the library book by susan orlean summary

Orlean didn't set out to write an animal-rights treatise and it's not a critic's job to foist her own sensibilities on to an author. Not her own turkeys, to be sure they are 'a delight.' But other turkeys? No problem. Some of them provide me with breakfast food.' Maybe she means eggs here later she writes that she eats chicken 'all the time.' At Thanksgiving, she eats turkey. Orlean declares, 'I'm curious about animals. The first hint of this duality - that people may love animals while also using them in ways that harm them - comes in the initial pages. Too often the animals pay a price for that association with us. Yet many of the 16 pieces that make up this book - all except the introduction previously published in magazines - tell stories of animals who are used for human purposes. Orlean, the celebrated author of The Orchard Thief, Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend, and The Library Book, experiences emotions of love and wonder around animals, and writes movingly about her fascination with all kinds of creatures ranging from chickens and turkeys to donkeys. A more accurate title for Susan Orlean's collection of essays On Animals might be On Animals Used Or Exploited by Humans.

The library book by susan orlean summary