Scan barcode
srghc8's review
5.0
I'm a dog person so it was no surprise to me that I loved this book. I've always had a particular fondness of border collies as well, though I've never owned one. This story is about Nop and his owner, Lewis. The story centers around Nop's life after one fateful Christmas morning when he is stolen and Lewis' quest to get his dog and friend back. It's a touching story that reflects on the cruelty of humans, and the loyalty of dogs too well.
lvbopeep's review
5.0
I originally read this book soon after acquiring my first border collie. The book is about a young, tremendously talented sheepdog named Nop and his gruff owner, Lewis. When Nop isn't making a big impression on the trial field, he is Lewis' right hand dog when it comes to his sheep. On Christmas morning, Nop disappears and the book is about Lewis's quest to find his dog.
The book is fast moving and gut-wrenching, with beautiful descriptions of the work of these sheepdogs. Even the uninitated sheepdogger (or everyday pet owner) can understand the impact of this loss on Lewis and the farm. This book will keep you on the edge of your seat for most of the story and will be well worth it! There are some graphic and hard scenes, so this may not be the book for someone looking for a "feel-good" animal story.
The book is fast moving and gut-wrenching, with beautiful descriptions of the work of these sheepdogs. Even the uninitated sheepdogger (or everyday pet owner) can understand the impact of this loss on Lewis and the farm. This book will keep you on the edge of your seat for most of the story and will be well worth it! There are some graphic and hard scenes, so this may not be the book for someone looking for a "feel-good" animal story.
stacityrrell's review
3.0
3.5 ⭐️ I don’t love reading books with dogs as main characters, but this was sweet and eye opening!!
dlsmall's review
4.0
So books that have at least a partisan dog protagonist are for kids, right? Well not this one. The dogs are way more PG-13+, and the humans feature the entire spectrum of humanity…criminals, scumbags, and just folks…including a family with all of the issues that families experience. Features an amateur sleuthing procedural investigation.
crysania's review
5.0
When I first heard about this book, I thought it would be another memoir about a guy and his dog. It turned out that it was fiction. As I read the beginning of it, I thought "I'm not really going to get into it." I thought it was just going to be downright weird, to be honest. The dog's "talk." Not to people, but to each other. And not only do they talk, but they talk in a highly formalized way, using "thy" and "thou," but in the context of short, clipped sentences. It turned out that I was wrong about enjoying the book. It didn't take long until I was absorbed into it. The "dog language" actually began to make sense -- it separated their "speech" from that of the humans.
Nop's trials tells the story of a sheepdog (border collie) named Nop who is owned by a man named Lewis. Lewis uses him as a stockdog on his farm and also gets him into sheepdog trials. On Christmas Day, Nop goes out running with a friend's dog and the two disappear. It turns out they're stolen. The rest of the story goes back and forth between telling the story of Lewis's search that takes him from Virginia to Ohio and back again a few times to Nop's various adventures as he's sold and given away time and time again. Some of the people he lands with are decent folks. Some not so much.
The story was really touching and amazing, but also tragic at times. I really loved this book.
Nop's trials tells the story of a sheepdog (border collie) named Nop who is owned by a man named Lewis. Lewis uses him as a stockdog on his farm and also gets him into sheepdog trials. On Christmas Day, Nop goes out running with a friend's dog and the two disappear. It turns out they're stolen. The rest of the story goes back and forth between telling the story of Lewis's search that takes him from Virginia to Ohio and back again a few times to Nop's various adventures as he's sold and given away time and time again. Some of the people he lands with are decent folks. Some not so much.
The story was really touching and amazing, but also tragic at times. I really loved this book.
stormslegacy's review
3.0
Essentially, this story is to dogs what Black Beauty is to horses. The over-riding theme is that animal suffer much at the hands of humans. It would be unfair to say that it is JUST a Black Beauty copy but it's difficult to not see the parallel.
I did have two issues--one of the characters could best be described as "chaotic evil." Some of his actions make no sense. I get that people often do things against their own self-interest but this man's actions are downright random and you're expected to take them at face value because he's EVIL. I won't give anything away--if you read the book it will be fairly apparent which character I'm referring to right away. The second is the way the dogs speak, "Thy and Thou art".
It's a fast read and plenty fun enough to keep you interested if you like dogs. It says on the back that this novel is meant for adults but TBH I thought it would be more appropriate in the young adults section.
I did have two issues--one of the characters could best be described as "chaotic evil." Some of his actions make no sense. I get that people often do things against their own self-interest but this man's actions are downright random and you're expected to take them at face value because he's EVIL. I won't give anything away--if you read the book it will be fairly apparent which character I'm referring to right away. The second is the way the dogs speak, "Thy and Thou art".
It's a fast read and plenty fun enough to keep you interested if you like dogs. It says on the back that this novel is meant for adults but TBH I thought it would be more appropriate in the young adults section.
oldswampy's review
5.0
More sad and more moving than I expected, even though I've known about this book and intended to read it for years. Planning to read more by this author (including Nop's Hope) soon.