Scan barcode
sarahreadsaverylot's review
3.0
It was ok. I'm not sure how I feel about her use of 'celebrity', though I can see why it would be popular. Some of the 'animals as innocent victims of violence' scenarios felt a bit trite/forced, but then other times it was incredibly insightful and brimming with feeling. Particularly enjoyable were "Sir Henry" and the title piece. Her simple prose and first person narration sometimes work and sometimes don't, but it's worth checking out, especially if you are an animal lover.
chrisiant's review
3.0
Some of the stories were clever, some I found tedious. Really would give it 2.5 stars - not a waste of time, but not a collection I'll remember fondly either. Except a couple of the stories.
jendru's review
4.0
Wonderful writing, talented story telling. I enjoyed the touches of humor and the descriptions of various celebrities and their thoughts about animals. However, as they say in the south, I'm tender hearted, so I had a hard time with the subject matter of cruelty to animals. As the owner of a weimaraner, it was particularly difficult to read about a weimaraner traded off to Africa in exchange for drugs.
leialocks's review
1.0
This book has been on to read list so long I forgot what it was about and who referred to me. When I did remember, I understand why I didn't like it. It was recommended by an ex-employee that I didn't really get along with. I have no idea why she thought I would like this book. It is my fault for starting to read it without checking the back cover. From there, I would have known it wasn't really my speed. The book is a selection of short stories about celebrities and animals. The stories are inspired by small anecdotes found in new stories or gossip magazines. Tesla's fascination with pigeons, Edison killing an elephant, and Madonna hunting pheasant to name a few. The anecdotes are too small to add any substance. I wasn't sure the point of most of the stories. Nothing really happened in any of them. Or maybe I didn't get the allegory.
meltedsquirrel's review
3.0
I'm wavering between three and four stars. It's hard to rate a collection of stories when you really liked some and disliked others.
sophronisba's review
4.0
I loved this collection at first, but by the end it was beginning to feel a little samy. The best stories use the celebrity as a secondary character, instead of the main focus. I liked the Tesla story best. I could have totally done without the Sharon Stone story, which was irritating and too long.
jcr610's review
4.0
A lovely and innovative little collection of stories, each focused on an actual notable person (Madonna, Thomas Edison, Noam Chomsky, etc.) and a more-or-less fictionalized encounter with an animal. I really enjoy conceptually-driven collections and fictional interpretations of real people and events. These stories worked especially well because of Millet's flowing, compulsively readable writing style. I read the book in a single day, which I don't often do. I enjoyed the sub-themes woven through--divinity, motherhood. There's a thoughtful balance of humor and philosophical musing. There were a few times when I wished for even more commitment to the concept. The Madonna story, for example, felt like it didn't take itself as seriously as it could've. But, of course, more playfulness is way better than less.
sheemsinbk's review against another edition
2.0
I got less than halfway through this. Now that I've put it down, I have no desire to pick it back up. Interesting concept to have fictional short stories that revolve around public figures (Tesla, Ben Franklin, Madonna, etc.) and animals but it really did nothing for me.
emmastia's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting short story collection based on tidbits about famous people. Kind of surprised it was a pulitizer finalist.
ibeforem's review against another edition
3.0
This collection of short stories has a peculiar mix of celebrities and animals. Some border on charming, such as Sexing the Pheasant (Madonna goes pheasant hunting and has a hilarious inner dialogue, complete with congratulating herself for using proper British slang) and The Lady and the Dragon (a Sharon Stone look-a-like is romanced with a Komodo dragon). Others, particularly the title story, Love in Infant Monkeys are disturbing and leave a bad taste in your mouth. So I guess I didn’t love it, but I didn’t hate it either. I don’t think I found as much humor in it as the author intended. It certainly was an interesting theme to build a collection around.
More...