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bethkayreading's review against another edition
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
teamaker's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
3.5
annarella's review against another edition
5.0
I like stories written by vets and liked this one. There's humour, there's the real life of a vet with the up and down, customers who don't want to pay included.
I liked the style of writing and thoroughly enjoyed this book.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
I liked the style of writing and thoroughly enjoyed this book.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
simbarabbit20's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
medium-paced
3.0
I’m not sure of this book. It gives an insight into his veterinary career but also at time it was written as if we don’t know anything ie explaining all the terms in a sentence.
stephbookshine's review against another edition
4.0
*I received a free ARC of this book, with thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley. The decision to review and my opinions are my own.*
The obvious comparison to this book would be the classic veterinary memoirs of James Herriot, but actually I would say this is more like an animal version of This is Going to Hurt – more modern and with more emphasis on the medical and financial realities of veterinary work, rather than the poignant, witty anecdotes… although those are definitely there too!
Gareth Steel gives a very real picture of the physically and emotionally draining, stressful world of a general practice vet. And when I say ‘very real’, I mean we get everything, all of the gritty gory bits – blood, guts and faeces.
We also get in-depth discussions of ethical issues surrounding pet- and livestock-keeping, TB, the impact of Covid-19, farming practices, breeding practices, specialist surgeries, euthanasia and more. At times, the book did feel a little bit dense with detail – medical and/or philosophical – in a way that made me feel like I was reading a lecture/study text rather than a memoir.
Honest and raw, this is a fascinating insight into modern veterinary work and would be ideal reading for anyone thinking of a career in the field or who is already on that path.
Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog
The obvious comparison to this book would be the classic veterinary memoirs of James Herriot, but actually I would say this is more like an animal version of This is Going to Hurt – more modern and with more emphasis on the medical and financial realities of veterinary work, rather than the poignant, witty anecdotes… although those are definitely there too!
Gareth Steel gives a very real picture of the physically and emotionally draining, stressful world of a general practice vet. And when I say ‘very real’, I mean we get everything, all of the gritty gory bits – blood, guts and faeces.
We also get in-depth discussions of ethical issues surrounding pet- and livestock-keeping, TB, the impact of Covid-19, farming practices, breeding practices, specialist surgeries, euthanasia and more. At times, the book did feel a little bit dense with detail – medical and/or philosophical – in a way that made me feel like I was reading a lecture/study text rather than a memoir.
Honest and raw, this is a fascinating insight into modern veterinary work and would be ideal reading for anyone thinking of a career in the field or who is already on that path.
Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog
elygreen's review against another edition
3.0
Growing up on Gerald Durrell and James Herriot, my bar for books on animals is pretty high. I needed an enjoyable read, with humour appropriately balanced with heartache, and while this was well below that bar, it did tick a few of those boxes. I couldn't quite figure out what the theme of the books was. There were sections about the life of a vet (interesting and amusing anecdotes, as well as bittersweet ones), long parts about medicine and clinical care that seemed better suited to the novice veterinary student, and somewhat preachy bits about the current state of the world. It did not flow quite as fluidly as I'd have liked it to, or pull on the heart strings as much as some; though I must admit, I did listen to it as an audio book and often some books work better in type.
piperkitty's review against another edition
4.0
This is a very informative book. Which accounts Mr. Steels 20 years of been a veterinary and goes into a lot of different ascpet of the job which I didn't expect. It made me respect the job more and feel for down vets
eljoseph24's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
mixyplixl's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Medical content