Friday 1 January 2016

Holy Cow - David Duchovny


Elsie Bovary is a cow and a pretty happy one at that. Until one night, Elsie sneaks out of the pasture and finds herself drawn to the farmhouse. Through the window, she sees the farmer's family gathered around a bright Box God - and what the Box God reveals about something called an 'industrial meat farm' shakes Elsie's understanding of her world to its core.
The only solution? To escape to a better, safer world. And so a motley crew is formed: Elsie; Shalom, a grumpy pig who's recently converted to Judaism; and Tom, a suave turkey who can't fly, but can work an iPhone with his beak. Toting stolen passports and slapdash human disguises, they head for the airport ...
Elsie is a wise-cracking, slyly witty narrator; Tom dispenses psychiatric advice in a fake German accent; and Shalom ends up unexpectedly uniting Israelis and Palestinians. David Duchovny's charismatic creatures point the way toward a mutual understanding and acceptance the world desperately needs.

What did I think?

This was a really fun book with some crazy illustrations that made me smile.  Elsie is quite an impressive cow - after seeing animals being slaughtered on the TV, that she calls the Box God, she decides to make a run for it.  Where better for a cow to go than India, where cows are worshipped, not eaten.

Calling the TV a Box God was actually quite a sobering thought.  For those of you who worship at the altar of Sky Atlantic, perhaps you should read Holy Cow instead and learn from the animals who decided to break from the herd and be heard.

I really liked all of the characters but I think Tom was my favourite.  He wants to go to Turkey as he thinks that he will be safe in a country that is named after him.  The only problem is his fellow traveller and escapee Jerry is a pig and will not be welcomed in a muslim country.  Tom is a bird who can't fly but in this book nothing is impossible and Tom does fly!

This was a really quick read and David Duchovny really brought the characters to life through his narrative writing style.  It had a nice mix of humour but at the same time showing respect to different cultures.  I was pleasantly surprised.

I received this book from the publisher, Headline, via Bookbridgr in exchange for an honest review.

My rating:




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