Book Review by guest writer Keegan Taylor--Enslaved by Ducks

 

 

 

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!