|
Hieronymous Alloy posted:Everyone who liked this first volume, I strongly suggest rolling forward into the remaining three others. They're mostly more of the same but each moves forward a bit chronologically -- just as the first book has the overarching "plot" of Herriott's courtship and marriage, the second and third bring the action forward through WW2, and the final volume covers post-war; it's probably the weakest overall volume because it doesn't have War Drama to stiffen it, but it has my overall favorite Herriott story, the tale of the Artificial Bovine Vagina. I bought the three-book compendium, and after reading a few chapters I bought my wife the audiobook since she likes to listen to stuff on her commute and it's right up her alley. I'm definitely going to buy hard copies, this is something I want on my shelf. Also, I need more shelves.
|
# ? Sep 7, 2018 15:37 |
|
|
# ? May 9, 2024 14:11 |
|
I'm late to the part on this one but holy hell am I glad I started reading this. I think the thing that's hitting me the hardest is how much the farmers that Herriott deals with remind me of my kinfolk out in west Texas growing up as a kid. Him frantically trying to get that family to get up and out of the house so he can take them to the musical while they are just chilling out and slowly eating their meal is something I could have seen my grandparents doing.
|
# ? Sep 7, 2018 16:44 |
|
It really is charming, I've only found time for the first few chapters but I'm looking forward to reading more; I've never really thought much about farm specific veterinarians and it's like a weird blend of loving animals but also a nod towards practicality; these are animals of labor.
|
# ? Sep 19, 2018 14:15 |
|
Hieronymous Alloy posted:I suspect all of them, but dramatized a bit. For example, the actual dude who Seigfried was based on didn't talk to Wight for years because he felt he'd been unfairly caricatured as a rage monster(I believe they eventually reconciled) My edition had a dedication to "Donald and Brian Sinclair, still my friends", for what it is worth. Got into this a bit late, but dang, what a delight! Most of you seem to be familiar with Herriot since your childhoods, but I had never heard of him even though it is right up my alley. Quite possibly due to not growing up in an English speaking country. Luckily some friends and family who are similarly handicapped now have an excellent christmas gift waiting for them. I found it to be quite the page turner, since the chapters are so short I just kept going for one more before I'd go to sleep. Some sweet turns of phrase as well, like the hens which did this or that "philosophically" or the cow which had "a preoccupied, inward look". I also liked the old medicines, on their way out. Some they probably knew was largely, or completely, useless other than as placebo while other remedies probably lingered for quite a while. Interesting to hear his brief commentaries in hindsight. I've often thought along the same lines and wondered what treatments we'll laugh at in thirty or fifty years, though I work with homo sapiens. Looking forward to his other books!
|
# ? Oct 2, 2018 20:51 |
I'm really glad this one is still puddling along. It's easy to dismiss these stories but there's so much wealth in them, and somehow they seem to have fallen into the generational gap and are starting to be forgotten.
|
|
# ? Oct 4, 2018 02:14 |
"Philosophically" was always my favorite phrasing.
|
|
# ? Oct 4, 2018 02:42 |
|
I bought my wife the audiobook. She's hooked and was poking around for the BBC series. It looks like most (if not all) of it is available on YouTube, but I may still just buy her the DVDs.
|
# ? Oct 6, 2018 14:22 |
tetrapyloctomy posted:I bought my wife the audiobook. She's hooked and was poking around for the BBC series. It looks like most (if not all) of it is available on YouTube, but I may still just buy her the DVDs. Yup, from what I recall, most of the original series is on Youtube or Dailymotion, but there were various Christmas specials and later supplementary series that are a little harder to find.
|
|
# ? Oct 6, 2018 15:23 |
|
Since this BotM, I've started a dog-walking business, and everything in the book has a new relevance -- especially Mrs Pumphrey and Tricki. I've also never heard of this book and I'm so happy the thread introduced me to it. All of my clients are getting a hard copy of this book for Christmas.
|
# ? Nov 22, 2018 14:12 |
|
I just finished a book written by carol drinkwater. An actress most well known for being in the TV adaptation of this book. It is basically "under a Tuscan sun" only south France instead of Italy. It's the third book in this genre I've read, I don't know why I like these books as much as I do.
|
# ? Nov 30, 2018 13:19 |
|
So, I've given this book to a bunch of friends and family in the years since this thread, and as far as I know they were universally delighted. A bunch of them individually let me know that there were a new tv show out, which I had completely missed. We've gone through it now, leading up to Christmas. It is very cozy
|
# ? Dec 26, 2020 07:27 |
ovenboy posted:So, I've given this book to a bunch of friends and family in the years since this thread, and as far as I know they were universally delighted. A bunch of them individually let me know that there were a new tv show out, which I had completely missed. Thanks for posting about the new series! My family has been watching it also, but we're only a few episodes in. They've definitely upped the tension relative to the original stories, but that just feels like modernization I suppose. Tristran's actor nails it.
|
|
# ? Dec 29, 2020 16:52 |
|
Oh hey, apparently a remake came out in 2020. Any good?
|
# ? Dec 30, 2020 20:20 |
|
|
# ? May 9, 2024 14:11 |
|
If you're in US/Canada it'll be on PBS next month: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/shows/all-creatures-great-and-small/
|
# ? Jan 1, 2021 00:09 |