Memoir: An Armful of Animals by Malcolm Welshman

What a delightful memoir this is. Anyone who loves Gerald Durrell and James Herriott is bound to enjoy Malcolm Welshman’s collection of stories. I won the book in a draw and started reading it straight away. I absolutely loved the first two chapters, but then I am obsessed with anything to do with Africa. As Malcolm spent several years as a child in Nigeria, the very first pages had me riveted as they describe his early life there. From the parrot he acquired from a man in the market to his wonderful faithful dog Poucher, these ‘African’ chapters held me spellbound.

However, the rest of the book is also delightful even though it mostly takes place in England and covers the author’s veterinary adventures as well as his own encounters with wildlife and the pets he collects along the way. Written as a series of anecdotes, Malcolm Welshman writes with a great sense of humour, a refreshing honesty and a cheerful conversational style that make the book an easy and engrossing read. Africa is revisited on a few more occasions too, almost as if he knew this is what I would like. For those who know the artist David Shepherd’s work, there is a special treat as well. However, his love of all animals, and especially dogs, shines through the stories he relates. From badger watching as a teenager to operating on an Ostrich in Africa, each chapter is a complete and fascinating insight into animal life, behaviour, health and psychology, not to mention their owners! All in all, the whole book is a pleasure to read and I recommend it to all animal and wildlife lovers.

The link to the Kindle version on Amazon.com is here

To find Malcolm Welshman on Twitter, see here: https://twitter.com/malcolmwelshman

To find him on Facebook, see here: https://www.facebook.com/malcolm.welshman.7