Susan Orlean, who could write about just anything and make it interesting (and has), turns her attention to her love of animals in this delightful book. Each chapter has its own focus and you'll find yourself wanting a furry (or feathered) friend of each ilk. Whether you are inspired to go all in and start adopting, or just find a new appreciation for our earthly companions, this book is guaranteed to make you smile.
Amid the chaos following a massive earthquake and tsunami, a dog appears to a man with a nefarious employment history. Despite his other bad choices, he has a soft spot for the dog and takes him along, realizing soon that this dog is smarter than the average mutt and seems to have a goal in mind, always seeming to aim his nose in one direction. The dog, whose tag says his name is Tamon, gradually makes his way from one foster owner to another in his quest, always seeking, while being everything each caretaker seems to need during his stay. A lovely book of the love and profound loyalty of dogs, and the healing power that love can bring to anyone, no matter how broken.
First of all, I love Rinker Buck, or at least I think I do. His respect for all of humanity is admirable, and he exemplifies his bonhomie as he traverses hill and dale (or in this case, wave and wake) during his adventures. While I ate up the Oregon Trail experience, for some reason, this odyssey down the Mississippi in a flatboat just fell a little, well, flat for me. It felt like he had to have a certain number of pages and was fulfilling that quota with lots of nautical jargon--not my forte and I'm guessing I'm not alone there--and at times I was scanning forward to see where the thread would end. As a result, the culmination of his trip felt a little anticlimactic, in that I'd wanted him to hurry up and get there for a while. I'll read his next book, for sure, as I would for any "friend", but I won't beat myself up if I skip some pages.
