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4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
4.5
Wesley the Owl includes two things that I absolutely adore in a memoir; a person with an interesting job, and a person forming an interesting relationship with another individual.
In the first part of the narrative the author, Stacey, works as a trained biologist at Caltech, which among other things features a large collection of owls that the scientists study closely. This is how Wesley comes into her life--as a four day old orphan with a slightly damaged wing (meaning they know he could never be released into the wild). In addition to making her an owl Mommy, her job had her hosing down rodent guts, transporting octopuses, and assisting in delicate experiments and procedures in all sort of birds.
But if course the center of the narrative is Wesley and the bond that Stacey formed with him. I will say that although Stacey is a trained biologist, she's not overly concerned with hard science when it comes to her interactions with Wesley or her documentation of his life. She's too close to be objective. While Wesley is not a pet and not trained, he is tame, and this story keys into all of the emotional, intellectual, interpersonal, and even spiritual aspects of Stacey and Wesley's relationship. Stacey is careful to capture Wesley's unique personality and to argue, through this experience, owls and animals in general have a deeper consciousness than we give them credit for. (For my part, I'm sold on the idea. If I can believe an octopus has a soul, I can certainly believe the same of an owl).
This book did manage to teach me some things about owls, primarily because I went in knowing very little. I didn't know that barn owls are monogamous and mate for life. I certainly wouldn't have guessed that they could imprint on people. I had no idea their diet was so particular (that's a lot of dead mice, dude).
So while it's not an exhaustive scientific treaty, I did feel this book has both intellectual and emotional value and I would highly recommend it.
Wesley the Owl includes two things that I absolutely adore in a memoir; a person with an interesting job, and a person forming an interesting relationship with another individual.
In the first part of the narrative the author, Stacey, works as a trained biologist at Caltech, which among other things features a large collection of owls that the scientists study closely. This is how Wesley comes into her life--as a four day old orphan with a slightly damaged wing (meaning they know he could never be released into the wild). In addition to making her an owl Mommy, her job had her hosing down rodent guts, transporting octopuses, and assisting in delicate experiments and procedures in all sort of birds.
But if course the center of the narrative is Wesley and the bond that Stacey formed with him. I will say that although Stacey is a trained biologist, she's not overly concerned with hard science when it comes to her interactions with Wesley or her documentation of his life. She's too close to be objective. While Wesley is not a pet and not trained, he is tame, and this story keys into all of the emotional, intellectual, interpersonal, and even spiritual aspects of Stacey and Wesley's relationship. Stacey is careful to capture Wesley's unique personality and to argue, through this experience, owls and animals in general have a deeper consciousness than we give them credit for. (For my part, I'm sold on the idea. If I can believe an octopus has a soul, I can certainly believe the same of an owl).
This book did manage to teach me some things about owls, primarily because I went in knowing very little. I didn't know that barn owls are monogamous and mate for life. I certainly wouldn't have guessed that they could imprint on people. I had no idea their diet was so particular (that's a lot of dead mice, dude).
So while it's not an exhaustive scientific treaty, I did feel this book has both intellectual and emotional value and I would highly recommend it.
I have been eager to read this book for some time. I am not sorry, even though at times the book was a little "out-there" for me. I loved the story of the author and Wesley, even if I do have to raise my eyebrows at her allowing the owl to "mate" with her arm and her belief in animal-human telepathy. A remarkable, unusual and at times very funny book, although sad at the end.
I'm always interested in books about the intelligence and personalities of animals. This is about a barn owl, written by the woman who raised him from a hatchling and their 18-year relationship. Hardcore animal lovers like me will enjoy it.
I loved the premise inherent in the subtitle, "The Remarkable Love Story of an Owl and His Girl" and the blurb sucked me in. I checked out the audio version from my library and found the narrator's voice to be pleasant enough. I was immediately sucked in to the story, only to be spat out again in relatively short order. For someone who works in a lab full of owls, the author seemed unduly surprised about some of the basic facts regarding their characteristics. I have never lived with an owl, so everything I say about this book is from a standpoint of profound ignorance. I really felt like O'Brien anthropomorphized Wesley- not so much when she ascribed reason to him, but more when she talked about his feelings and emotions. Also, the fact that she called herself 'Mommy' when talking to him was nausea-inducing. The writing was not even unexceptional, it was flat out bad. The story meandered all over and was full of discursive asides (which, to be fair, were for me the most interesting bits). I wanted to like this. I expected to like this. I hated it, from about the 3rd chapter on.
I recieved this lovely book as a christmas present in '08.. i was fighting a deep depression and found solace in reading, cooking and knitting/ crocheting. i was slightly wary of this book only because i lean more toward fantasy, but i'm in love with owls thanks to David Bowie in The Labyrinth. i gave it a try, and i ended up not being able to put it down. it's such an adorable story about a scientist raising a baby Barn Owl named Wesley in her home and how they grew to love eachother and her studies. definitely a re-read.
I liked this book, it made me laughed, grossed me out & made me cry. A very touching memoir.
This is one of those rare and magical books that manages to be both extremely educational and deeply entertaining. The author's humor and candor make this book so incredibly enjoyable and completely save it from any dryness. I've always loved owls, and have stored up assorted trivia about them, but didn't have a full understanding of how they lived and functioned. Of course I still don't have a full understanding, because one book does not an expert make, but I would say that it's much fuller now. From the first few pages, where the author explains the facts that owls are extremely emotionally sensitive and that they've evolved to need every single part of a mouse's body to survive, I was hooked. I read this book almost straight through, fascinated at the facts and stories she shared and in awe of her patience and tenacity in the difficult business of taking care of her barn owl. She states that you can never ever react aggressively when an owl does something undesirable, and she kept this owl for 20 years without ever losing patience. Astounding and so so admirable. If you love animals and learning and also humor, this book is for you.