Review: The Blessings of the Animals
August 23rd, 2010 § 9 Comments
by Katrina Kittle
Published by Harper Perennial
August 2010
464 pages
my rating: 9/10
what a pleasant surprise of a book!?! i really enjoyed the story, the character, the writing – everything was wonderful, and despite its bulk, it read fairly quickly and easily. spunky and full of emotional nuggets of wisdom, this was a book that left me immensely satisfied, both as a reader and as a human being that loves her people and animals.
Throughout my teens I’d flirt with starvation – as well as with rock climbing, flying lessons, hitchhiking and lots of solo travel, a variety of drugs, and boys with bad reputations.
the story centers on Camden (Cam or Cami for short), a sometimes reckless, but mostly passionate veterinarian who very much loves her work, who is also a mother and wife in a seemingly turbulent, but satisfying life. and then, without much warning or fanfare, her husband leaves, throwing their lives into the painful aftermath of divorce. but, Cam, being the ever-resilient superwoman type that she is, does her best to dust herself off and weather the storm and learn a bit about herself and others along the way.
through a whole slew of characters that i couldn’t even begin to introduce, Cam wades through the divorce with her support system in tow. parents, in-laws, fellow co-workers, her gay brother and his partner (both named David), her best friend and fiancee, her daughter and her very smitten boyfriend, and on and on. and that’s not even beginning to get into the animals. so, be prepared for the long list of characters! but, as much as it sounds daunting, it really wasn’t. each person and every animal had their place and it wasn’t overdone or excessive somehow.
so, as the title would suggest, animals definitely have a portion of the spotlight in the story. Moonshot, in particular, a tragic and temperamental rescue horse comes into Cam’s life on the same day that her husband leaves, giving Cam an outlet for her frustration, allowing her to nurture and care for something other than her own damaged self, if only for a while. but, in addition to Moonshot is the crazy goat that won’t stay put and the three-legged cat that purrs its way into the readers heart. there’s even a crazy cat lady, since any animal related story wouldn’t be quite complete without one!
in addition to the dynamics of our relationships with animals, Kittle definitely takes a good, hard look at human relationships and the institution of marriage from various angles. the endless list of characters are almost all presented in their relationship form. the obvious divorce of Cam and Bobby strikes up the traditional marriage situation, but also the Davids (legally unable to marry) and Helen and Hank (who choose to remain happily unmarried), and even Cam’s parents celebrating their epic 50th wedding anniversary (having survived infidelity, no less) all provide varying perspectives of relationships. the stability and ultimate happiness of any relationship comes, obviously, from within the people rather than the institution itself and Kittle does a great job of portraying this, as well as the opposing strengths that do inevitably exist within the sanctity of marriage.
but, ultimately, Kittle writes about the strength that exists in humans to overcome, to forgive, and to nurture, through parenting or doctoring or cooking, or whatever. it doesn’t really matter how, but we are all capable somehow of supporting those people in our lives that we love, in times of need and in times of joy, and Kittle couldn’t have made that message any clearer.
this would make a great addition to any summer reading pile and i would definitely recommend it, not only for animal lovers or parents or divorcees, but for anyone that believes that emotional hardship can and should make you a better, stronger person.
The Blessings of the Animals is currently on tour with TLC Book Tours and was sent to me by the publisher for review. thank you to Trish, TLC and Harper for the opportunity to partipate!
and if you are interested, author Katrina Kittle will be on Blog Talk Radio with Book Club Girl on August 26th at 7pm ET, so stop by and check it out.
Wonderful review! I love Harper books, and I’m so glad to know that there are many different types of couples presented in the book. Thanks for giving a thorough review!
hehe, i definitely have a fondness for harper, as well! and this was one of the better harper’s that i’ve read in a while.
Many thanks for this lovely, generous review. I’m floating on your kind words! So glad you enjoyed the novel.
thank you so much for stopping by, katrina! i definitely enjoyed the novel and will be recommending it at every opportunity.
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I love the way you describe the “institution of marriage” and all the ways that Kittle examines that – that is the thing that really draws me to this book. Thanks for being a part of the tour!
heather, thanks for stopping by and for having me on the tour!
i was really surprised by how powerful the relationship aspect of the book was, in a most pleasant way, and i think that this component makes it a great read for even non-animal lovers. it’s a very multi-faceted book that could really appeal to a broad group.
Is this one fiction or in the memoir catagory? Sounds interesting. I love stories with animals in them.
ah, i’m glad you asked… i had meant to include a note about this in my review and it completely slipped my mind!
the book is entirely fiction, but it does draw from the author’s life experiences in her own divorce. and it definitely reads very much like a memoir, with a lot of real world application and wisdom.
if you love animals, this is definitely a great book to pick up!