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novelesque_life's review against another edition
2.0
2 STARS
"If someone asked me a year ago why I thought it was that men leave women and never come back, I would have said this: New Cow. New Cow is short for New Cow Theory, which is short for Old Cow-New Cow Theory, which, of course, is short for the sad sorry truth that men leave woman and never come back because all they really want is New Cow. But no one asked me then. If someone asked me now I would have a different answer. I would roll my eyes, look toward the ceiling, raise both hands and shake them toward the heavens the way old Italian women do, and say this: They will never make sense; you will never understand them."Welcome to the case file labeled "love" of one Jane Goodall--no, not the Jane Goodall, but a late-night TV producer who turns to the annals of animal behavior for an explanation when true love goes suddenly, inexplicably wrong. It began as a simple Cow meets Bull story: he was the young producer with the washboard stomach and the J-Crew good-looks, she the co-worker with her heart on the shelf. They met for drinks, fell in love, looked together for a cozy one-bedroom apartment on the Upper East Side, and then suddenly, in only the third month of their post-copulatory phase, Ray Brown was gone. Not gone gone, but lost to that jungle of unreturned phone calls known as unrequited love. So Jane Goodall, with the help of Freud, Darwin, and her own menagerie of lovelorn friends--a broken-hearted womanizer named Eddie, her best friend Joan, who for the past two years has been dating her boss, a man engaged to another woman, and David, who shares with Jane both a taste for good-looking men and a terminal case of bad luck--delves into the mystery of the male animal." (From Amazon)
Sounded like a great book but I could not connect with the characters so the novel fell flat for me. I actually liked the movie better.
"If someone asked me a year ago why I thought it was that men leave women and never come back, I would have said this: New Cow. New Cow is short for New Cow Theory, which is short for Old Cow-New Cow Theory, which, of course, is short for the sad sorry truth that men leave woman and never come back because all they really want is New Cow. But no one asked me then. If someone asked me now I would have a different answer. I would roll my eyes, look toward the ceiling, raise both hands and shake them toward the heavens the way old Italian women do, and say this: They will never make sense; you will never understand them."Welcome to the case file labeled "love" of one Jane Goodall--no, not the Jane Goodall, but a late-night TV producer who turns to the annals of animal behavior for an explanation when true love goes suddenly, inexplicably wrong. It began as a simple Cow meets Bull story: he was the young producer with the washboard stomach and the J-Crew good-looks, she the co-worker with her heart on the shelf. They met for drinks, fell in love, looked together for a cozy one-bedroom apartment on the Upper East Side, and then suddenly, in only the third month of their post-copulatory phase, Ray Brown was gone. Not gone gone, but lost to that jungle of unreturned phone calls known as unrequited love. So Jane Goodall, with the help of Freud, Darwin, and her own menagerie of lovelorn friends--a broken-hearted womanizer named Eddie, her best friend Joan, who for the past two years has been dating her boss, a man engaged to another woman, and David, who shares with Jane both a taste for good-looking men and a terminal case of bad luck--delves into the mystery of the male animal." (From Amazon)
Sounded like a great book but I could not connect with the characters so the novel fell flat for me. I actually liked the movie better.
radiojen's review against another edition
3.0
I read this book when I was single and it made a lot of sense to me. I'm not sure if it would be as good now that I'm married, but the theory really hit home for me then. Men are cows. Pick up the book to find out why.
chrstnareads's review against another edition
5.0
Three words: New Cow Theory. If you haven't read this, or seen the movie Someone Like You, the New Cow Theory states that men are like bulls: they tend to mate and then get the hell out of Dodge. What this means is that you may date a man for x number of months or years, but eventually he will leave you for a newer, younger, fresher cow/woman. You may try to disguise yourself as a newer, younger, fresher version of yourself, but the man/bull will always know you're "mutton dressed as lamb." This may sound depressing, and it kind of is, but Animal Husbandry tells the tale of Jane Goodall, a producer for a small television talk-show, as she tries to figure out what it means to be a thirtysomething woman looking for love and dealing with love-lost in a quirky, heartwrenching, funny and all-around enjoyable way. As you read you become invested in the characters, laughing and crying along with them, which is all you can ask for in a good piece of fiction. So come see how Jane tries to weed through the "Old Cow Sob Stories" as she tries to find a truly sympathetic, loving and monogamous man.
kricketa's review against another edition
this book was recommended for people who enjoyed helen fielding and suzanne finnamore, but ugh. you cannot date a man who is engaged to another woman and then expect me to feel sorry for you when he breaks your heart.
plus i didn't like all the cow stuff. i'm not into the whole "men always act like this" and "women always act like this" game-playing stuff. but i can say that because i'm out of the dating pool, i guess.
plus i didn't like all the cow stuff. i'm not into the whole "men always act like this" and "women always act like this" game-playing stuff. but i can say that because i'm out of the dating pool, i guess.
raloveridge's review against another edition
2.0
I'll just say this: I'm not proud. But Ashley Judd tricked me, because I'll watch the movie version of this on TV any day of the week.
cancancan's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
bdunlap's review against another edition
3.0
I read this because I was planning to see the movie based on it. I never did see the movie. I like some of her other books a bit better.
michellebookaddict's review against another edition
4.0
This has a more realistic and completely different HEA ending than the movie. If it weren't for Hugh Jackman, I would've been mad that the heroine fell in love with the commitment phobic guy (who probably has STD). The book made the guy out to be twice worse than Barney Stentson from How I Met Your Mother.
katie_burgert's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
jannie_mtl's review against another edition
3.0
Animal Husbandry is the anatomy of a relationship seen through the eyes of a zoologist. Zigman's protagonist examines her life through the eyes of a scientist, creating what she refers to as the Old Cow - New Cow theory. Thoroughly entertaining.