Ostrich

( 3 )
Marketplace (New and Used)
from
$0.01
$17.00 List Price (Save 100%)
All (29)  
Used (25)  
New (4)  
Close
Sort by
Page 1 of 3
Showing 1 – 10 of 29 (3 pages)
$0.01
(Save 100%)
Seller since 2006

Feedback rating:

(50891)

Condition:

New — never opened or used in original packaging.

Like New — packaging may have been opened. A "Like New" item is suitable to give as a gift.

Very Good — may have minor signs of wear on packaging but item works perfectly and has no damage.

Good — item is in good condition but packaging may have signs of shelf wear/aging or torn packaging. All specific defects should be noted in the Comments section associated with each item.

Acceptable — item is in working order but may show signs of wear such as scratches or torn packaging. All specific defects should be noted in the Comments section associated with each item.

Used — An item that has been opened and may show signs of wear. All specific defects should be noted in the Comments section associated with each item.

Refurbished — A used item that has been renewed or updated and verified to be in proper working condition. Not necessarily completed by the original manufacturer.

Good
Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy!

Ships from: Mishawaka, IN

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • Canadian
  • International
  • Standard, 48 States
  • Standard (AK, HI)
  • Express, 48 States
  • Express (AK, HI)
$0.99
(Save 94%)
Seller since 2005

Feedback rating:

(3582)

Condition: Good
first Good [ No Hassle 30 Day Returns ] Publisher: University of Nevada Press Pub Date: 8/1/2000 Binding: Paperback Pages: 288.

Ships from: College Park, MD

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • Canadian
  • International
  • Standard, 48 States
  • Standard (AK, HI)
  • Express, 48 States
  • Express (AK, HI)
$0.99
(Save 94%)
Seller since 2005

Feedback rating:

(20386)

Condition: Good
2000-08-01 Trade Paperback Good Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 288 p.

Ships from: Sparks, NV

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • Canadian
  • International
  • Standard, 48 States
  • Standard (AK, HI)
  • Express, 48 States
  • Express (AK, HI)
$0.99
(Save 94%)
Seller since 2005

Feedback rating:

(20386)

Condition: Good
2000-08-01 Trade Paperback Good Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 288 p.

Ships from: Sparks, NV

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • Canadian
  • International
  • Standard, 48 States
  • Standard (AK, HI)
  • Express, 48 States
  • Express (AK, HI)
$0.99
(Save 94%)
Seller since 2008

Feedback rating:

(449)

Condition: Very Good
0874173515 * SHIPPING WITHIN 24 HOURS! QUESTIONS ANSWERED QUICKLY ** THANKS * ** EX LIBRARY BOOK*

Ships from: Garrison, ND

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • Canadian
  • International
  • Standard, 48 States
  • Standard (AK, HI)
  • Express, 48 States
  • Express (AK, HI)
$1.00
(Save 94%)
Seller since 2005

Feedback rating:

(39)

Condition: Good
Reno, Nevada, U.S.A. 2000 PAPERBACK Good 0874173515 LIBRARY DISCARD USUAL LIBRARY MARKINGS MYLAR TO SPINE AND EDGES BACK PAGE CUT O/W GREAT CLEAN COPY.

Ships from: Boca Raton, FL

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • Canadian
  • International
  • Standard, 48 States
  • Standard (AK, HI)
  • Express, 48 States
  • Express (AK, HI)
$1.99
(Save 88%)
Seller since 2008

Feedback rating:

(13616)

Condition: Very Good
Very Good condition..

Ships from: Frederick, MD

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • Canadian
  • International
  • Standard, 48 States
  • Standard (AK, HI)
  • Express, 48 States
  • Express (AK, HI)
$1.99
(Save 88%)
Seller since 2007

Feedback rating:

(5906)

Condition: Good
Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More.

Ships from: Auburn, WA

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • Canadian
  • International
  • Standard, 48 States
  • Standard (AK, HI)
  • Express, 48 States
  • Express (AK, HI)
$1.99
(Save 88%)
Seller since 2008

Feedback rating:

(13616)

Condition: Like New
Like New condition.

Ships from: Frederick, MD

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • Canadian
  • International
  • Standard, 48 States
  • Standard (AK, HI)
  • Express, 48 States
  • Express (AK, HI)
$1.99
(Save 88%)
Seller since 2009

Feedback rating:

(4450)

Condition: Good
Only lightly used. Book has minimal wear to cover and binding. A few pages may have small creases and minimal underlining. Book selection as BIG as Texas.

Ships from: Dallas, TX

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • Canadian
  • International
  • Standard, 48 States
  • Standard (AK, HI)
  • Express, 48 States
  • Express (AK, HI)
Page 1 of 3
Showing 1 – 10 of 29 (3 pages)
Close
Sort by

Overview

Nevada sheep rancher Sabine Eckleberry's life is in shambles. His wife has decamped to Arizona to run a dog-grooming business; his youngest daughter needs a husband; his irrepressible son VJ wants to turn the ranch into an ostrich-breeding operation; and the wild burros he has adopted to guard his sheep can't get along with their charges. Now his family and friends are about to descend on the ranch to celebrate Sabine's seventy-second birthday.

What ensues is a hilarious comedy like none other in recent literature. The ranch is soon a chaos of budding and blighted romances, mistaken identities, rampaging poodles, runaway sheep, schemes of seduction and ...
See more details below
Sending request ...

Overview

Nevada sheep rancher Sabine Eckleberry's life is in shambles. His wife has decamped to Arizona to run a dog-grooming business; his youngest daughter needs a husband; his irrepressible son VJ wants to turn the ranch into an ostrich-breeding operation; and the wild burros he has adopted to guard his sheep can't get along with their charges. Now his family and friends are about to descend on the ranch to celebrate Sabine's seventy-second birthday.

What ensues is a hilarious comedy like none other in recent literature. The ranch is soon a chaos of budding and blighted romances, mistaken identities, rampaging poodles, runaway sheep, schemes of seduction and sudden wealth, and a newly hatched ostrich in search of love. Novelist Michael Thomas has created a cast of memorable human characters, a supporting cast of realistic animal personalities, and a colorful setting in Nevada's vast rangeland, and his keen ear for dialogue and perfect timing support a plot as convoluted and ultimately satisfying as a Shakespearean comedy.This is a story of Nevada's back country told by a writer of uncommon skill and humanity. Readers will smile, chuckle, then laugh out loud at the antics of the Eckleberrys and their human and animal companions. Ostrich is a wild romp of a tale, and its endearing characters and engaging plot will delight readers long after they have read the last page.

About The Author
Michael A. Thomas received his Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Washington. His first novel, Crosswinds, established a comic direction he continues in Ostrich. Thomas co-direct's the University of New Mexico's University Honors Program's Conexiones summer institute. He lives on a small farm in Socorro, New Mexico, with his wife, daughter, and an assortment of animals.

Editorial Reviews

From Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers
The same Western Literature Series out of the University of Nevada Press that produced the award-winning novel The Blossom Festival has now published the work of another noteworthy novelist, Michael Thomas.

In Thomas' second comic novel, all hell breaks loose when a wealthy Nevada sheep farmer named Sabine Eckleberry and his shrewish single daughter get the whole extended clan together for a reunion on Sabine's 72nd birthday. Invited to the party is a quirky, memorable cast of characters including Sabine's sheep-shearer turned poodle-groomer estranged wife, Magda, and his guileless schemer of a son, VJ, who Sabine "ran off the ranch with a salad fork" some time back.

VJ, "a man who washes clothes democratically, in a single load," arrives only to reveal his latest get-rich-quick plan to raise ostriches. Thus ensues numerous lessons on the strange birds' breeding habits, as well as those of wild burros, sheep, and Basque immigrants to America!

Michael Thomas has penned a side splittingly funny novel evocative of a Shakespearean comedy, complete with a supporting cast of animal personalities and a truly farcical plot. Good humored in the tradition of A Confederacy of Dunces, Ostrich, set in the modern wasteland of Nevada's open range, is a three-ring circus of a comedy!

Publishers Weekly
Something about the American Southwest has long welcomed improbable plans and characters who seem larger, or weirder, than life. In fiction, this Southwestern-screwball tradition can lead to books as good as Tom Robbins's Even Cowgirls Get the Blues. This slight family comedy cannot stand in that company, but it is amusing nonetheless. Sabine Eckleberry is a Nevada sheep farmer and a habitual grouch: he runs his ranch with only his sharp-tongued youngest daughter, Rosa, to help him. Years ago, Sabine's wife, Magda Zumwalt-Eckleberry, left him to open a poodle-grooming business in Scottsdale; their son, VJ, ran away to pursue get-rich-quick schemes. When Magda and VJ come home to celebrate Sabine's 72nd birthday, VJ unfolds a plan to breed ostriches, and Magda brings along a right-wing retired colonel with a penchant for pornography. Thomas (Crosswinds) spends a quarter of the novel getting mother and son back to the ranch, where they're joined by a host of minor characters, including VJ's and Rosa's sisters, Felice (a fervent Republican) and Celia (who arrives with two loudmouthed kids). Once the family reunion begins, events are only mildly zany. Husbands and wives reconcile. Prodigal sons face up to their responsibilities; shrewish daughters find true love. Even the ostrich plot fizzles out with nothing more than a single hatched egg. Though Thomas's quips and witty asides are less than striking, his humor is insidious, as the reader visualizes the family melee. Digressions convey real information about the habits of ostriches, donkeys and sheep, or about Basques in America. The key players--especially Sabine--are generally sympathetic, and the good-humored scenario, if not hilarious, produces pleasant entertainment. (Sept.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
A second comic novel from the author of Crosswinds (not reviewed), this one a bravura romp set on the Nevada sheep ranch of a put-upon Basque papa. Old Sabine Eckleberry (who resembles a comic Big Daddy and as much as a King Lear) is devoted to red meat, cheap stogies, and Sangre de Toro wine. Meanwhile, he's beset by three bossy daughters and a sensuous spouse; in addition to the Sabine women, there's good-natured, feckless son VJ. Supporting players include VJ's tubby pal Ev, a couple of feminists, a priapic old colonel, and a nubile neighbor sporting a parrot, along with a number of other personable animals. In his quest to find something—perhaps himself—VJ, a natural

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780874173512
  • Publisher: University of Nevada Press
  • Publication date: 8/1/2000
  • Pages: 288
  • Series: Western Literature Series
  • Product dimensions: 6.20 (w) x 9.20 (h) x 0.70 (d)

Read an Excerpt



Chapter One


A staccato "Pop! Pop! Pop-pop! Pop!" cut short Everett Crume's consideration of the eviction notice. He lunged into the forty-watt gloom of VJ's cramped apartment. Blinking and off balance, he then stumbled over a metal folding chair and nearly fell. Ev's two hundred and thirty-five pounds were crammed into cut-rate jeans that restricted movement and added an element of danger to the business of walking. Bringing all his strength to bear, he was able to keep his feet if not his composure.

    Upright but shaken, Ev lacked the confidence to proceed. For several moments he stood just inside the door panting and cursing. He made a point to specifically mention the manufacturers of the metal chair and the man who'd placed it so carelessly in his path. Staring into the murky half-light, sunlight streaming around him, he smelled an odor, fish and Pinesol, an astringent, bracing stink. Now he understood. VJ's swamp cooler was on the blink and five-ounce Jojobalueca Liniment bottles were exploding in the undiluted fervor of the midday heat.

    Hot, short of breath, and still shaky on his feet, young Crume endured the stink and thought of his great-uncle. "You can't count on a guy who's scrawny," the old gentleman had said. The remembered words impressed Everett as profound, prophetic. Ev had been a chunky, responsible child and had developed into a portly, reliable young man. Scrawniness and irresponsibility were attributes the Crumes managed to avoid.

    This was not the case for Virgil Jose ("VJ" or "Virg") Eckleberry. Ev regarded his friend with a deflating sigh ofresignation. Likable as he was, VJ Eckleberry was one of the thinnest and most unreliable human beings ever to have cared for sheep on the ranchlands of Nevada or peddled Jojobalueca products on the sun-roasted streets of Albuquerque. Now, according to the notice VJ's landlord had evidently nailed to the door, Ev's friend had just under thirty days to "vacate the premises." Ev was far from surprised. The timing, in fact, was perfect. They were leaving that very day for a visit to the Eckleberry family ranch in Nevada. Maybe VJ would make peace with his father and stay.

    VJ, the subject of these ruminations, sat at the foot of an unmade sofa bed. Gaunt arms angled out of a purple-flowered cowboy shirt. Pink longjohn bottoms betrayed the easy lifestyle of a man who washes clothes democratically, in a single load. His face was unshaven. His long black hair was going in all directions in an apparent attempt to escape from his head. He began twirling an unruly handful into a rough bun on the right side. He showed no signs of having noticed his friend, the liniment explosions, or the brash, exuberant stink that pervaded the apartment. In Ev's experience, the absentminded hair twirling was a sure sign of trouble. Instantly wary, he noted with horror that VJ was reading. This was going to be bad. Ev's head began to ache.

    It was twelve noon. Outside, the high sun tracked the endless pavement and sent heat shimmers into the air, distorting vision and causing headaches. VJ had avoided headaches and the many other risks of venturing outside his apartment. His attention was fixed on a dog-eared copy of Stockman's Universe, with feature stories titled "Spotscald in Feedlots" and "The Environmentalist Threat to Our Traditions."

    Anyone familiar with Virg Eckleberry would expect him to show right-thinking, if passing, concern for the ravages of spotscald in feedlots. Still, Ev did not imagine that his friend would give much attention to the topic. VJ simply would not find articles on spotscald particularly gripping. Similarly, as far as Ev knew, VJ Eckleberry had not reflected deeply on environmentalists or "our traditions." He hadn't, in fact, reflected deeply on much of anything. His metabolic level seldom allowed it. In a Wyoming bar someone had called VJ an environmentalist and there had been trouble. Still, Ev did not think that VJ was likely to be reading up on the subject. In Ev's experience VJ had confined his reading to concrete, practical documents such as the daily racing form and inspirational pieces on Jojobalueca marketing. Ev was puzzled. What about this particular issue of Stockman's Universe could exert such force on the ever-wandering mind of VJ Eckleberry?

    Several minutes passed and VJ didn't move. He didn't so much as nod to acknowledge Ev's presence. Ev's eyes adjusted, and he again noted the undiminished virulence of the smell. He could understand why VJ's landlord and former business associate, the slight and indomitable Chingleput Gupta, had decided to evict his erstwhile supplier of Jojobalueca products. Even in a depressed market for apartment rentals, there is a point when a landlord must act to guard his investment.

    VJ had conceived of his Albuquerque apartment as the "Southwest Regional Headquarters" for Jojobalueca Products. One such product was "Jojobalueca Miracle Performance Liniment for Horses and Show Bovines." This liniment was one of the less prominent products, but every one of the thirty "Opportunity Kits" that VJ kept in his closet had a five-ounce bottle. The bottles, Ev supposed, could not contain the miracle. Happily, the explosions that had ushered Ev into the apartment were benign except for the powerful stink they loosed into the world.

    That smell! Neighbors, reporting the odor to both landlord and police, had characterized the smell as something like a limit of trout rotting in a bucket of Pinesol. Mr. Gupta had apparently lost his enthusiasm for both the product line and VJ Eckleberry. Ev empathized.

    Smelling the fresh evidence of the liniment (VJ had made earnest, if not sustained, efforts to clean up the mess every few days), Ev nevertheless felt brave enough to continue into the depths of the apartment. He shut the door behind him and crossed the front room into the fetid "kitchenette" where VJ had stored some of the Opportunity Kits. He made himself a cup of instant coffee and stood in the kitchen doorway. Every few minutes, VJ would idly stroke the sensitive area behind the only ear of a large, grimy, and battle-scarred tomcat. Foreman regarded Ev with a purity of disdain that Ev found both amusing and incomprehensible. Thus meeting the minimal needs of the purring, snot-colored cat, VJ continued to stare with rapt, complete attention at the soiled magazine. Ev watched and sipped coffee. They were to be in Nevada by noon the next day. There was a birthday party for VJ's old man. Ev had hoped to drive in the cool of the day. Since the cool of the day was gone, he was content to pass the hot hours enveloped in a cloud of smelly liniment. He would sip coffee, bear up under the withering gaze of Foreman, and watch VJ read. It was a novel experience, if a bit slow.

    At length, the time for reading evidently passed. The magazine fell from Virgil's hands. He lifted his gaze to the fly specks and cobwebs on the wall or a vision of paradise beyond.

    "Ev," he said, correctly surmising that his friend had joined him, "your parents can get rid of that tacky trailer. You can sell that ratty pickup. You can get some comfy, decent Five-oh-one Levis instead of those K-mart seconds that never fit. You can quit pinching every penny and buy a beer or two for someone else. I'll see you in a beaver hat, a silver quadruple-X with a hatband and everything. I swear that wool felt thing looks like a cat sleeping on your head. Go ahead and shit-can it before Foreman gets romantic. You can also get old four-eyes Susie some contact lenses, or better yet, get a new girlfriend. That Susie may not be good-looking," he shot a sideways glance at Ev, "but she sure can be a bitch. Now that you're going to have a pot to piss in, you can get a woman with manners."

    "Whoa," Ev finally said, cutting his friend short. He was used to VJ's insults, but usually his slim friend managed to spread them out a bit, throwing one here, then one there, over the course of the day. VJ smiled a big face-busting grin and lifted his shoulders sheepishly.

    Ev liked VJ. His energies and enthusiasms were infectious, and he'd always been the perfect antidote to Ev's unhappy bias toward pessimism. Still, he could be exasperating at times, and this was one of those times. Experience told Ev that he should not squander his powers by challenging any of Eckleberry's outrageous statements. He ought to keep his mouth shut.

    The room was close and uncomfortably warm. Young Crume had narrowly missed a ruinous fall. His stamina was compromised.

    "VJ," he raised his voice, "I've told you a dozen times. Susan is not my girlfriend. Get it through your head. She's got a boyfriend, some guy with earrings in his eyebrows." Ev closed his eyes and rubbed his head.

    VJ was not slowed, just deflected, by the interruption. He leapt to his feet and began to pace. The cat followed suit, trotting in and out between VJ's legs and purring.

    "I guess you saw the paperwork on the door," he said. "Old Chingleput's evicting me. I have thirty days. It's a shame. He had potential. He was already my best salesman." The limited dimensions of the room did not leave young Eckleberry much latitude. Three steps turn, three steps turn: that's all there was, and he made the best of it. Twisting at his hair, he began whistling "Volare" with as much volume as he could muster.

    Ev stood in the kitchen door, sipped coffee, and watched. Things had picked up. He smiled. Mr. Gupta had been the only person VJ had convinced to sell Jojobalueca products. Recalling VJ and Chingleput as partners and their plans to "change the rules" in the South Asian household product market, Ev's smile broadened.

    VJ continued to pace and whistle. It was entertaining for a couple of minutes but soon began to get on Ev's nerves. He was surprised that he was not genuinely angry about the insults.

    While Virg paced up and down, he gazed at his old friend through brown eyes that glowed with warmth and fellow feeling. Ev shook his head. The last volley of insults had a rare and unexpected purity about them. Certainly, the outburst was appalling. Ev hoped his pal would henceforth find the forbearance to keep them to himself, but they were not malicious. Virg was simply excited, overexcited, and Ev still didn't know why.

    "Virg!" Ev broke the silence sharply, hoping to end the ridiculous pacing. "What's put you into this state? Stop the damned workout and settle down. We ought to be to Monticello by now. What the hell's going on?"

    The lanky man stopped the march. He lifted his eyes as though to heaven and took a deep breath. He continued to whisper the words of "Volare" under his voice.

    Let's fly 'way up to the clouds

    Away from maddening crowds.


Finally, VJ met Ev's gaze. Why! he thought, old Ev hasn't heard the plan! No wonder he looks so crabby.

    VJ was a man of compassion. He decided at once to end this disturbing ignorance. Fixing his friend with eyes that simply radiated brotherly love, he smiled in a fond way and said, "Ostriches."

    Ev had to admit that his friend had found the word for the occasion. Ostriches have a reputation for avian single-mindedness of the type VJ had shown in his attention to Stockman's Universe; they bury their heads. Likewise, following their own inscrutable impulses, they will suddenly run to the far horizons, an embodiment of speed without reflection. VJ had taken a similar approach to his own twenty-two-year span on the planet. Beyond that, Ev noted that his friend's eyes were glazed in that look of vacant absorption one so often finds in poultry. "Ostriches," indeed. No word could better characterize the appearance and behavior Ev had witnessed. Impressed, but far from satisfied, Ev urged his friend to flesh out his description.

    "What do you mean, `ostriches'?"

    "We're going to be rich," VJ explained. "But let's get the flock out of here." He stepped to the door. "Go on, Foreman, there's a good kitty." The cat had apparently lived in the midst of Central Avenue traffic since the days of the Old Testament. Young Eckleberry, as everyone knew, was a marvel with animals. According to landlord Gupta, VJ was the only human being ever to have touched the cat without sustaining injury. VJ had both fondness and admiration for the cat he'd christened "George Foreman." The cat stalked out, not failing to bare his teeth and hiss as he walked past Ev.

    VJ shut the door and fixed Ev with a knowing gaze. "Chop-chop, Ev. We'll have to scrape the sisters off the ceiling if we miss the old man's party. You know who they'll blame. I'll tell you about it while we drive."

    Ev agreed, Rosa and the others would blame him. He got a sick, hopeless feeling in the pit of his stomach. He'd been sweet on Rosa Eckleberry as long as he could remember. It was his secret and it was hopeless. She was inaccessible, older by two years, a seeming chasm of time. Besides, all the guys were sweet on Rosa. She was beautiful, smart, and confident, and she was an Eckleberry. In addition to having the finest ranch in Basque County, Nevada, the Eckleberry family had something else. Call it confidence, charisma, or just a glow, it was a family trait. VJ had it, in spite of himself, and Rosa had it in spades. Ev admired her with fervent resignation. He didn't have a chance. Still, he did not want her mad at him, and that was a distinct possibility.

    "Yeah," sighed Ev, fatigued and forlorn, "let's go, shake a leg. If we don't hurry, we'll miss driving in the heat of the day. I figure we've now got six full hours to spare. No need to waste it resting in cool comfort here."

    VJ ignored the bitter tone of irony that Ev attempted to convey. Old Ev was often and inexplicably moody. VJ had to get ready to go! Chop-chop! He started packing: sniffing shirts, searching for mates to any of the socks strewn about, putting everything into a paper bag that held a new pair of jeans. VJ avoided doing laundry. He'd found he could put it off a while by buying new clothes.

    "Don't worry." He stuck his head into the kitchen to see that the stove was off. "I want to stop and see Mama on the way."

    "What!?!"

    "I want to stop and see Mama on the way."

    "In Phoenix!?!"

    "That's right, that's where she lives, Evertly Ev."

    VJ was out the door. Ev followed, his large frame bent with trouble.

    VJ stood for a moment and admired his pickup before getting in. It was a brand-new, metallic-blue Ford one-ton, with dual rear tires.

    "Hell of a truck," he said, "no damned king cab, either." VJ took great pride in the fact that the pickup did not have a king cab to spoil the lines.

    "Hell is right," Ev replied bitterly, getting into the blisteringly hot, nonking cab. "It looks to me like a guy paying twenty-eight thousand dollars for a truck could get one with an air conditioner."

    "A man might," VJ shot back, "if he wanted to junk up a nice truck with unnecessary trash and waste his daddy's good money."

    It must have been a hundred and fifty degrees inside.

    They took off into the Friday swell of traffic. A thousand or so dollars worth of stereo equipment blared "I Got Friends in Low Places" into their skulls. Ev snapped it off. "Yeah," he said, "it'd be a shame to junk up your nice pickup with unnecessary trash." It was so hot the knob burned poor Everett's sausagelike fingers. "And now you can explain to me how Phoenix is `on the way' to Basque County, Nevada. The town's evidently shifted a bit north."

    "It only adds a couple of hundred miles," VJ answered, swerving in and out of traffic to sail cheerfully south, away from their destination. "I want to see that Mama knows about this from the get-go. We can triangulate to Nevada and get there just in time for the old man's party. If we hit the ranch too early, Rosa will have us cutting hay in the morning dews. Sudan hay, if I hear right."

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 5
( 3 )

Rating Distribution

5 Star

(3)

4 Star

(0)

3 Star

(0)

2 Star

(0)

1 Star

(0)

Your Rating:

Your Name: Create a Pen Name or Leave Anonymously

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked, or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help ensure that your review can be posted.

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer. However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.

What to exclude from your review:

Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the information on the product page, please send us an email.

Reviews should not contain any of the following:

  • - HTML tags, profanity, obscenities, vulgarities, or comments that defame anyone
  • - Time-sensitive information such as tour dates, signings, lectures, etc.
  • - Single-word reviews. Other people will read your review to discover why you liked or didn't like the title. Be descriptive.
  • - Comments focusing on the author or that may ruin the ending for others
  • - Phone numbers, addresses, URLs
  • - Pricing and availability information or alternative ordering information
  • - Advertisements or commercial solicitation

Reminder:

  • - By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.
  • - Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.
  • - See Terms of Use for other conditions and disclaimers.
Search for Products You'd Like to Recommend

Recommend other products that relate to your review. Just search for them below and share!

Create a Pen Name

Your Pen Name is your unique identiy on BN.com. It will appear on the reviews you write and other website activities. Your Pen Name cannot be edited, changed or deleted once submitted.

Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously

We're sorry, but penname is already taken.

Please select one of the following:
Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously

penname is available!

By visiting the BN.com website or marking a purchase on BN.com, a User is deemed to have accepted the Terms of Use.

Continue Anonymously

Welcome, penname

You have successfully created your Pen Name. Start enjoying the benefits of the BN.com Community today.

Sort by: Showing all of 3 Customer Reviews
  • Anonymous

    Posted April 2, 2012

    An excellent, very funny book, with great characters.

    An excellent, very funny book, with great characters.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  No   Report this review
  • Anonymous

    Posted April 25, 2002

    FUNNY BOOK

    This book was absolutely laugh-out-loud hilarious! The characters are so eccentric, but so realistic and ordinary at the same time. The relationships between the various family members was wonderfully detailed. And the animals added so much humor to an already funny story. I highly recommend this book!!

    Was this review helpful? Yes  No   Report this review
  • Anonymous

    Posted December 3, 2000

    A Fun Read

    Don't bwe mislead; you'll miss some good-natured fun if you pass by this book: OSTRICH by Michael A. Thomas (U. of Nev. Press. It is not a guide to the care and feeding of ostriches for profit; nor is it the scientific study of ratites in the wild. It is a hilarious romp of eccentric members of the Basque family, Eckleberry -- human and otherwise. The author is a student of human nature with all its absurdities and misunderstandings, and there are gems of wisdom tucked in here and there. Mike Thomas also seems to have had opportunities to observce the workings of animal minds, or at least, the behaviors native to their breeds. The advent of the 72nd birthday of Sabine, the patriarch of the Eckleberrys, at his sheep ranch in Nevada brings together a riotous assortment of family members: Magda, his wife, who, wearying of Nevada sheep ranching and weather is operating a thriving poodle-breeding, dog-grooming business in Phoenix while keeping at arm's length an amorous, alcholic ex-Colonel, wants Sabine to join her in sunny Arizona. V.J., his only son, in disfavor with his father because of various 'hare-brained' ventures that have ended in ignominious failure, is on his way home with his current scheme of turning the family property into an ostrich ranch. Sabine and Magda's three daughters are conspiring to lure their brother, Virgil Jose, back to run the ranch since he apparently has a 'way with' sheep -- then they could join forces with their Mom to get old Dad to Arizona -- at least for the winters. V.J.'s more sensible, but pudgy and ill-dressed, friend is coming along as they all converge for the birthday celebration. Meanwhile, unknown to all but the youngest daughter who's been helping the old man at the ranch, Sabine has purchased several donkeys to guard the sheep from coyotes. The burros, however, have taken an immediate dislike to the stupid sheep. Mix in sibling rivalry, romantic yearnings gone wrong, the interactions of an older husband and wife still in love, conniving daughters each with their own agendas, a wayward son and his hapless friend, a clueless ex-military man; this celebratory gathering, including sheep, hysterical poodles, a baby ostrich bonded to the wrong person, donkeys who are conservative by nature, and a parrot, makes for as convuluted and funny a set of circumstances that might have been conjured up by Shakespeare. It all ends well -- as old Will would have wanted.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  No   Report this review
Sort by: Showing all of 3 Customer Reviews

If you find inappropriate content, please report it to Barnes & Noble
Why is this product inappropriate?
Comments (optional)
500 character limit