Review by Booklist Review
Orlean confesses that she has been "animalish" her entire life. So begins the waggishly fun introduction to this ebulliently descriptive, robustly factual, occasionally alarming collection of animal-centric essays by a narrative nonfiction maestro whose books include Rin Tin Tin (2011). These animal adventures reach back to 1995 and range in focus from her beloved chickens to tigers in New Jersey and donkeys in Morocco. Orlean's deep pleasure in learning startling facts, her often wry tales about her personal life, her omnivorous attention to detail, and her juggler's skill with words yield vivid, provocative, amusing, and wondrous stories. She profiles people who race pigeons and care for pandas, a South African "lion whisperer," and a prizewinner on the dog-show circuit. Orlean thoughtfully and piquantly contrasts the marvels of animals and the damage humans do to them and their habitats, threatening their very survival. In the most recent piece, she tracks a deadly rabbit virus raging in New York City in sync with COVID. But there's also a lost-pet detective, valiant mules, and cherished oxen. A revelry for readers wild for animals and/or enamored of vibrant essays. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: A boon for Orlean fans waiting for more after her best-selling The Library Book (2018).
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
New Yorker staff writer Orlean (The Library Book) delivers an entertaining and informative look at various animals in this clever collection of essays. According to Orlean, her "animalish" personality has driven her to track down critters her whole life, as well as stories of humans as animalish as she. In "Lady and the Tigers," she profiles a tiger owner in Jackson, N.J., while "Little Wing" sees her documenting a teenager's relationship to her carrier pigeons in Boston. The essays are well researched and showcase a keen journalistic eye, as in "Lion Whisperer," which covers Kevin Richardson's frolicsome relationship with lions, and "The Rabbit Outbreak," which details the spread of a disease in rabbits across the globe. Orlean's prose dazzles when she uses human metaphors to describe the natural world, conjuring up hilariously vivid images: Biff, a show dog, has "the earnest and slightly careworn expression of a smalltown mayor"; Keiko the whale, who starred in Free Willy, is "a middle-aged piebald virgin living as good a life as captivity could offer"; and carrier pigeons are "muttering to themselves like old men in a bingo hall." While not all the essays land (some leave something to be desired in Orlean's examination of the human-animal relationship), they're nonetheless packed with spirit. Animal lovers will find much to savor. (Oct.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
When a writer pairs their passions with their work, it shows. Inspired by her lifelong love of animals, Orlean (The Library Book; The Orchid Thief) has spent decades researching and writing about animals, as well as caring for creatures of her own. This collection of previously published essays (which appeared in the New Yorker, the Atlantic, and Smithsonian Magazine) covers subjects as diverse as homing pigeons, keeping backyard chickens, and a New Jersey woman with 23 tigers in her yard. Orlean's writing is energetic and her joy in the subject matter shines through in the introduction, where she discusses her early love for animals, and in each essay. Readers who have long appreciated her writing will enjoy having her past essays compiled here, accompanied by illustrations. The original publication dates of the essays appear only in the back matter and not next to the essays themselves; this might confuse readers who are encountering one of the essays for the first time and don't know its historical context. For example, Orlean's 2002 essay about Keiko, of Free Willy fame, ends with him frolicking in open water (the killer whale died in 2003). VERDICT Fans of Orlean's prolific writing will be happy to have these favorites in one set.--Elissa Cooper, Helen Plum Memorial Lib., Lombard, IL
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
The beloved author gathers a wide-ranging selection of pieces about animals. "Animals have always been my style," writes Orlean at the beginning of her latest delightful book, a collection of articles that originally appeared in "slightly modified form" in the Atlantic, Smithsonian, and the New Yorker, where she has been a staff writer since 1992. The variety on display is especially pleasing. Some essays are classic New Yorker profiles: Who knew that tigers, near extinction in the wild, are common household pets? There are at least 15,000 in the U.S. Her subject, a New Jersey woman, keeps several dozen and has been fighting successful court battles over them for decades. Lions are not near extinction, however; in fact, there are too many. Even in Africa, far more live in captivity or on reserves than in the wild, and readers may be shocked at their fate. Cubs are cute, so animal parks profit by allowing visitors to play with them. With reserves at capacity, cubs who mature may end up shot in trophy hunts or in stalls on breeding farms to produce more cubs. In "The Rabbit Outbreak," Orlean writes about how rabbit meat was an American staple until replaced by beef and chicken after World War II, whereupon rabbit pet ownership surged. They are now "the third-most-popular pet in the country, ranking just behind dogs and cats." Readers may be aware of the kerfuffle following the hit movie Free Willy that led to a massive campaign to return the film's killer whale to the wild, and Orlean delivers a fascinating, if unedifying account. The author handles dogs like a virtuoso, with 10 hilarious pages on the wacky, expensive, but sometimes profitable life of a champion show dog. Among America's 65 million pet dogs (according to a 2003 report), 10 million go astray every year, and about half are recovered. Orlean engagingly recounts a lost-dog search of epic proportions. Another winner featuring the author's trademark blend of meticulous research and scintillating writing. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
