Soon
after we meet Scott, life as he knows it starts crumbling all
around him. First his
girlfriend leaves just as he was about to say he loved her and sort
of really mean it. Next
he publicly humiliates himself on television in a rather unique
way. Then his mother
dies unexpectedly without him having a chance to say good bye, and
his estranged father re-enters his life revealing a secret that
shakes Scott to the core.
Throughout
all this, the brothers are constantly fighting, apologizing, and
then fighting again. Much
has built up over the past 25 years since their father deserted
them as small boys. Scott
has always played the protector, and Jes has grown tired of being
told what to do, especially when self-absorbed Scott doesn’t seem
to actually know much about love and life.
When
a huge blow-out between the brothers seems irreparable, instead of
apologizing like a rational person, Scott steals a penguin from the
zoo to try to make it all better. Perhaps
it does in a roundabout unplanned way.
Somehow the brothers and father manage to get through their
many crises (stolen penguin included) and reach each other.
And Scott learns to take to heart the words of his
sister-in-law that loving someone is a choice you must make
everyday for the rest of your life.
After all, loving someone is often a lot hard than not
having someone to love.
Men
and Other Mammals was very entertaining.
It was fun reading this type of story written from a guy’s
point of view where the main character, Scott, is struggling with
trying to be a modern man – sensitive yet strong.
Instead he is uptight, whiny and self-absorbed, but trying
to be a nice guy with all the right answers (a little bit like Ross
on Friends). After you
read this one, pass it along to your favorite guy.
About
the author: Jim Keeble
lives in
