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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A feel-good classic!, August 19, 2004
This is the fourth in a series written by a Scottish veterinarian who takes a job in Yorkshire, England, working under Siegfried Farnon. James Herriot, Farnon and his brother Tristan work on all sorts of animals from parakeets to draft horses.
James Herriot has a wonderful ability to poke fun at himself, as is illustrated in one of his earliest essays from the first work, All Things Bright and Beautiful, where he clips the beak of a budgie, inadvertently suffocating the poor creature. We then see him struggle to find a replacement for the little bird, its owner's best friend. Later, we watch Herriot's bumbling attempt to court his future wife Helen.
In The Lord God Made Them All, Herriot is returning from World War II where he served as an RAF officer; he's married with two children but he still works for Siegfried Farnon. Siegfried will remind you of a character from Dickens. He's an excellent veterinary but his many quirks and foibles make him a trying boss at times. Then there's his ne'er-do-well brother, Tristan. They're constantly fighting and Herriot usually winds up in the middle. The Yorkshire farmers are also fascinating. Herriot has a wonderful facility with dialect and some of the dialogue is hilarious.
In the first story Herriot sets out to "nip" (castrate) a calf. "There's nobbut one, Mr. Herriot," the farmer says. "An enormous black animal galloped out . . . I stared at the spreading horns, the great hump of muscle on the shoulder and the coldly glittering eyes. It only needed a blast on a trumpet and sand instead of cobbles and I was in the Plaza de Toros in Madrid."
Quite often Herriot serves as a psychologist, to his human clients. In one story, Herriot is awakened at one in the morning to treat Myrtle the beagle, whose drunken owner has a guilt complex about leaving his dog alone to attend the races. There's nothing wrong with the dog, but to assuage the owner's fears, Herriot gives Myrtle a vitamin tablet. This happens again and again, and when Herriot finally confronts the owner about the imaginary illnesses, the dog is really sick.
Yes, the joke is usually on Herriot, but if your animal is sick, you call James Herriot and sometimes you call him just to talk.
These are wonderful, nostalgic stories that take the reader back to a simpler time. It's so good you'll find yourself reading it as a pick-me-up when you feel blue.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Fitting Conclusion, September 17, 2003
My wife and I just finished reading the whole series of four Herriot books. I think that the first one (_All Creatures Great and Small_) is probably the best one overall. The author probably put the best stories he knew into his first book. But there are several delightful stories spread through the later books, and all four make for enjoyable reading.This book has a couple unique features. One is that the author goes on a couple international adventures traveling as caretaker of some overseas animal shipments. These are interesting travel stories on their own. Also in this book we meet James' children and see them grow up to some degree. _The Lord God Made Them All_ is a fittingly warm and pleasant conclusion to a really enjoyable series of books.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I adored these charming stories..., November 8, 2005
LOVED it. I've seen his books all over- bookstores, libraries, friends' houses, and yet I always resisted reading him. Why? I'm not sure. I didn't care for the cover (), and I usually REALLY hate stories about animals. A few years back, I read of a homeschooling family reading his work out loud, and when I came upon this book at a yard sale, I stuffed it in my sack to buy- I had an idea of my son and me reading it outloud in the distant future. I picked it up the other night because I was bored, needed something to read, and felt that I 'should' read this. After about two or three chapters, I was hooked. His stories are simple but charming, detailing the daily life of a country veterinarian. He was able to make me visualize riding along as his passenger as he drove from farm to farm, treating cows, pigs, sheep and domesticated pets. So many of his stories have funny endings. I really truly enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the first one, "All Things Bright And Beautiful."
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