Our cat, Khaleesi, has been a constant source of amusement during our confinement. She seems to be coming to terms with our constant presence and may even appreciate it, but cats are inscrutable so you never really know what they are thinking!  What I do know is that treats at 6:30 pm on the dot are non negotiable and sometimes she even tricks me into giving them to her early by her constant whining and glaring! So I thought today I would explore books that speak to our relationship with animals, both real and imagined.

At first The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski seems like a classic story about a boy and his dog, but when his father dies suddenly and his uncle begins to insinuate himself into their lives and their business of raising a unique breed of dogs, Edgar decides to try and prove his uncle’s complicity in his father’s death.  His efforts fail spectacularly and he and his three yearling dogs are forced to flee into the wilderness. With prose that is both lyrical and spare, Wroblewski captures the wild beauty of the north woods of Wisconsin, the iconic beauty of American farm life, and the essence of family.

The Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Evans is a story of a horse and its rider both traumatized by a terrible accident. It is story of a mother’s fierce love and her determination to find a way to heal both of them and the man who not only untangles the trauma between horse and rider but revives a woman’s heart.  This is a love story, a story of healing, and an exploration of the ways our lives become entwined with the animals we love.

The Tiger’s Wife by Tea Obreht is a fascinating exploration of myth and reality, legend and facts and how the stories we tell ourselves create a truth all their own. A young doctor returns to the Balkans to work with refugees. She is confronted with a large family who insist that they must dig up the bones of their ancestors in order to rid themselves of a strange malady that is slowly killing them. Confronted with a reality that is not her own, she remembers the many stories her Grandfather who lived in the area had told her. He talked of his encounters with the “deathless man” and about the tiger who escaped from the zoo and befriended the deaf mute woman in his village, the Tiger’s Wife. Slowly she begins to understand the wisdom and truth inherent in these stories and they allow her to gain a new appreciation not only for the family she is trying to help. but for her own heritage.

The Confession of the Lioness by Mia Couto is an amazing book about the clash between ancient traditions and modern life in a remote village in Mozambique. There a ghost like lioness has been preying on people in the village and the elders hire a hunter to track and kill the lioness. Alternating between the hunter Archangel Bullseye and Mariamar, a young woman whose sister was killed by the lioness it soon becomes clear that there is more to the attacks than at first it seemed. Archangel is unable to track and catch the lioness and Mariamar, who while locked away by her abusive father begins to reflect on the marginalized lives of the women in the village, we soon begin to see the scope of the violence that has occurred in the village. Couto skillfully balances the mystery and suspense, while unlocking the secrets of what happened to Mariamar and the village.

I hope that you can find something here that interest you! What are some of you favorite books about the relationships between animals and humans?