Point of View

This novel is a fictionalized autobiography of Herriot's early years as a veterinarian and thus is written in the first person by Herriot. He tells his experience from his point of view. Herriot does not speculate about circumstances but tells only things that he has witnessed personally. This first person point of view fits Herriot's intentions for his novel perfectly. It is though this outlook that he is best able to share his experiences as a vet as well as the valuable lessons he learns during his early years of work.

Herriot tells his story mostly through exposition. He enjoys describing the animals and people he meets as well as the countryside he sees. There are patches of dialogue scattered throughout the book. Sometimes only a line of two of dialogue will be used in one entire chapter of the book. When Herriot does use dialogue...