Nop's Trail

[bcluver4life]

I just checked out the book "Nop's Trail" about the Border collie and the man that get parted and work to find each other again. I'm only on page 7 right now.

 

Can anyone give me some reviews on the book? I'd like to know a bit more about it.

[Guest pax]

I just checked out the book "Nop's Trail" about the Border collie and the man that get parted and work to find each other again. I'm only on page 7 right now.

 

Can anyone give me some reviews on the book? I'd like to know a bit more about it.

 

 

I loved "Eminent Dogs, Dangerous Men" and "An American Homeplace". And there as another, I think, "Nop's Hope", which I remember liking but I didn't hang on to it the way I did the first two I mentioned. I remember "Nop's Trial" as leaving me really sad, but it's been a long time. Do try the other ones, though, even if you don't get on with this one.

[Rebecca, Irena Farm]

Emminant Dogs, Dangerous Men is a great introduction to the world of working dogs. It is anecdotal, easy to follow, and a fun read for Border Collie lovers who want to expand their knowlege of the roots of the breed. Be prepared for a few surprises.

 

Nop's Trials is a good dog story but not so much about working sheepdogs per se. The style is modern to postmodern with the faintest of romantic tinges, which did not sit well with me personally. Most people, however, like the informality of it, though they may be struck unpleasantly by the darker undertones and faint feeling of non sequitur which are a postmodern characteristic.

 

The dark undercurrent becomes almost overwhelming in the sequel, Nop's Hope. I really didn't like that one at all, though it's a little more focused on trialing and working. The end is sort of wishy washy from a developmental point of view but I believe it reflects the ambivilent view of human nature from which the author works.

 

So is that what you were looking for or do you want spoilers?

[Eileen Stein]

Elise, the reason everybody is mentioning these other books is that they're by the same author. Eminent Dogs, Dangerous Men and An American Homeplace are non-fiction, whereas Nop's Hope is a sequel to Nop's Trials.

 

I think you'll like Nop's Trials. If you like other dog stories or horse stories where sad things may happen and there is suspense about how things will turn out, I think you'll like this one. Plus, it has a lot of incidental information about border collies, stock work and dog trialing in it.

[bcluver4life]

I loved "Eminent Dogs, Dangerous Men" and "An American Homeplace". And there as another, I think, "Nop's Hope", which I remember liking but I didn't hang on to it the way I did the first two I mentioned. I remember "Nop's Trial" as leaving me really sad, but it's been a long time. Do try the other ones, though, even if you don't get on with this one.

 

I'll have to check out "Eminent Dogs, Dangerous Men" and "An American Homeplace." I've been getting into books alot more lately and just got done reading "The Sight" yesterday.

 

Emminant Dogs, Dangerous Men is a great introduction to the world of working dogs. It is anecdotal, easy to follow, and a fun read for Border Collie lovers who want to expand their knowlege of the roots of the breed. Be prepared for a few surprises.

 

Nop's Trials is a good dog story but not so much about working sheepdogs per se. The style is modern to postmodern with the faintest of romantic tinges, which did not sit well with me personally. Most people, however, like the informality of it, though they may be struck unpleasantly by the darker undertones and faint feeling of non sequitur which are a postmodern characteristic.

 

The dark undercurrent becomes almost overwhelming in the sequel, Nop's Hope. I really didn't like that one at all, though it's a little more focused on trialing and working. The end is sort of wishy washy from a developmental point of view but I believe it reflects the ambivilent view of human nature from which the author works.

 

So is that what you were looking for or do you want spoilers?

 

"Emminant Dogs" and Dangerous "Men" sound exiciting. Too bad my school libary is limited on books though. The only BC books we have are "Nop's Trail" and and AKC dogs book. You're making "Nop's Trail" sound more exciting. I'll most likely be sticking my lose into the book 4th block.

 

Exactly what I was looking for

 

Elise, the reason everybody is mentioning these other books is that they're by the same author.

 

I think you'll like Nop's Trials. If you like other dog stories like Lassie, Come Home, or horse stories where sad things may happen and there is suspense about how things will turn out, I think you'll like this one. Plus, it has a lot of incidental information about border collies, stock work and dog trialing in it.

 

I've never read "Lassie" or "Come Home." Though I remember watching one of the Lassie videos in 5th grade. I just can't remember it that well. I think I spelt though most of it. lol Suspense is always good. ^-^ Keeps me reading.

 

Anyway, we're getting ready to leave for 4th block. So I have to get off the computer now. That's unless we have an essay or something like that. The BC boards are the only things I get on at school since MySpace and other sites are blocked.

[Eileen Stein]

I had actually edited my post to take out Lassie, Come Home just before you posted, because it is more of a kid's book (if *I* remember right), whereas Nop's Trials was aimed at adults.

 

Let us know what you thought of it after you've finished reading it.

[Bordercentrics]

"Nop's Trials" and the sequel, "Nop's Hope" are great dog fiction, though they're not especially realistic. They are dramatic adventure stories with dogs as the main characters. The dogs speak to each other in a charming archaic dialect. Nop goes through a wild adventure worthy of the old movie melodramas.

 

McCaig writes well, and some of his scenes with dogs and people make you want to laugh or cry. He loves dogs and it shows in his books. I reread them every few years.

 

I read the Nop books before I was remotely interested in Border Collies. Strangely enough, the books by McCaig and Katz never made me want one (I wanted the Labs Julius and Stanley in the first Katz book.)