Charlotte's Web

Charlotte's Web, by E.B. White, 184 pages

Charlotte is a terribly intelligent spider- she can read and spell words into her web.  Which, for some reason, she takes upon herself to do in order to save the life of young Wilbur, a very cute little pig who really wants a friend.  By spelling such phrases as "Some Pig" into her web, the farmers and the whole town come to appreciate the young pig.  And at its heart, this is a story about coming to terms with death as being a part of life, and as such, it's a rare and welcome work in the juvenile canon.

But... you guys.  You guys!! I know this is not a popular thing to say, but I found this book problematic.  Like... what's Wilbur's deal?  He spends the entire book being adorable, but absolutely helpless- the only way he makes it past page 1 is by being saved by young Fern, and the rest of the book is a series of saves by other strong females relegated to the background, culminating in being saved by a smart, well-educated spider who WRITES HUMAN ENGLISH WORDS INTO A WEB.  But the PIG is the one who is seen as spectacular! There is a total of one character who notes that the spider is the extraordinary one- Mrs. Zuckerman- and she is promptly ignored.  And I don't want to ruin the ending for anyone else who made it a lifetime without reading this, but Charlotte dies happily because she has saved Wilbur and got to have a bunch of baby spiders.  Also, take my advice and don't make that last point loudly at a baby shower because everyone there will give you a death glare or cough awkwardly and it will get really quiet and you will feel like a terrible person.

Stargazing Dog

Stargazing Dog by Takashi Murakami, 128 pages

Stargazing Dog is about a puppy named Happie that gets adopted by a young girl. At first everything is great and both have found a friend. Unfortunately as she got older and entered into her teen years there was less and less time for Happie. Eventually the dog is all but ignored by her. Luckily for Happie though her father starts taking care of him. At first he does so only grudgingly and with lots of complaining. Eventually as his life falls down around him he comes to enjoy the walks and Happie's company.

I really wish the book would end there, but it doesn't. Soon everything is quickly spiraling down hill into a dark finish.

Stargazing Dog is one of the few books that really seemed to touch on my emotions. There were times when reading it that I had to put it down and wipe tears away from my eyes. I am not sure if it was the power of the writing, the heartbreaking loss the book deals with, or just dredged up emotions that effected me more, either way this book should be a must read for everyone.

Cat Out of Hell

Cat Out of Hell by Lynne Truss
163 Pages

"..the tale of Alec Charlesworth, a librarian who finds himself suddenly alone: he's lost his job, his beloved wife has just died. Overcome by grief, he searches for clues about her disappearance in a file of interviews between a man called "Wiggy" and a cat, Roger. Who speaks to him. It takes a while for Alec to realize he's not gone mad from grief, that the cat is actually speaking to Wiggy . . . and that much of what we fear about cats is true. They do think they're smarter than humans, for one thing. And, well, it seems they are! What's more, they do have nine lives. Or at least this one does - Roger's older than Methuselah, and his unblinking stare comes from the fact that he's seen it all. And he's got a tale to tell, a tale of shocking local history and dark forces that may link not only the death of Alec's wife, but also several other local deaths. But will the cat help Alec, or is he one of the dark forces?"


 Not as funny as the reviewers would have you believe.  Getting through this book was a long ordeal with a disappointing ending.

Mort(e)

Mort(e) by Robert Repino, 358 pages

The "war with no name" has begun, the instigator of this war is a colony, of super intelligent ants who, for thousands of years, have been building an army to eradicate the humans. The final step in the Colony's war effort is to transform every surface animals into intelligent two-legged beings so that they can rise up and kill their former masters. One of these animals is the house cat turned war hero, Mort(e) who is famous for taking on the most dangerous missions and fighting the dreaded human bio-weapon EMSAH. Mort(e)'s true motivation however is his ongoing search for a his friend Sheba.
   
Told from Mort(e)'s point of view I felt like Repino wanted to give a deep thought-provoking story, however it felt a little forced regarding religion and philosophy. While I did enjoy the concept of animals becoming intelligent and rising up against humanity, as well as the main character Mort(e) I would have liked to see more diversity in the characters, maybe throw in some reptiles or marine life instead of sticking mostly to mammals. Overall I enjoyed reading this book and would probably recommend it to others.

Holy Cow

Holy Cow by David Duchnovny
206 Pages

Another insipid celebrity authored book has a cow experiencing an epiphany when see catches a documentary on TV about the meat industry.  Joined by a pig and a turkey, she sets out to India to escape her fate and have a happy existence.

I can say after reading this that if Duchovny is anything like his writing style, he is one person I would never want to meet.  Juvenile humor mars what might have been a good tale and the characters are shallow, hollow heroes in the book.