wordsofclover's Reviews (2.16k)

In this delightful book, vet Jonathan Hollins shares his experiences working on the Falkland Island as well as St Helena and Tristan da Cunha that make up the British Overseas Territory. From the people, the landscape and the hardy animals he encountered, I think Jonathan Hollins did a great job sharing just how special and life changing his experiences were for him.

It's very hard to pick up a book about a vet and not compare it to the Holy Grail that is James Herriot. While this doesn't have quite the story telling mastery that Herriot has, and contains more general knowledge that is geographical and historical in nature than animal focused, I think the heart and soul of the people Hollins lived and worked with was captured in the pages of this book, much like Herriot did for the Yorkshire Dales.

I personally would have liked some less general knowledge in the book and more interesting and quirky animal stories as one of the main reasons I picked up the book was the veterinary aspect, not the travel destination. I also thought that the grimmer stories involving lambs with jelly skeletons and a mass killing of chickens and ducks for example could have been interspersed with more heartwarming stories as at one point I started wondering if Hollins even liked animals as he spent so much time killing them!

I enjoyed this for the most part, and it gave me an appreciation and a curiosity about St Helena but most particularly Tristan Da Cunha (which sounds like a haven to my introvert soul to be quite honest).