Prompt – An Anthology
Medium – Book
About the Book – This book has been written by Irish vet Pete Wedderburn, who is the resident vet for the Telegraph. He discusses some of the rare or strange cases he has come up against, alongside advice for people with animals suffering similar ailments. He looks at a range of creatures, from big, beefy cats, to dogs with cancer, to a giant tortoise. Every animal is treated with care, and the book takes on a ‘House’ feel, as the author details the process that he goes through to find out the cause and nature of illnesses.
My Rating – 5/10. I picked this book up as light relief for the other book I am reading/listening to at the moment which I hit a slight wall with, hence the delay in posting about the next book. I enjoyed the lay-out of this book in short stories rather than long chapters, which made the book easy to digest in a few sittings. I liked the letters at the end of each chapter, which were helpful to see the different ways that you could ‘treat’ your animals at home.
I think the main problem about this book was that it went against what I was expecting – maybe teaching me to have no preconceived notions about a book! I am a sucker for ‘real life profession’ stories (i.e. vets – James Herriott, schools – Gervase Phinn, hospitals – Adam Kay) and expected this to be similar – a mix of sad and funny stories. Instead, the tone was mostly a little depressing and the vet, though obviously a really nice guy, didn’t necessarily write in a way that particularly endeared. I was more interested by the letters to pet-owners at the end of each chapter, which were more humorous and seemed to tell more of a story.
Would I read it again? I don’t know. I will keep it for a while, and then maybe have another read in the future!
Jen's Book Blog 