Review: One Dog at a Time: Saving the Strays of Afghanistan

Author: Pen Farthing

Genre: Memoir (2009)

About: While serving for the Royal Marines in Afghanistan, the author intervenes when he comes upon the scene of a local dog fight. One of the freed dogs finds his way into the Marine compound where Farthing is staying and eventually so do several other strays. Farthing, with a soft spot for dogs, can't resist caring for them, some of whom are pregnant, and as his tour of duty comes to an end he enlists his wife's help to rescue them.

Did you know...that dogfighting, a centuries-old tradition, is one of Afghanistan's most popular sports, and that owners cut off their dogs' ears and tails with a knife (no anesthetic) so no superficial wounds will be inflicted because of a torn ear or tail and the fights can then last longer?

Overall:  It was okay.

Liked...the courage the author showed in standing up to the dogfights and in caring for the dogs at the Marine compound, as it was not exactly in line with the rules but because he was a higher rank he got away with it. I liked the dramatic ending the best, when he had to organize the dogs' difficult trip out of Afghanistan. I also liked the few pictures on the front and back inside covers.

Didn't like...that it dragged on. Yes he had a huge heart and yes he went to a lot of trouble to save a few dogs in the compound when his duty was over, but not enough content to warrant a book. 

Source: Library

Why I chose: The cover. I couldn't resist. And of course the subtitle: Saving the Strays of Afghanistan. Always a sucker for animals. Especially strays.

Recommend:  Eh.

Rating:  3 / 5

Review: Secrets of Eden

by Chris Bohjalian
Fiction (2010)

My Synopsis

After her baptism by Reverend Stephen Drew, Alice Hayward goes home and is killed by her abusive husband, who then kills himself. Heather Laurent, a well known author of books about angels, befriends Alice's 15-year-old daughter Katie, since she experienced her own parents' murder-suicide. Questions around the murder-suicide arise when certain secrets are exposed.

My Thoughts

Aghhh! I couldn't decide whether to give this a 3 (it was okay) or a 4 (I enjoyed it). I switched back and forth between the two ratings while reading. At times I enjoyed the writing and characters and storyline, and at other times I was bored and felt like not enough was happening. I did feel empathy towards Heather Laurent and enjoyed the depth of emotion when she discussed her childhood, but when she talked about angels (which was often), I thought she was a nut! Also, her appearance after the murders was so random. Hi, you don't know me, but I'm a famous author and I want to be your friend.

The teenager, Katie, was strange, and I didn't find the things she said to be realistic, which is surprising considering Bohjalian got input for the book from his own teenage daughter.

My favorite character was Catherine, the state prosecutor, and my least favorite was Stephen Drew, the reverend.

The storyline was interesting for the most part, with its relationship twists and possible scenarios of "who dunnit," but I didn't love it like others did. Which isn't surprising considering the only popular books I've loved that everyone else raved about are The Help and The Book Thief. Guess I'm a pretty tough customer...lol.

Interesting tidbit and wondering how it may have affected my review... A friend (not a close friend, but she was in our circle and lived only a block away) was killed a few years ago by her husband after finding out she was going to divorce him and that she was interested in another man. He then killed himself. Their two boys (10 and 12) were upstairs when it happened, and one of them heard the gunshot and found them both dead.

Do I Recommend?

Hard to say. If you are a Bohjalian fan, I'm sure you've already read it or plan to - and you should - but I won't recommend this to anyone I know.

Source

Library

My Rating

3/5 (It was okay)

Other reviews

S. Krishna's Books
Thoughts of Joy (This blogger agreed with me)
Girls With Books

Review: Dry

by Augusten Burroughs
Memoir (2003)

My Synopsis

Memoir of guy in his 20s who works in New York in advertising and is told by his employer to go to rehab for his drinking problem.

My Thoughts

The first time I was introduced to Augusten Burroughs was through his book Running With Scissors. That's when I fell in love. Well not with him, because he's gay, but with his writing and wit, his sarcasm and self-deprecation. He really made me laugh. I wanted more of him (of his books, I mean), so I read A Wolf at the Table, which is a memoir about his relationship with his father. I enjoyed it, but not as much as Running With Scissors.

Dry is about the author getting, well, dry, going to rehab for alcoholism. Like most alcoholics, he didn't think he had a problem, but his employer forced him to go. It was that or lose his job.

The book follows his life of going to rehab, falling in love with a guy at the gay rehab facility, relapsing and being hospitalized for alcohol poisoning, and the death of a close friend. As is typical of Burroughs, he somehow finds humor in all of this.

While I enjoyed the book, and still love him, I didn't like it as much as I liked Running With Scissors. If you haven't read one of his books yet, and want to, and SHOULD, read that one.

Do I Recommend?

I didn't love it; let's just leave it at that.

Source

Library

My Rating

3/5

Review: Shattered Silence

by Melissa G. Moore

My Synopsis

Memoir of a serial killer's daughter.

My Thoughts

Melissa Moore's father, Keith Jesperson, was known as the "Happy Face" killer.  He wrote his own book called "I" The Creation of a Serial Killer, which I may have to read.

I thought Moore's book was just okay.  I love true crime books, so the title interested me, but mostly she tells about her life growing up.  Her dad did kill some cats, and she related these awful memories of him doing so, and she also told of inappropriate things he said to her, but for the most part her dad was not a vicious, mean, abusive father.  After her parents divorced, her mother moved her and her siblings around many times and she had to switch schools.  Her father made a point to stay in the kids' lives, and her siblings looked forward to his fun visits where he took the kids to buy things and played with them by throwing them over his shoulder and carrying them around like dads do.  Melissa claims she was afraid of her father, but not for a specific reason.  She said she just didn't trust him.  He never physically abused or molested his children.

While Melissa was in high school, her father was arrested for the murder of his girlfriend and subsequently admitted to killing seven other people between 1990 and 1995.  He was sentenced to three consecutive life terms.

Again, the book was just okay.  I read it in two days and it held my attention, but I've read a lot of true crime books and it wasn't that exciting.  I hate to put it like that because, after all, her father really was a serial killer and that is awful!  Her growing up years were not great because her parents were divorced, they didn't have a lot of money, her mother married a deaf man with anger issues, Moore had to switch schools a couple of times, but I'm not sure it was worth writing a book.  After reading "A Child Called It", nothing compares to the treatment Dave Pelzer endured as a child. 

I am curious to read her father's version.

Do I Recommend?

Probably not.

Source

Library

My Rating

3/5

Other reviews

Bobbi's Book Nook

Review: Expecting Adam

Expecting Adam

by Martha Beck

My Synopsis

Memoir of a Harvard educated mother who discovers she is pregnant with a Down syndrome child.

My Thoughts

This memoir was just okay. I loved the actual story and how she started out with meeting her husband (also a Harvard student at the time) and their life before her pregnancy with Adam (her 1st child, Katie, was healthy). I also liked how she alternated between past (pregnant with Adam) and present (telling stories of Adam as a child). But I was offended by how many times she used the words retarded, deformed, disfigured, mongoloid, abnormal, etc., throughout the entire book. Just because you're speaking of your own child, does it give you the right to use those terms? It really bothered me.

Also, although I know the author was simply being honest about learning her son had Down syndrome, at one point contemplating whether to have an abortion, she seemed robotic and cold even when her son was born, and that bothered me. I expected it to be more a story about what a blessing he turned out to be and how he had a positive effect on her life, but I ended up not really liking her.

Do I Recommend?

Nah.

Source: Bought

My Rating

3/5

Review: This Lovely Life: Memoir of Premature Motherhood

This Lovely Life

by Vicki Forman

My Synopsis

Subtitled Memoir of Premature Motherhood, the author writes about her experience of giving birth to one-pound twins at 23 weeks gestation. Her daughter died four days later and her son was blind, severely disabled and dependant on a feeding tube. She had clearly expressed to the doctor not to resuscitate the babies, aware of their high risk for permanent disabilities, but California law demands otherwise. She details the birth, her daughter's death and burial, and her son's struggle for life.

My Thoughts

The medical aspect drew me to this book and kept my attention, so I enjoyed that part of it. However, the author's resentment and anger that the doctors did not honor her DNR (do not resuscitate) wish resonated throughout. If I were in her position I don't know what I would do, so it's not for me to judge, but it seemed like so much of the book focused on that part of it instead of, "Okay, this happened, my son is alive and we move on." That's what I wanted her to say.

On the other hand, it is sad that due to hospital policies a parent has no say in whether or not doctors should use extreme life-saving measures despite life-changing, permanent outcomes for the parents.

As a Christian, it was interesting that the author, a non-believer, turned to Buddhism and meditation during her ordeal. She said she didn't believe in a higher power, and it was sad - to me - to see someone struggle so much to find answers and relief from suffering, never to find a place of peace. Ever.

Do I Recommend?

Yes, if you've experienced the birth of a premature baby with disabilities or the death of a premature baby, you may find comfort in a similar story. But if you're looking for help in dealing with grief from such a loss, this probably isn't for you.

Source: Library

My Rating

3/5