Post by Mary on Aug 18, 2008 12:16:47 GMT
See below - a great review of Party Animal.
Well done to all concerned, especially Marisa for putting it all together.
By Margaret Carragher
Sunday August 17 2008
Party Animal
Compiled by Marisa Mackle
Dodder Books, €14.99
Party Animal is a collection of animal-themed fiction and non-fiction articles compiled by the bestselling novelist Marisa Mackle.
Sponsored by Whiskas, the cat food people, this book truly is a labour of (puppy) love, with all 36 contributors, plus illustrator James Coyle, giving freely of their time and talent for the greater good of their (mostly) four-legged friends.
(One wonders, incidentally on how many legs stick insects -- because they, too, feature -- perambulate. But no matter.)
From gifted amateur to skilled professional, what links this eclectic mix of contributors is their sheer animal passion; that, and their means of expressing it, is what gives the book its, ahem, bite.
Marian Keyes mixes her trademark humour with an imagination that defies even itself to bring us Patch and Sox, a pair of sheepdog/ King Charles spaniel crossbreeds led astray by a duo of debauched Peruvian llamas who spend their days smoking cigars nicked from the QE2, and their nights cavorting around Lillies and Renards in a Mercedes SL convertible. No, really. What's more, it's entirely plausible. Well, sort of.
Then there's Maeve Binchy's Counsellor Cat, a moggy with aspirations above her station -- indeed, species.
In an ideal world, Sheelagh would have been a psychologist. As it is, her career options are limited to working her feline wiles on her master and mistress, a pair of full-time writers prone to fussing.
Sheelagh's modus operandi is to lead by example: thus when her master is worried about a poor review, or her mistress is stressed over a deadline, Sheelagh simply chills out in front the fire, and suddenly it seems like a brilliant idea to just open a bottle of plonk and relax.
As both Binchy and her good man are themselves full-time writers and wine aficionados, one wonders about this Counsellor Cat. However ...
All told, cats feature in no fewer than 12 of the book's articles, giving man's best friend a run for its money.
While most of the moggies are fictional, a few are for real, and all the more poignant for it: I defy any cat lover to read Patricia Scanlan's account of her twin kittens Hope and Joy and remain dry-eyed.
Then there's Evan Fanning's wonderfully crafted little piece about his recently deceased terrier, Jack. As big in ego as he was small in stature, Jack was unequivocally racist and homophobic from the off. Fat kids, postmen, other dogs, Cork people -- he hated them all.
But perversely, in the way that only those who themselves have struggled with unequivocally racist and homophobic mutts can understand, such negative character traits served only to further endear Jack to his long- suffering owner, who is now mourning his loss. As you do.
Party Animal also features goldfish, budgies, stick insects, a zebra, a rabbit rejoicing in the name of Elvis, and an errant Taoiseach. Oh yes.
And of course, Oliver, the neutered tomcat of novelist Julie Parsons, who has more in common than one could ever imagine with the world's greatest philosophers. How so? One mustn't say. Besides, Parsons says it so much better. Her sublime little vignette alone is worth the price of the book.
With all profits bound for animal charities such as Ash Animal Rescue, The Donkey Sanctuary, Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind and Drogheda Animal Rescue, the newly launched Party Animal is already flying off the shelves.
But you don't have to be an animal lover to love it; the love of a good story, well told, will suffice.
- Margaret Carragher