I have a great love of owls. It all started when my uncle nicknamed me
"owl". But rather than praising my virtues of wisdom, he used it in a
more derogatory way to imply I was a snobbish know-it-all. As much as
it hurt, I finally told myself to turn it around and use the animal as a
totem of sorts instead, and felt a lot better when I focused on that
positive aspect. So there's that connection, and then there's just the
fact that they're beautiful creatures.
Wesley the owl was adopted
by the author Stacey O'Brien when he was just a few days old. A
research at Caltech, she worked with the owl department and was found to
be the perfect fit for this owl as he could never be released to the
wild because of an injury. So she took him on with only a little idea
of what that would mean over time. For nineteen years she cared for
Wesley and developed a connection with him that would last the entire
time he was alive. Mixed into the book are anecdotes about Wesley and
general facts about owls and a little smattering of Stacy's personal
life; as it was deeply intertwined with Wesley's life.
Stacy is a
pretty fair narrator of herself. She doesn't hold back some of her
flaws or embarrassing moments (like Wesley trying to mate with her) but
she also doesn't seem self conscious either. It's clear that she was
pretty happy with Wesley in her life, even if it did keep her from
developing a human relationship. Wesley is just adorable and I enjoyed
all the descriptions of his antics and emotions. I always thought of
owls as pretty stoic and was surprised to learn at just how much
goofiness they possess. And the bond the two had together was pretty
incredible.
This book progressed slowly at times, and I think
that's because O'Brien just tried to fit a sheer amount of information,
stories, and other things into a somewhat small book. I could have
easily seen this book be expanded into two different ones; one about
owls and the other the personal story of Wesley. But even if it's a
little rushed it was still a very enjoyable read. You got to learn
about O'Brien as a person and her love for the little owl she raised.
It almost made me want an owl myself, but to be honest, just hearing the
detail of everything she had to do to care for Wesley and how it
impacted her social life, it's not a task to be taken lightly and
really, only a professional should ever attempt it. Wild animals are
wild animals, and it's very rare that they should be included in
someone's home. And like all animals, even Wesley, there does come a
time when they grow old and leave us, and like most animal memoirs, that
is not left out of this book.
This was definitely a book for owl
lovers or even just regular animal lovers. With the photos that showed
Wesley you could really get a sense of this unique owl and it added to
the book as well. Because "Whoooo" could resist an owl (sorry had to do
it)?
Wesley the Owl
Copyright 2008
224 pages
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