Snakes

I cannot believe that I am enjoying a story where the main character is a snake! There is so much humour in "We Can't all be Rattlesnakes" by Patrick Jennings that I am chortling, that means laughing, along the journey of - not a rattlesnake but a gopher snake, a harmless relative, who is captured by.. well listen to his description of his captor;

"I was familiar with humans at this point only from afar, but even from there I found them a pitiable species: scaleless, fangless, clawless, nearly furless, wingless, venomless, witless. I honestly didn't understand how they had thrived so."

He ends up in a cage in Gunnar's room and immediately goes on a hunger strike. Dead mouse - no temptation there. Live mouse - a little temptation as he is getting really hungry but he did not catch it therefore it is beneath him to eat it. Breakfast, as he now calls his friend the mouse, indeed becomes his companion and the two forge an unusual and inspiring friendship.

Snake's plan of course is to escape but as he gets to know Gunnar a little bit more and is involved in his life a little bit more each day his feelings are ...gulp... changing...

But at the end of the day a snake has to do what a snake has to do.... however I think you may be surprised, or maybe not, on who he takes and more importantly, how he takes, with him.

Lots of fun!