Memoirs of a Country Vet.... (If Only They Could Talk - James Herriot)

Member Name: Wee_Jackie_163

Product:	If Only They Could Talk - James Herriot
Date:	01/08/09 (70 review reads)
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** INTRODUCTION **

I am a huge animal lover and in fact used to work as an Animal Care Assistant which allowed me to fulfil my childhood dream of working with animals. Because I used to enjoy reading about animals so much - both in fiction and non-fiction books - my mum suggest many years ago that I try some books by James Herriot, as she had read a few some years ago and thought they were brilliantly written and very amusing.

I followed her advice and did read a lot of his work when I was younger, thoroughly enjoying Herriot's writing style throughout my teens and all the way into my adulthood which is quite unusual for me - any other fiction read by myself at this stage in my life has long since been discarded. I find myself even now returning to his books time and time again, even though by now of course I know most of the plotlines off by heart.

The first book I ever read by James Herriot was "If Only They Could Talk" and it is one of my favourites by this author. I have re-read it so many times that my copy is almost completely worn out and several pages have needed to be stuck in. Anyway, I read it again recently and have decided to review it on Dooyoo.


** THE PLOT **

We are 'thrown' into the grips of the story straight from the first chapter when James, a newly qualified young veterinary surgeon, is in the middle of performing a procedure on a pregnant cow. We are treated to plenty of detail about all of the problems that this brings and are given more than one humorous reference to the spectators who are observing the young vet at work and passing comment. All in all the first chapter is a great read, and nicely 'sets the scene' for the rest of the book.

The second chapter introduces James in a little more detail. I will point out at this stage that the whole book is written in the first person and is from James's point of view.

In this chapter, James tells us how he felt travelling to a little village in the Yorkshire Dales called Darrowby by bus to meet his prospective new employer and this chapter really lets us get to know the young James as a person in that we are given hints to his feelings and emotions.

James does of course secure employment in Darrowby and commences work with his new boss Siegfried Farnon, working as his assistant. The first couple of chapters give us a little background information which lets the rest of the story unfold...


** MY OPINION **

The book is basically an account of James Herriot's first year of work as a qualified veterinary surgeon and what I found is that the whole book is basically something like Herriot's personal memories, which are not only thoroughly enjoyable but also very amusing at the same time. He is a brilliant writer and has the ability to encounter several 'happenings' from his past in a very amusing way.

An example of this would be how he remembers that his boss Mr Farnon made several comments about how he couldn't understand why people kept dogs purely as pets, although he could understand the many uses of the animals on a farm or when being used for shooting/hunting. Fair enough comments perhaps, but James noted quite cleverly that these statements were made by Mr Farnon to James whilst they were travelling in a car whilst Mr Farnon's own five dogs were their travelling companions and the statement was made to James 'through a screen of flapping ears and lolling tongues as he sat in his car."

We are also introduced to many of the farmers and different customers of the veterinary practice in the book. All of the characters in the book are brilliantly described by the author and their characteristics and sometimes bizarre personalities are evident to the reader. Many of the characters are 'larger than life' and I think this is again down to Herriot's brilliant writing skills.

One of the characters who makes several appearances throughout the book is Mrs Pumphrey, owner of a little Pekinese dog called 'Tricki Woo'. Mrs Pumphrey is a very wealthy lady who dotes on her little dog and spoils him so much that he is becoming very obese and unhealthy. She is an extremely eccentric character and the author clearly revels in telling stories about her devotion to the little dog, but none more so than the time he received an invitation to a party from Tricki himself addressed to his 'Uncle Herriot'.

Little snippets of farm work and tales about the dated instruments and drugs he had to use as a young vet make the background to the stories every bit as enjoyable as the tales contained within them. The book is set in the late 1930's, and it is interesting to read about some of the practices and equipment that were used in that era.

There is a lot of reference to surgical procedures and animal anatomy as you would probably expect in a book written by a vet about his experiences, but I wouldn't let that put you off from reading it. There is nothing too confusing or 'heavy' in this book and there is not one page of it that didn't amount to enjoyable reading. At no time did I feel that the author was wittering on about things I didn't understand; I feel he is merely attempting to explain certain procedures and practices so that we as the readers are given a bit of background information and an idea of what is expected of him in his role as a veterinary surgeon.

I would award this book five stars - I cannot recommend it highly enough, and I only wish it was a longer read. I think I will need to look out for a new copy as mine is well and truly past its best! Top marks from me!

The book is available to buy from amazon.co.uk for £5.49.


** A LITTLE ABOUT THE AUTHOR **

As some of you may be aware, James's stories -including this book - were turned into a popular television show called 'All Creatures Great and Small' where the young James Herriot was played by the actor Christopher Timothy.

James Herriot is a pseudonym. The 'real James' was actually a Glaswegian man, called Alf Wight. The fictional village of 'Darrowby' was actually based on the Yorkshire town of Thirsk, where Alf worked throughout his life as a Veterinary surgeon. Sadly, Alf Wight died in 1995.

Summary: If only they could talk.......what would they say?