SCIENCES

Buddy: How a Rooster Made Me a Family Man

by Brian McGrory
Crown. 2012. 336p. bibliog. ISBN 9780307953063. $24. PETS
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To the list of memoirs that cover subjects like "how my dog changed my life," "how my cat saved my life," and "how an eagle rescued me," add "how a chicken made an adult out of me." Following the death of his beloved golden retriever, Harry, Boston Globe columnist McGrory receives a condolence visit from Harry's veterinarian, Pam. The two begin to date and eventually fall in love. Pam, however, shares her house not just with her two charming young daughters, but also with a menagerie that includes a rooster who sees himself as the dominant male, protecting Pam and the girls against Brian, whom he perceives as a rival and threat. Nevertheless, Buddy has many lessons to teach self-centered Brian, who eventually learns how to live as the bird does: content, devoted, and self-sacrificing.
VERDICT This book is filled with insight, self-deprecating humor, and belly laughs. Patrons who enjoyed Glenn Plaskin's Katie Up and Down the Hall, Gwen Cooper's Homer's Odyssey, or Jeff Guidry's An Eagle Named Freedom will request it.
Reviewed by Florence Scarinci, Nassau Community Coll. Lib., Garden City,NY , Dec 01, 2012
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