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Summary
Summary
"An enchanting book--please read." --Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE; Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute & UN Messenger of Peace
In this touching memoir about the relationship between father, daughter, and animals, Carole explores life after adopting thirteen pet Karakul lambs. Throughout her years with the lambs and her aging father, she comes to realize the distinct personality of each creature, and to understand more fully the almost spiritual bond between man and animals.
This is a beautiful book in every way that will touch the hearts of readers everywhere.
"In her new book, The Lambs , Carole George shares the fulfillment she has experienced over years tending a flock of sheep. I hope that this book will inspire readers to become more compassionate toward the living beings deprived of the many privileges we humans enjoy." --His Holiness The Dalai Lama
" The Lambs is beautifully written, and right on target as an example of the natural--pastoral--world where we may achieve the fullness of human experience. Our descendants may gravitate toward the equivalent of [Carole's] Virginia farm." --Edward O. Wilson, University Research Professor Emeritus, Harvard University
Author Notes
All of Carole George's endeavors, whether in the practice of law or the renovation of a derelict farm, derive from her profound respect for nature and her enduring love of French piano music. She is currently writing about meanings we confer on material possessions, based on items she has found that belonged to Claude Debussy's daughter, Chouchou.
Reviews (3)
Kirkus Review
A former international lawyer tells the story of how she took over a "ratty little farm" in Virginia and became an improbable shepherdess.When George's 85-year-old father visited the 27-acre farm she had bought on a whim, he told her that she lived in "poetry country" and that her land needed sheep. Together they went to a local breeder's home where George eventually purchased 13 lambs she intended to keep as pets. The sheep were Karakuls, a Central Asian breed known for producing wool that carpet and felt makers prized for its beauty and toughness. The author named each sheep after favorite composers like Chopin, Bach, and Mozart, and from the start, she marveled at the personality differences that made each sheep unique. Over the next 13 years, George watched her life transform dramatically. Her days were centered on simpler country rhythms that included shearing, training, and feeding her Karakuls. The sheep became her constant companions on daily walks around her property and attended the occasional gatherings she held at her home. They even befriended her father, who read his favorite literary works among them. Indeed, the link between "The Lambs" and the elder George was so strong that the flock came to symbolize the author's "most valuable inheritance, the sound of my father's voice repeating the words and images of his dearly loved poetry." The Karakuls also inspired George to pick up "the thread of my literary life" that she had dropped in pursuit of a successful law career. Illustrated throughout with lovingly captioned photos, the book is not just a testament to the power of human-animal connections. It is also a tender, joyfully eccentric recollection of how a woman rediscovered what was most important to her through a singular relationship with an unforgettable flock of sheep.A heartwarmingly compassionate memoir of self-discovery among cherished animals in "a scrap of Virginia countryside." Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
George left Washington, D.C., and her life as an international tax lawyer in search of poetry country. In the shell of someone else's cast-off life, she finds her poetic piece of countryside in rural Virginia and purchases a 27-acre farm with a small pond. The house is simple enough, but what to do about the barn? George's father was all too happy to answer, Sheep! While most would pause, George and her father head off to the breeder. More than a little disdain is cast her way when she announces that she's seeking pets. She adopts 13 Karakul lambs, three ewes and 10 rams, and gives them names like Debussy and Mozart. Thus begins her new life as a shepherdess. Compassionate, thoughtful, and utterly enchanting, this is a memoir of country life, an exploration of a relationship between father and daughter, and a lesson in all that animals can teach us. A perfect read for anyone seeking escape from their digital lives and busy calendars for a quiet moment of reflection, a pastoral setting, a moment of poetry.--Paloutzian, Andie Copyright 2018 Booklist
Library Journal Review
Retired lawyer George bought a farm impulsively, along with 13 sheep because her father opined that the newly acquired "poetry country" needed them. The author then spent much of the following decade or so in the company of "the lambs," coming to appreciate each animal as an individual. George found the experience profoundly life changing, and it prompted her to return to writing, particularly to describe the deep peace she felt in the company of the flock. In this, George succeeds, and she's amusing when describing the personalities of her ovine charges. However, much of the book is about loss; each animal-and her father-ages and dies, sometimes disturbingly so. VERDICT Other writers acknowledge better how privilege undergirds their opportunity for bucolic retreat (e.g., Sylvain Tesson and Linda Coverdale's The Consolations of the Forest) or describe how to commune with nature while paying less to tame and control it (e.g., Priscilla Stuckey's Kissed by a Fox). Yet both readers interested in secular spirituality and animal lovers will find this title moving.-Nancy R. Curtis, Univ. of Maine Lib., Orono © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Table of Contents
| Comments from His Holiness the Dalai Lama | p. 1 |
| Part 1 Initiation Responding to the Call | p. 1 |
| Part 2 Vocation Living Out the Call | p. 93 |
| Part 3 Commendation Completing the Call | p. 209 |
| Afterword | p. 271 |
| Acknowledgments | p. 273 |
| Bibliography | p. 281 |