I finished reading this book in the car this Spring Festival. At first, I didn't feel much about Jules, the protagonist and guide dog described by the author, and even felt a little bored. Later, I slowly read this sad story.
Jules, a Labrador, was adopted by Alice, sent to a training center for the blind, and then assigned to Alice to serve her.
In high school, Alice was raped by her peers and her eyes were blinded by sulfuric acid. Later, she was afraid of men falling in love with the opposite sex, so she lived alone with Jules and had a girlfriend Fred who had been dating for six years.
Mr. macaroon, whose name is Ziba, was born in a trash can, came from a prominent family, had a double diploma, was knowledgeable and brilliant, but was betrayed by his girlfriend, deprived of his patent, kicked out of the company, lived on the streets, and sold macaroon at the airport for a living, so he met Alice and began a tangled journey of pursuing Alice.
The story is simple: Mr. macaroon saved Alice and Jules at the airport and made a fate with them. Later, Alice had an operation to restore her sight. Jules thinks she is no longer needed, replaced by a new owner and abused. Jules escaped, took refuge in Mr. McLaren, took Mr. McLaren to find Alice, and brought Alice and Mr. McLaren together. Mr macaroon is also the link between the sad Jules and the guilty Alice. Fred resigned and offered Mr. macaroon a chance to make a fortune. Finally, Jules got to know an epileptic child, and served the epileptic patients and their families with his knowledge of blind guidance and unique ability to detect epilepsy. Happy ending.
As for the way to describe the story, it is to tell the story in the first person from the perspective of Ziba and Alice, so that readers can really understand the thoughts and feelings of Ziba and Alice. It takes time and consciousness to read, but it seems to be Alice or Ziba when you blend into the role. Their joy, guilt, longing, expectation and sadness all seem to come from their own hearts. This writing technique is not uncommon, and it is also described in the book Another Me in the World.
I like reading, and seldom watch movies and TV, because I think reading, especially reading novels, depicts Jules, Alice and Mr. macaroon in my mind through the pictures, characters and emotions described by the author, and through some descriptions of appearances, expressions and scenes. I like to give them my imagination, which is a fusion with the author's thoughts and a new spark. In my mind, this novel world can change at any time, whether it is sunny or rainy, which is gratifying and exciting. It's a whole new world, and it's not just the idea that the author tries to convey to us. As a real show in front of you like a movie, you can only accept this picture and carve the same brand in your heart, which is far from the same surprise as reading.
Go back to Jules and them. When Alice was about to regain her sight, Jules began to lose her concentration. After Alice regained her sight, even though she pretended not to see, Jules was unwilling to guide her and work for her. Isn't this keen insight of dogs a kind of harm to themselves? Jules began to become depressed and motionless, because he felt worthless, even if he could let go of the pressure of work and become a pet dog. Later, he went to his new master, who whipped him and abused him. The frightened Jules had to make a dash for the door. He had no choice but to ask Mr. macaroon for help. Like a fugitive with no choice. He trusts Ziba. He can feel that Ziba likes Alice and thinks Ziba is a person worthy of Alice's support. Jules not only wants to find Alice with Ziba's strength, but also wants to send Alice a real partner through his own strength.
Alice knows Jules, but she doesn't know how to deal with her feelings with Jules. She doesn't want to be selfish, because there are so many people waiting for guide dogs in the world, but she can't let them go. How can she let go of her relationship with Jules for so many years? She sent Jules away, which was a great and stupid decision. Fortunately, this decision taught her how to treat Jules and how loyal she was to Alice.
Ziba is a coward. He is soft-hearted, uncertain, evasive, entangled and ignores his true feelings. If he doesn't put down his heart to follow Jules, then maybe he will go back to his forest tent and can't afford yogurt, so he can only leave with Duke Omar. Fortunately, he knows how to go with the flow, understands his love for Alice, and trusts Jules not to bring him a bad situation. I don't like Ziba's personality. Even if the novel describes him with such a large space of heroism at the beginning, he does not meet the requirements of Alice's partner in my heart. Maybe I'm asking too much, and my imagination is a little unrealistic. I know that the characteristics of Ziba are exactly what everyone in our life has, imperfect but realistic.
I can only express my great admiration and love for the theme of seeing-eye dogs described by the author, and even for Jules' excellent ability to take care of epilepsy patients at the end of the article. I am a veterinary clinical student myself, and I believe I will be engaged in veterinary related careers in the future. After reading the diagnosis of Jules by Dr. Osman and Dr. Wang, I learned for the first time that the application scope of ethology is on the same level as that of animals and reading their languages, which is a skill that makes me respect. I'm beginning to doubt whether I can develop in this direction in the future.
After reading it, I think this book should be a popular science book that widely publicizes the knowledge of guide dogs and the friendly relationship between animals and humans. Even though some people may scoff at the explanation of animal behavior in the book, it is part of science and part of truth.
Please read my guide dog Jules. There will be many feelings and it is worth reading again.