Review of DREAMS OF ARCADIA by Brian Porter (New Release)

3 Stars

Veterinarian Nate Holub, recently divorced, moves from Houston to Hadlow, his father’s hometown in rural East Texas.  The novel details his struggles to adapt to being a country vet working more with large farm animals than family pets.  At the same time he tries to learn more about the accidental death of his father Dennis three decades earlier.  As he reconnects with family, he uncovers some family secrets.

It is obvious that the author has drawn on personal experiences in depicting the life of someone in veterinary practice.  Personally, however, I found the “intricacies of bovine obstetrics” less than appealing reading.  Having worked in a hospital, I’m not squeamish, but some of the details about surgical procedures seem unnecessary:  “After putting on surgical gloves, he picked up his scalpel and made an incision through the scrotal skin to expose the glistening white parietal tunic.  He cut through the tunic and applied gentle pressure to pop the testicle through the opening.  He isolated and stripped the spermatic cord and then crimped it with an emasculator, crushing and cutting the cord simultaneously.  ‘Made sure you don’t leave the tail of the epididymis here.’”  The description of a bovine C-section is even more detailed. 

This type of detail left me wondering about the intended audience for this book.  Is it intended for those in veterinary practice and those interested in the field?  Some of the terminology will not be familiar to the average reader.  Of course the author tries to include something for everyone.  There’s mystery surrounding Dennis’s death, family drama, and even romance.  Then there’s the humour, which often borders on slapstick:  “Nate spit out a leaf and stumbled out of the vehicle” and “he tripped over a potted plant and landed hard, banging his knee on a steppingstone and ripping a hole in his coveralls” and “he knocked over a large bottle of vitamin B12, which fell and shattered, spilling the thick amber liquid all over the counter and floor” and “one of the other dogs jumped on his back and started humping him.  He felt the dog’s breath on his ear, drool running down his neck.”  At times, I was reminded of the James Herriot books. 

I did not find Nate an appealing character.  He has been a vet for 17 years but in so many ways he seems so inexperienced.  Would he really be allowed to go out on calls to farms if he doesn’t know “how to prepare the tranquilizer dart or load the gun”?  He claims to be haunted by questions surrounding his father’s death, but his investigation proceeds at a glacial pace.  He’s an adult, yet he never asked questions before?  There’s little to admire in the way he behaves as a father to his daughters.  He says he’ll have them visit “once his spare bedroom was furnished and the house tidied up” yet almost a year passes before he has them stay with him?  He worries about the distance developing between the girls and him, yet he does little to maintain a close relationship. 

The book could use some judicious editing.  The descriptions of the countryside, for instance, seem to include lists of flowers:  “lantana, winecups, daffodils, spiderwort, daisies” and “Indian paintbrush, evening primrose, dandelions, prairie nymphs” and “Mexican hat and Indian blankets” and “bluebonnets, Indian paintbrush, phlox, evening primrose, dandelions, squaw-weed, and prairie spiderwort.”  Then there are scenes that lack relevance:  Do we need to know about Skeeter Pilat’s competitive barbecuing or the various stories told by locals in Rita’s café or that a meal at family gatherings “usually consisted of barbecued chicken and sausage, along with boiled potatoes, green beans, rolls, fruit salad, deviled eggs, and sweet tea.  For dessert, there was banana pudding, pecan pie, and kolaches – poppy seed, cheese, and pear”?  I understand the need for local colour, but some details are just tangents. 

More than once I found myself losing interest and asking where the novel was going.  It is certainly slow-paced, like Nate’s investigation, and there is little suspense.  There is no great compelling reason to solve the mystery surrounding Dennis’s death; certainly Nate does not walk around like man haunted by the past or he wouldn’t take over a year to get answers to his questions.  Yet the sole purpose of Nate’s queries seems to be so he can learn to not be “mired in the past” so he can “appreciate the present”?   No one is ever in any real danger, though some encounters with large farm animals are portrayed as possibly being dangerous.  Nate is occasionally met with animosity, but real conflicts don’t develop.  The lack of narrative tension is a problem.

The novel did not appeal to me because of its slow pace, detailed descriptions of veterinary procedures, lack of focus and suspense, and a lacklustre protagonist.  The author’s writing style is clear, and he knows veterinary medicine and is familiar with the setting, but I found reading the book a bit of an effort.

Note:  I received a digital galley from the publisher via NetGalley.