Follow Bertie the beagle in his various quests with other dogs, a pair of cats and pet owners. Oh and this is also a book about Christmas!
I found Bertie’s Gift to be a warm, cosy read. The whole story is told from Bertie’s point of view. But Bertie doesn’t go “Woof! Woolf!” because his vocabulary is very good indeed. This is not a children’s book and is told in an adult way. I liked the focus on Bertie and all those doggy things that are so important to him. His relationships with pet owners is fully explored and it is nice to hear the human with dog relationship explained from the dog’s point of view.
I enjoyed reading Bertie’s Gift and I think that all readers will develop a tremendous empathy for Bertie. I liked how Bertie described his breed and what makes beagles different from other dogs. It brought it all back to me as I once walked a friend’s beagle for just one afternoon and that was 45 years ago!
The story is entertaining but the plot has no surprises. There is no dark mystery, no odd quirky characters and no building suspense. The whole storyline is rather predictable although told in a very loving and warm way. Bertie’s Gift is a very soft read with nothing challenging, disturbing or surprising. It is light reading that is told in a very articulate way. This book does not bite the reader’s imagination but it does smooth your emotions giving you an all over warm, contented feeling. Bertie’s Gift is a GOOD read that I believe succeeds in what it sets out to do and so gets 4 stars from me. Oh and yes, there is a happy although blindingly obvious ending that was foreseen relatively early on. There is no animal cruelty or steamy sex in this book and it is not a tear jerker, just a regular feel good story.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Hodder & Stoughton for giving me a copy of this book on the understanding that I provide an honest review.
No comments:
Post a Comment