74 reviews for:

The Call

Yannick Murphy

3.64 AVERAGE


A lot of kind of witty humor, and almost a kind of modern pastoral, maybe, a glance at a rural life we don't often see too much in 2016. You really get to know the characters, and while I first thought I wouldn't care for this one too much, I ended up really liking it by the end, regretting it was over.

I really love this book. The structure makes it unique and I was surprised at how much it reveals about not only the main character but about all the people in his life. The story is sad and endearing and I didn't want to reach the final page.

I've waited a while to write a review for The Call because I had to really think about why I liked it so much. It's written as a series of Vet calls, random thoughts and observations by David. It frequently mentions a UFO and spacemen that David thinks he sees at night. The writing is very simple, but perhaps that's what really made me connect with David--he was honest (and quirky).

The story was enjoyable, but the format got a little tiring after a while.

I enjoyed this so much more than I thought I would! :)

Very meh; a few references to Ulysses and we are forced along with the perambulations of an everyman, a New England veterinarian burdened with human quotidian concerns until a pair of events yield resonance to more philosphical concerns. It isn't bad by any stretch but hardly illuminating.

I quite liked this family novel, narrated by the veterinarian father, that included many dogs, sheep, horses, cows and the occasional spaceship. But it's mostly about his relationship with his family members over the course of an important year. It employs an unusual format, much like a logbook. I thought it would be off-putting at first, but it wasn't at all.

This book had me hooked from page one. It is a journal of several months in the life of a rural veterinarian named David who struggles with his clients both human and animal. The call is what he gets when someone needs him. I imagined Garrison Keillor playing the role of David. I love the construct of the book as well as what happens between page one and the finale. This book is different and you will be intrigued as I was by this story.

What a wonderful, weird little book! I almost didn't read it - it's bizarre format threw me off, but I was home sick today so picked it up, and am so glad I did! It's a strange, elegant, fantastic novel told in weird little chunks that mostly center around a specific farm-call the veterinarian narrator makes. But it's not really about his work, but about his family. And a spaceship, sorta.

Read it if you're looking for something different and very rewarding!

I was eager to read The Call and enjoyed the unusual narrative format. However, the story dragged and felt incredibly repetitive. I ended up scanning the second half. Disappointing.