Well, it’s been some time since our last book review, but
your reviewer has just literally laughed out loud whilst reading the story Enslaved by Ducks by Bob Tarte. If you
have ever owned one more pet than you planned, or if you have had an animal
worm it’s way into your heart against your will, or if you have possibly owned
six more animals than you planned (ahem, Kathy and David), then you may be able
to relate to this book. Unlike Some We
Eat (which we reviewed some months back), Enslaved by Ducks only makes the slightest pretense of being
informative and no pretense of being scientific. All in all, it’s just a story
of a city man turned country bumpkin, who soon finds himself overruled by (mostly)
avian masters.
One example of Tarte’s great sense of humor is his anecdote
about trying to subtly out-do people in their pet ownership. He tells about
sidling up to a woman buying dog food and sighing about how he can’t get a dog
himself. She pats his arm sympathetically and says maybe someday he can, and
then he (figuratively) pounces . . . listing off how he’s just too busy with
his parrots, dove, ducks, geese, turkeys, rabbits, and cats. And he walks off
in triumph. But, of course, it’s a lot funnier when he writes it, and if you’ve
ever had something which you feel a little like gloating about then you’ll very
likely be able to relate. We won’t say that this has ever been the case with a
teenaged daughter of GEE Funny Farm owners, but we will just say that sometimes
we suspect that some people really do
feel and act this way.
His anecdotes about his psychologist visits are less in our
line of work (with animals), but can we just say that they, too, are so
delightfully funny. What a wonderful character description! When the doctor
reads off questions such as, “Do you hear voices? Do people follow you?”
Tarte’s response? – Well, that’s just plain wit!
When thinking about my own review, I glanced at Goodreads to
see what others were saying. Many people loved it. Many people were indifferent
to it. Many people hated it. One of the things we noticed about Tarte’s early
animal acquisitions that we knew would end in trouble was his lack of research.
That is one of the issues we’re most passionate about: if you’re going to get
an animal, then do the research! From dog to bunny to parrot to lizard, you
need to know about that specific species’ temperament and needs. We couldn’t be
mad at Tarte himself because it’s a mistake so many people make! We just hope
that those who read the book will learn from his experience.
Are the Tartes perfect pet-owners? Oh, no, they certainly
make mistakes. Is everyone going to be able to relate to them? Probably not. If
you don’t have much interest in pets, then this story probably won’t be for
you. But all in all, they’re good-hearted people with a delightful,
animal-loving story to tell, not unlike the Gees!
