It all started with a dog.
As a child, James Herriot, real name James Alfred "Alf" Wight, fell in love with an Irish Setter puppy and without knowing it, his future was set. As he matured, he had dreams of becoming a small animal vet, working in a nice, neat office with small animal patients. It didn't quite turn out that way. This is his story, and a delight it is, with added "the rest of the story".
If you're a long-time Herriot fan you're going to love this book after one look at the cover. If you're new to Herriot, you're in for a treat after giving in to the enticement of that quaint, dreamy cover. Trust me, you'll enjoy riding along those bumpy, muddy, occasionally flooded back country roads with James Herriot, the pen name he chose to write under, as you get to not only meet the characters of the original books but learn about the real people behind them. Whoever told him he'd never get rich as a country vet but have a life full of endless variety and interest was right. Even better, he eventually chose to share that life with us.
Interspersed with Herriot's original words, we get the background to these stories. With an introduction by his daughter and son, we meet the real people behind the pages and it was a delight to do so, even the cranky ones. There's a decency to them that is hard to miss. While not in sequential order, it's easy to follow Herriot's path from puppy-loving boy to the man, vet, and father he eventually became. I loved the stories where his children joined him on his visits, feeling his panic when, say, an angry, hurting animal nearly injured one of them. His love and respect for the animals he tended seemed to have passed to them as his son joined him as a vet and his daughter became a human doctor. Quite a lovely legacy of caring.
Oh, so many stories I'd love to share but I don't want to ruin one moment of your own enjoyment as you read this book. It truly was a "charming" story and discovering more about James Herriot the man and those he lived among was intriguing. I mean, the man visited Russia as part of a British Ministry of Agriculture at a time the Cold War was getting colder and, oh, yeah, there was his stint in the RAF. Heck, he even met his wife through a vet call. Seriously, this book was like time traveling back to a time and place where local pubs and a roaring fire were considered good entertainment. A time when you had to get yourself unstuck from a muddy/flooded road because there were no cell phones. No AAA even if there had been. A time when his daughter took greater delight in being able to identify birds and wildflowers than staying at home. Herriot's affection for both man and beast shines through throughout and I thank #NetGalley and #StMartin'sPress for allowing me this sneak peek into his life. Something tells me there will be a few well-loved Herriot books coming home with me from my next library trip.
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