Title: A Man and his Maniac: The Bunkie Story
Author: Charles Emery
Price: $12.98
Genre: Non-Fiction
ISBN: 978-0-6151-3838-1
Publisher/Point of Sale: Lulu
The Bunkie Story has many of the qualities of a good dog. It is straight forward, good humored and worth an hour or two of anyone’s time. I smiled, I laughed, I actually cried at the end. Anyone who’s been there at the end for a dog knows what that is like. Any dog owner worth there salt will recognize these experiences: from the wry mundanity of stepping barefoot on dog shit and the moments you think ‘yup, that dog is dead’ only to find they are way more resilient than you imagine—to the moments of pure insight and satisfaction that can only happen when you work with dogs and spend a lot of time with them (sheep dogs in my case rather than gun dogs, but the principle is the same).
I could safely predict the author and I have very little in common other than a love of dogs and the good fortune to have spent a lot of time with some very fine dogs. We may in fact be polar opposites on just about every other issue that could possibly be imagined but when it comes to dogs, that doesn’t matter. I loved this book. There were really only two, well, not sour notes but perhaps some elements falling a bit flat for me. One was after the seventh or eighth mention of the ‘future ex wife’ where I felt that wry humor was tipping over into an unwelcome hint of bitterness, and an epilogue that introduces a ‘God’ element that might be less universal than the central ‘dog’ element—at least amongst the audience likely to pick up a book with a puppy on the cover.
The Bunkie Story is widely accessible because it is a specific story told plainly but with considerable insight. On the whole I would not hesitate to recommend this book which chronicles much of what is remarkable and uplifting about sharing our lives with dogs. I look forward to Mr. Emery's future works.
RATING: 7.5/10
SEE ALSO
Lulu 8.3
POD Critic 7.5
Amazon.com 8
Pub-ioneer 7.5
Mrs. Giggles 7.8
AVERAGE: 7.8/10
2 comments:
I want to thank you for taking the time to review my book, it is MUCH appreciated.
I think you are correct in your assessment that we don't have much in common. That is why I'm very impressed that you can look beyond any potential assumed conflicts that we have in personal ideology and still give an objective review of my book; your professionalism is to be commended and I respect you for that.
Polarizing conflicts aside, I am very glad that you liked the book. It gives me great pleasure to know that the book evokes emotions that are universal; that the love of dogs and pets in general transcend ideolgical barriers and reduce them to a basic tenet of humanity, the act of being human. Bunkie was a great dog and a better friend, I'm a much better man for our friendship.
I am more Animist than Christian, I guess you can classify me as a Deist.
I had no idea you were into Sheepdogs, one of my favorites.
Thanks again,
Chuck Emery
Doggone it, I forgot to add that I'd like to send you a signed copy for your collection, that is if you want one. Just let me know where to send it.
Regards,
Chuck Emery
Post a Comment