On Animals

I didn't realize when I bought this book that all of the essays had been previously published sometime since 1995, often in The New Yorker. I thought it was going to be about Orlean's experience with animals; mostly, it isn't. Each chapter is a different essay about a different animal: Camels, Donkeys, Orcas, Rabbits etc. There does not seem to be any connection from one chapter to the other except that they are all about different animals. All are interesting, but not what I expected. She does finally get into that at the end, but even then some information is left out. For example, she says that her husband drove two cats to L.A., but even though we've been introduced to three cats, she never says which two. Then later she mentions him driving one dog, one puppy, and one cat to L.A., but, again, she doesn't mention the cat by name. Having said all that, I did enjoy the book, and I would have given it five stars if there had been more continuity in the final section.

The introduction of this book begins promisingly: “…I was always a little animalish” and ends even more so: “I think I’ll always have animals and I think I’ll always write about them. Their unknowability challenges me. Our affection for them intrigues me. I resist the urge to anthropomorphize them, but I do think they know something we don’t about living elementally. I’m happy to be in their company.” Because I couldn’t agree more with these statements, I was j trifled but the book and couldn’t wait to start reading it. I’m sorry to say that by the time I had finished it, I was disappointed that the promise of the introduction didn’t materialize by the last chapter. While Susan Orlean writes intriguingly about diverse animals such as chickens, tigers, lions, panda bears, dogs and donkeys, many of the stories seem disjointed and lacking a conclusion. There was no thread tying them all together, and I really can’t say that I sensed any kind of “animalish” attraction to any of them aside from Orlean’s affection for her chickens. Happy endings are replaced by Hollywood imagery for example in the story of Keiko the killer whale star of Free Willy. While Orlean claims he was successfully reintroduced into the wild, internet research shows that he actually succumbed to pneumonia in Norway not long after he left captivity.Sadly, this book, while still readable, left me cold and unconvinced of the author’s “animalishness”.

Susan Orlean just doesn't know how to disappoint. I fell in love with her writing when I stumbled onto The Orchid Thief years ago. When she smells a Holy Grail, she follows the scent until she's neck-deep, personally involved, for good or bad. On the cover of her newest book, On Animals, there's a black and white chicken, a Dominique, the kind we West Texas kids called "Domineckers." The look on bird's red- framed face has to be the artist's impression of Susan, not Chicken Orlean (may the poor bird RIP). If you're "animalish" like Susan and me, you'll find the book enthralling. Or, if you're not animalish but just need a few hundred pair of frozen goat feet, this book's for you. - James Gary Vineyard, author of The Grave on Peckerwood Hill

I suppose my fondness for Susan Orlean comes, at least in part, from the fact that we were both English majors at the University of Michigan at the same time. And her voice on the page resembles my own. So I am not annoyed by the fact that some of these stories reference times decades in the past and are not contemporary in any way. But the whole affair is so good-natured and presented so lovingly that it really doesn’t matter. You could certainly pass your reading time in worse ways.

Book arrived just as described by seller.

Susan Orlean is a very good writer but I was very disappointed with this book. I was looking forward to reading about various animals (the book got brilliant reviews), but there's just too much about Susan herself. I get the feeling, in fact, that she's more than a little self-centered--even when it comes to her interactions with the animals. Not the great book I was expecting.

It kept my interest

I'm excited about this book. We are reading this book for our March book club. It has a lot of info about all kinds of animals. Alot of informative, funny and educational tidbits. We will have a great discussion.

Book came on time and was what I expected.