REVIEW: All Things Bright and Beautiful

 All Things Bright and Beautiful
Author: James Herriot

There are few books that make me truthfully exclaim "Oh, I LOVE that book!'' There are many books I like....bunches I enjoy....those I really recommend. And a few....a chosen few....that I truly love. James Herriot's books fall into the love category. I first discovered these books on Sunday afternoons when we were stuck on family visits to my elderly uncle's house when I was 12 or so. My uncle firmly believed in not hearing or seeing children...so I pretty much disappeared into his huge house somewhere when my parents forced me to visit. There was a lovely upstairs bedroom where I could spend an entire afternoon lost in a book without my bothering him, or him bothering me. He wasn't exactly friendly and I just wanted to keep clear...

But in keeping clear I discovered wonderful books....Mrs. Mike, Call of the Wild, countless westerns....and James Herriot. 

When I heard that there was going to be a new television series (PBS Masterpiece), I started re-reading the books. I wanted to refresh my memory about all the lovely events from the books before watching a new adaptation. A re-read would allow me to ascertain if the show was following the books....or going off on tangents as so many adaptations do. That's ok with vampire fiction novels and the like.....but not ok when it's beloved stories like James Herriot's tales of a English vet in the 1930s. 

I'm glad to report that I love these books just as much as I did when I read them at 12 while hiding in a huge house from my cranky, old uncle....and the new television show is actually quite good! I  listened to the new audiobook version of this much loved novel. Narrated by Nicolas Ralph (the actor that plays Herriot in the new show), the audio is just short of 13.5 hours long. The story is worth every minute, and Ralph does a great job of narrating! 

Re-visiting this series has brought back some lovely bookish memories from my past....   The hours I spent in that sunny bedroom completely lost in a story until my mom would call up the stairs that it was time to go. The room where I first read The Hobbit....Mrs. Mike....Call of the Wild...Frankenstein....Dracula....and so many more.  My uncle was not enjoyable to be around....but he had great taste in books! 

Lovely books! James Herriot's stories are just magical!