Greatheart : the Epic of a Shepherd Dog

Three quarters of this book was like the book 'The Lurcher' in that the dog has to live on his own and eventually has to eat a few sheep. I am not a fan of dogs learning to live on their own and Lurcher did it better. Then Greatheart's owner goes off to WWII, and Greatheart finds a way to join up as a military guard dog. Through a circumstance, Greatheart is reunited with his owner by saving him, but his owner was blinded, so then the rest of the book is about him being a 'seeing eye' for him.

I am giving the book 3 stars because first of all I am not a big fan of reading of contrived details of dogs serving on their own. During that, he also befriends some otters and has an occasion to save one of them. Secondly, the book is full of show more descriptive details, which although nice, seemed to take away from anything happening.

Positive notes are that the author is British and the setting is in England. The Brits for some reason can really speak English well, and the countryside from the descriptions is beautiful. The book also does tie his wandering around the countryside on his own into something helpful towards the end of the book.

Only two quotes I wanted to copy out and share:

'Somehow, Greatheart was never to forget that day. ,.. it turned out to be a lovely, lovely day for him.... At the moment when Vivien took off her shoes, and after ruffling Lionel’s hair stood down into the river with the currents eddying over her slim white ankles, Greatheart seemed to see more clearly than he had ever seen before. He saw the woods sloping down towards the river, saw the gleam of sunlight on the swiftly flowing water; saw, too, the easy manner of his master as he leant his back against a tree-trunk. But more than these, he saw the slight figure of Vivien standing out in the river, her oval face laughing up at him and her hair disheveled by the wandering wind.'

"That’s all forgotten now. Besides, if he is indeed the same dog, how magnificently he has retrieved his unfortunate past... . It is almost as if he is a ‘Salvation Hunter’ . . . seeking his salvation in loyal service to the one man to whom he has given his heart.” show less

Three quarters of this book was like the book 'The Lurcher' in that the dog has to live on his own and eventually has to eat a few sheep. I am not a fan of dogs learning to live on their own and Lurcher did it better. Then Greatheart's owner goes off to WWII, and Greatheart finds a way to join up as a military guard dog. Through a circumstance, Greatheart is reunited with his owner by saving him, but his owner was blinded, so then the rest of the book is about him being a 'seeing eye' for him.

I am giving the book 3 stars because first of all I am not a big fan of reading of contrived details of dogs serving on their own. During that, he also befriends some otters and has an occasion to save one of them. Secondly, the book is full of show more descriptive details, which although nice, seemed to take away from anything happening.

Positive notes are that the author is British and the setting is in England. The Brits for some reason can really speak English well, and the countryside from the descriptions is beautiful. The book also does tie his wandering around the countryside on his own into something helpful towards the end of the book.

Only two quotes I wanted to copy out and share:

'Somehow, Greatheart was never to forget that day. ,.. it turned out to be a lovely, lovely day for him.... At the moment when Vivien took off her shoes, and after ruffling Lionel’s hair stood down into the river with the currents eddying over her slim white ankles, Greatheart seemed to see more clearly than he had ever seen before. He saw the woods sloping down towards the river, saw the gleam of sunlight on the swiftly flowing water; saw, too, the easy manner of his master as he leant his back against a tree-trunk. But more than these, he saw the slight figure of Vivien standing out in the river, her oval face laughing up at him and her hair disheveled by the wandering wind.'

"That’s all forgotten now. Besides, if he is indeed the same dog, how magnificently he has retrieved his unfortunate past... . It is almost as if he is a ‘Salvation Hunter’ . . . seeking his salvation in loyal service to the one man to whom he has given his heart.” show less

I read this when I was young and not sure what to expect. It had an interesting and emotional storyline right through to the end and so has always remained memorable for me.