him to suddenly leave his marriage and family behind. Caught in a tailspin, Cami must put the pieces of her life and the life of her daughter back together. While trying to come to peace with her life, Cami finds herself on a journey of life and relationship reflection.
I found myself very intrigued and connected to Cami. Not for any particular reason, but simply for the fact that she was so real, so human and so easy to connect with. The other characters of Cami's brother, Davy and his partner, David were also incredibly enjoyable. The Blessings of the Animals is a celebration of finding happiness in ones life and reiterating the powerful bonds and importance of animals. More often than not, it is an animal that can be the most faithful and dependable presence in ones life and The Blessings of the Animals is the perfect example of this.
Whether you are an animal lover or someone looking for an amazing story that will settle deeply into your heart and soul, The Blessings of the Animals is the perfect book to sink into. Katrina Kittle is an amazing voice in today's world of literature and has the staying power to bring years of reading pleasure to an enormous audience. I can't wait to read more works by Ms. Kittle and look forward to watching her amazing success climb.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Life Lessons in Love and Marriage, August 26, 2010
This review is from: The Blessings of the Animals: A Novel (P.S.) (Paperback)
Of course, as the title suggests, the animals play an important role through her hero journey. The animals in the story are really made 3 dimensional and of course, play a pivotal role in Cami's story. You end up really love these highly visual animal characters in this story and there is at least one tear jerking scene (but it isn't about death, to relax those like me who hate those stories).
Not only is this story about Cami's journey through divorce and how she is saved by her animals and friends, but it is a comment on marriage and love in general. It comments on those, like Cami, who learn that marriage is hard work and can be worth that work. It's also about those that want to be married just for the sake of marriage. This is not only on the part of the woman, but the man as well. There is even a bit about arranged marriage. Plus, there is also a big commentary on gay marriage and adoption. All of this seems like a lot to put in a book, but the way it was done it fits well because it follows Cami's discoveries of those issues.
My only complaint is about her boyfriends. They are wonderful characters until she dates them. Then, they start to become one-dimensional caricatures of themselves. For example, I didn't believe that Vijay, her childhood best friend, was such an insightful person and true friend only to become a totally blind and selfish boyfriend so quickly and throughly. Vijay was my biggest disappointment.
I give this book 4 stars and I do recommend this book. I'm also glad that this book is based on animals that she knew in real life.
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