Vets Might Fly - James Herriot (Pan - Nov 1978)

Series: All Creatures (Book 5)

A few months of married bliss, a lovers' nest in Darrowby and the wonders of home cooking are rudely interrupted for James Herriot by the Second World War. James Herriot's fifth volume of memoirs relocates him to a training camp somewhere in England. And in between square pounding and digging for victory, he dreams of the people and livestock he left behind him. 'There are funny cases, sad cases, farm animals and pets, downright farmers, ladies of refinement, hard-bitten NCOs and of course, the immortal Siegfried and Tristan' 

This was a marvelous little addition to Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small series. I first read the series back in high school, often during English class, after finishing the assigned reading. What always sticks in my mind was the difficulty of containing laughter, so I didn't disturb the rest of the class. Like the others, this book had plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. 

In this book, James has given up his vet practice to serve King and country. As he reports for RAF training, he prides himself on his fitness thanks to his work as a country vet. It doesn't take him long to realize that his newly married status has made negative inroads on that fitness. The book is filled with vignettes of those days of training, both the painful and the amusing. His vivid descriptions made me feel as if I was there, from the long marches to the potato-peeling to the seriousness of the task at hand. Two of the RAF scenes stick with me - one where they've been training for a visit from a senior officer, and the other where he helps a local farmer with his harvest. The overwhelming emotion of the RAF scenes is that of missing the people and animals at home. 

Most of the RAF episodes described in the book bring flashbacks to things that occurred as a vet. Herriot has a talent for bringing both people and animals to life. I loved the glimpses into country life in 1930s Yorkshire and his commentary on the changes he witnessed. I especially enjoyed the times when he poked fun at himself after learning a hard-won lesson in humility. I also liked his obvious love for the animals he treated and all of their quirks. The dog who used to lie in wait for passersby walking on the other side of the fence made me laugh out loud. There were some heartbreaking occasions when there was nothing that could be done, and others that made me cry at a happy outcome. Herriot's amazing depictions of people made it easy to envision them, from Tristan's attempts at cooking to the various farmers and their personalities.