- Hardcover: 217 pages
- Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books (4 Aug 2009)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 031238307X
- ISBN-13: 978-0312383077
- Product Dimensions: 21.4 x 14.8 x 2.2 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 200,318 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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3 reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
erudute, elegant, with a strong plot
26 Aug 2009
Format:Hardcover
A colleague sent me this book and I was enthralled from page one with the beauty and vigor of the sentences, the sensory vividness of the descriptions. After a few more pages I saw that Fiona Farrell had meticulously re-created her time and place, and knew her subject through and through, but not so as to overwhelm a reader with facts irrelevant to her story. Later still, I saw that she was mounting a truly thoughtful argument about humans' unhappy effects on the planet's web of life. And finally, when I got to the end, I realized that not only was her plot perfectly executed, it was also a delivery system for her thoughts on evolution and humans' place in it. The book has got really appealing protagonists and grimly entertaining villains. I hope a lot of people will read this book. It's very timely and deeply satisfying.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
interesting amusing whimsical historical tale
6 Aug 2009
Format:Hardcover
In the late nineteenth century in England, ferret whisperer and breeder Walter Allbones meets naturalist and rare bird collector Mr. Pitford and his lovely granddaughter Eugenia when his pets poach rabbits to bring to him from the nearby estate owned by the scientist. They sort of catch him in the act. He agrees to provide Mr. Pitford with ferrets to be shipped to New Zealand to control the out of control rabbit infestation.
Walter is attracted to Eugenia and as much to the money he can make selling his ferrets. The pair chaperoned by grandpa begins an international trek to sell his ferrets. As their journey continues Walter believes he loves Eugenia, but fears her reaction would end their friendship. He does not understanding she begins to reciprocate his feelings in spite of his emitting the stinky odor of ferret sweat to her olfactory sense.
This is an interesting amusing historical tale with a wonderful romantic subplot that enhances Fiona Farrell's satirical homage to Darwin as mustelids and ferrets play matchmakers, but not the way readers would expect. The story line is whimsical with solid characters having differing personalities. Fans who relish something different and do not demonize evolution will enjoy this irreverent look at relationships, human and otherwise, that both highly respect in awe and cheekily mock also in awe Darwin.
Harriet Klausner
Walter is attracted to Eugenia and as much to the money he can make selling his ferrets. The pair chaperoned by grandpa begins an international trek to sell his ferrets. As their journey continues Walter believes he loves Eugenia, but fears her reaction would end their friendship. He does not understanding she begins to reciprocate his feelings in spite of his emitting the stinky odor of ferret sweat to her olfactory sense.
This is an interesting amusing historical tale with a wonderful romantic subplot that enhances Fiona Farrell's satirical homage to Darwin as mustelids and ferrets play matchmakers, but not the way readers would expect. The story line is whimsical with solid characters having differing personalities. Fans who relish something different and do not demonize evolution will enjoy this irreverent look at relationships, human and otherwise, that both highly respect in awe and cheekily mock also in awe Darwin.
Harriet Klausner
0 of 2 people found the following review helpful
A dreary read that goes nowhere
25 Oct 2009
Format:Hardcover
After reading the glowing reviews above, I gave this novel a try and was terribly disappointed. Maybe you need to have a strong interest in detailed descriptions of ferrets scrambling underground for rabbits to terrify to the surface. This doesn't interest me. And to describe this book as a romance is just crazy. It's difficult to care about these characters and the surprise ending should have been re-vamped by an alert editor. There is just not enough happening in the book. I kept waiting for more. Try a different book. I can't think of anything similar to this one to read (men who capture ferrets and care for them on the ship ride to New Zealand). But if you're looking for a good read, try Cathy Lamb's *Henry's Sisters.*
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