That Bear Ate My Pants!

by Tony James Slater | Travel |
ISBN: 9781481155373 Global Overview for this book
Registered by wingGoryDetailswing of Nashua, New Hampshire USA on 8/10/2021
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2 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by wingGoryDetailswing from Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Tuesday, August 10, 2021
I got this softcover from an online seller. It's a very funny look at the author's stint as a volunteer at an animal rescue preserve in Ecuador. I enjoyed the audiobook version narrated by Tim Campbell, and wanted a release copy.

Tony's style is party-boy/wacky with considerable snark thrown in - and with a fondness for confessing just how clumsy, careless, and/or unlucky he can be, all to hilarious effect. Heck, the book opens with a page headed "other books by this author" - and it's blank, save for a footnote saying "What can I say? I'm working on it".

The adventure begins when Tony, having been struggling to kickstart a career in acting - or a career in anything at all - decides he wants some adventure, but on a budget, and comes across an animal rescue organization in Ecuador that invited volunteer help. He volunteered, and somewhat to his surprise was accepted (this should have been a warning), and lo! he's in Ecuador, coping with the altitude - and the impressive amount of animal dung that he'll have to remove from the cages and, often, from his person.

We meet his fellow volunteers, the rescue-center staff, and the resident animals; some of them are meant to be rehabilitated and released into the wild, but some are too badly injured or were raised by humans and aren't suitable for release, so they'll have homes indefinitely. From tiny monkeys to big cats to a tortoise, the place is pretty lively - all the more so when Tony manages to let something out of its enclosure or fail to repair a fence properly or has to climb a tree after yet another escapee. The trouble he gets into is mind-bending, but it's so darned funny I don't even care if he's exaggerating for effect {wry grin}.

He manages to include some touching bits here and there, notably about the animals rescued from pretty grim situations, and about the challenges of keeping the rescue center going. But for the most part it's a slapstick laugh-riot, and I enjoyed it very much.

Tony's adventures continue with Don't Need the Whole Dog!. [And his web site includes photos from the books, a nice enhancement.]

Journal Entry 2 by wingGoryDetailswing at Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Tuesday, August 10, 2021

Released 2 yrs ago (8/11/2021 UTC) at Nashua, New Hampshire USA

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

I'm adding this book to the Around the World bookbox, for the continent of South America. (It's set primarily in Ecuador.)

Journal Entry 3 by wingLaveggioCoffeewing at Binghamton, New York USA on Friday, August 20, 2021
taken out of hobbit's Around the World Bookbox.
looks interesting - adding to MT TBR

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