Overview
In his hilarious debut, Enslaved by Ducks, Bob Tarte won legions of fans by telling the story of how he, once resistant even to having a dog, was convinced by this wife to take in animal after animal. In his newest tell-all tale, Bob reveals how things have gotten truly chaotic. Not only has the Tarte menagerie of parrots, doves, cockatiels, rabbits, ducks, geese, and cats continued to grow, but they're now joined by other uninvited guests, both human and animal.There's a family of mice, a spider who requires hand-feeding, Bob's grade school classmate who's now a grade A nuisance, the pet sitter applicant who never met an animal he didn't want to butcher, the master gardener who tramples every rare plant in his path. And the everpresent sock monkey.
Yet, no matter how much his life is overrun by the demands of fauna—and family—Bob discovers that it is the animals that can show him how to handle everything unexpected in life by relinquishing some control, by diving in and just dealing with it. And what he gets in return, as Bob learns in the middle of a shoving match with a duck, is perspective—an understanding of how much can actually be gained by accepting the unpredictable endless chaos in our lives.
With some sly humor and straight-up character portraits that made Enslaved by Ducks irresistible, Tarte shows us that life with animals offers us a wholly different view of the world—a glimpse of something larger, more enduring, and more grounded in the simplicity of love.
Editorials
Publishers Weekly
This follow-up to Tarte's popular Enslaved by Ducks, which introduced the somewhat neurotic writer; his supportive wife, Linda; and their animals—first a bunny and then an expanding menagerie of parrots, ducks, turkeys, cats and more bunnies—has a somewhat darker undertone, but should still delight readers with its humorous "Dave Barry on a farm" sensibility. Tarte begins with an admission that his life of caring for 30-odd animals had become pretty run-of-the-mill, and that he "longed for the unexpected, and that was always a mistake." What he gets, over the next five years, includes his father's death, his mother's diagnosis with Alzheimer's, a garden pest control/philosopher who doesn't really know anything about gardening, and the sudden deaths of some of his favorite pets. Despite the many wacky barnyard moments, Tarte doesn't play it safe: he deftly explores his concern that "dark undercurrents had risen to the top like worms after a rain, and the worms were now in charge." But with the help of family, friends and a new parrot named Bella, he overcomes his setbacks and sees that the "mixture of wildness and comfort" created by his beloved animals "was life itself in miniature." (Mar. 16)
Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.Library Journal
This follow-up to Enslaved by Duckscontinues Tarte's tale of household life as directed by a menagerie made up of bird brains—real, honest-to-goodness bird brains. If you think taking care of your pet dog or cat can be amusing, imagine what it must be like sharing your home with 12 ducks, three parrots, six geese, two parakeets, one dove, nine hens, one turkey, two rabbits, and three cats. Things are bound to get exciting on a daily basis. In the first book, Tarte demonstrated how a positive attitude and a good sense of humor can make everyday problems roll off his back, like water off of a duck. Fowl Weatherfeatures more tragedy, with the death of Tarte's father, the Alzheimer's diagnosis of his mother, and the death of several of his favorite pets. Nevertheless, Tarte's furry and feathered charges serve as role models for taking life as it comes and keeping perspective in a sometimes insane world. Look no further than Stanley Sue, Hamilton, or Richie to know that even birds have personality. A delightful, one-sitting read; highly recommended.—Edell Schaefer
Kirkus Reviews
Domesticated journalist Tarte follows up his first report on life with critters, Enslaved by Ducks (2003). The family house in Michigan is home to half-a-dozen indoor birds, mostly parrots, and indoor mammals including cats, rabbits and a skunk. Lodged behind the house is a flock of fowl: ducks, geese and a chicken. The backyard is an animal necropolis. Naturally, Bob and wife Linda, busily tending to their animal charges, just love them all. Reading like a sitcom with a menagerie, the book offers stories of a difficult garden hose, an underfed spider, the eviction of yellow jackets, an adopted apartment-bred duck, a nest of mice in a favorite chair and the tube feeding of an ailing parrot-along with some innocent laughs about Linda's aching back. A friendly vet ministers to a dying bunny and fixes an egg-bound bird. Mentions of the death of the author's father and the distressing Alzheimer's of his increasingly demented mother are certainly troubling, but the text balances them with the comfort of Tarte's Ark, filled with personable animals like Louie, Ollie, Stanley Sue, "a buff-colored Buff Orpington named Buffy" and a sock monkey. Tarte offers a few bits and pieces concerning humans, but they're overwhelmed by garrulous pieces about the pets that disappear and appear, clucking, squalling and smelling from basement to attic. The author's previous work yielded some amusements, but now it's time to clean house a bit. Tarte's current presentation of fun with fauna tests just how far personification of animals can go before a grip on normal life begins to loosen. Best for staunch fanciers of fey animal tales.Booklist
"On the web-footed heels of Enslaved by Ducks (2003), Tarte serves up another helping of his always-interesting life surrounded by animals. . . . What the author discovers is that his animals give him his center and focus, and that for all the headaches they can cause they also provide a form of sanity."— Nancy Bent