Holy Cow by David Duchovny (3-Feb-2015) Board book

I love this little book. It's characters are sweet and funny. The self-aware pov, pop culture references, and teenage vernacular keep the writing light enough to keep the most unsavory of topics, factory farming and animal agriculture, readable for even the most squeamish reader, vegan or non-vegan. The one flaw in the story is that Elsie talks about being milked before she and her bff have been introduced to the bulls. It maybe shouldn't be so shocking to me that everyone - writer and publishers (and the few reviews I read)- missed this important aspect of a cow's (any mammal's) life cycle that she must have a baby to produce milk, and that fact is precisely what the dairy industry exploits. A book that shines a light on the fundamental ethical flaws of animal agriculture, should not reveal such a flaw in itself by overlooking a fundamental principle in biology central to its theme. Unless, I missed something in the book. I hope I did. If I didn't miss anything, it shows in another way how far removed we have become from the animals who are raised to produce food. I still root for this book and it's overarching message.

A silly yet thought provoking romp, heavy on trendy slang utterances from farm animals. I read it aloud to my terminally ill dog; we shared some good laughs & magical moments. Thanks, DD, more please.

When I first heard about this book. I was questioning if I should read it or not. I am so glad that I did it was funny and it was so well written. Kudos to David Dacoveny. I would recommend this book to any body

Holy Cow is a fast read, irreverent, ridiculous yet imbedded with deep thinking. A cow, a pig and a turkey align themselves in a mission to avoid being food for humans. The incredulous journey that these three take is full of humor- old Catskills throw-back chuckles, but the message of waste, human disorder and the ability to hate over love is a theme throughout. It takes these three animals plus "Joe Camel" to show us the path to embracing a better humanity.

I knew David...er, Elsie could write, but that she'd unleash such an adorable and funny set of beasts on the world, I ....am just overwhelmed...and pretty speechless. I can't quite let go of Elsie, Shalom and Tom. Their wild journey all over the world is so inspiring. Elsie is an amazing author, oh, she has it down pat (if you pardon the pun)and if she ever decides to publish another novel *makes cow eyes* I'll be there to buy it. Also the drawings are so cute and inspiring (drawing those guys has become a hobby now). They so kewt! Who is the artist? Elsie herself? I totally adored all the animal puns, the references to various phenomena of the last decades and those hot bulls next door.

Holy Cow is a really fun & entertaining read. Elsie's journey to self-discovery is clever & modern & has plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. I was somewhat skeptical as to how good a book by a well known actor could be, but Duchovny writes well & knows how to grab & keep his reader's interest. I look forward to reading more of his work in the future!

David enjoys notoriety as an actor which is why I purchased the book to begin with. That said, if you read the best selling authors of our time often you will find that David has little literary skills and the great ratings he enjoys is another mystery that perhaps an X-File show can resolve...Hippie Bob

This was a fun, light-reading book. Since I dumped cable TV and went to OTA, this was a perfect book to pick up and read during commercials. The chapters were small, and the reading light and humorous. I marked "some violence" because it describes, though not in great detail, cows at a meat processing plant. Not a book for young kids, but for older kids and teens OK. The message of the book is uplifting.

Definitely an "read to your kids" book but with some adult ,even mirth thrown in.... Be prepared to dispel some of the track through the unbelievable with you little ones' analytical minds.... The story has some scewy imagery, but it's vivid none the less. Lots of fun!. Read it all (not to anyone else - just me reading) on a cross country flight. Easy.

I really liked this book, and it was entertaining and also got the point across.
but the best part of the book was this:
"they get it, they just don't care. Then they just get it with their minds, intellectually, because if they got it with their hearts and souls they would change."

Book for Children, but it is ridiculous. It seems that the author was on a psychotropic drug of some sort. Yes, I get the message of how bad the raising of meat for food is and that humans need to wake up but I found it too silly and hard to get thru and just lost interest. The author can not stay focused on the story line and there is no proper flow.

WARNING THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!

Its been a while since I've been excited enough for a book to participate in a pre-order. (Deathly Hallows.)I wanted this book the day it came out and not a moment later. Initially my interest was sparked by the author, I'm not going to lie. I'm a long time fan of Duchovny. That being said, with all the excitement I knew I had to be hard on this book for that very reason.

I need not have worried.

The premise of the novel, the three animals searching for an escape from their inevitable fate as dinner (among other things)for humans, seems simple enough. However this story is really anything but simple. On the surface "Holy Cow" is a hilarious, irreverent allegory that pokes fun and stretches the imagination (case in point, Tom the turkey flying a plane). The story, I believe is targeted for all ages, was an easy read and I would not hesitate to allow my kids to read it.

There were several 'laugh out loud' moments for me, including Joe/Shalom's delightfully impertinent observation that "Jews are just Christians with longer sideburns. And a better sense of humor". The pop culture references (and the explanation thereof) and the fact that Mallory the cow has the vocabulary of a teenage girl were highly amusing, especially when read out loud to my co-workers.

If one wished to, one could leave it at that and chalk this novel up to a delightful, witty and outlandish talking animal story, and keep going.

I, personally, found many parts of this novel to actually be deep, philosophical, political, environmental and cultural. The underlying notion that indeed animals are more than just mindless masses who exist only to feed, clothe and amuse the human race really gets you thinking. As does Elsie's description of the "Box God" and the way the whole human family is mesmerized by it, "What a strange god that instead of bringing people together, divides them.". Through Elsie's eyes, humans look like heartless, selfish greedy and pathetic creatures and I'm not so sure I disagree with her bovine view of the world. Elsie, Shalom, Tom and even Joe the camel really don't pull any punches about humans and how we consume everything we touch. There really is no end to our cruelty.

I think for me, the moment where Elsie realizes that her lost mother was actually taken off to be slaughtered and butchered really hit home, the fog of depression she finds herself in, the horror she feels, the pain and the loss. It's written simply but it hurts to read it. The banging of her head against the wall, her inability to really even comprehend the horror of her future, and her inability to do anything about it is a hard hitting moment.

The fact that by an "accident" Joe and Shalom begin a peace process between Palestine and Israel may seem a little far fetched, but they do have a point. Coming together against a common enemy or hatred is something that humans excel at, for better or worse. In this case that common factor just happens to be poor Shalom.

Tom's moment in the plane, looking out the window really got to me, his tears as he looked at the ground far below. His dream to fly has come true, though not in the way he expected. This was perhaps one of the most poignant moments in the book. This also seems to be another theme running through the story, these animals dream of a better life and they get what they wanted, but its not quite what they expected or perhaps, in the end, even wanted. Shalom's realization that he doesn't want to live safe but reviled, and Elsie's that she doesn't want to compromise her ideals in order to be worshipped after all really drive that point home. There's a strong "the grass isn't always greener" lesson to be learned here.

I think my favorite part in the entire book is the scene on the beach in India with the "Goddess Cows" and the "Silly Cows" (there is mention of drug use here but its pretty mild and would probably go over the heads of most younger audiences). This part was honestly so profound it moved me to tears. The fact that Elsie saw all people/animals as the same. To her, religious differences didn't exist, she wasn't better or different because of a religious belief and neither was anyone else, animal or human. Her unfaltering loyalty to her friends in the face of the "Goddess Cows" and their superiority really moved me. And her unwavering response to all of this _ "I. Am. An. Animal."

Aren't we all?

Buy, borrow, do what you can, but read this book! You won't regret it.

I really enjoyed this book and was literally reading it with a smile on my face throughout. I also had some actual LOL moments which were a bonus. The book was also reflective and thought provoking, bringing with it positive messages and happy vibes. Love this book. Definitely recommended.

David has proven himself to be a novelist. Could not put the book down once I began to read it. There are few books I highly recommend but this is one of them. I enjoyed my journey with my new friends, and the humor is great as well.