A Girls Best Friend

 A Girls Best Friend

Reviewed By  Ian Banks       January 11, 2015

 

Author  David Darcy

Distributor:     
ISBN:                 9781743363799
Publisher:         Murdoch Books
Release Date:    

Website:    http://www.allenandunwin.com 

In this wonderful pictorial essay David Darcy has managed to capture the heart and soul of people who love dogs and the dogs that love them. In all the stories it is the picture that does the telling, the words accompanying, simply filling in the gaps.

A comment about a dog being man’s best friend set Darcy to thinking that perhaps there was more to this: that perhaps dogs are woman’s best friend as well. This was enough to set him off on a journey of discovery covering Australia from top toe, in search of material and information on the unconditional love of a dog and the women who are essential components of each other’s lives and the way they choose to live them.

Not only does this c ollection show us the happy, sad and funny side of life with our beloved four legged furry friends, but it also encapsulates the essence that is Australia, from the outback to the coast.

When Darcy set out to gather this material he packed his camera and headed bush, stopping at towns and asking about at the vets, the pub, the shops, gathering information as the women and their trusty companions were not always on show at the local pub, on the back of the ute or even on the streets of suburbia.

Seeking out the subject matter was one thing but capturing the essential element which makes a great picture is something else, especially when you want the shots to reflect the true picture, to tell the story; the picture of the women and their dogs at ease, comfortable in their element.

Whatever the method used Darcy has succeeded in reaching his objective. You simply have to look at any one of the photographs to feel the love flowing from the pages, the sharing and the caring on both sides.

As you read each one will become your favourite but at the end of it all there will be one or two pictures and stories, not always related, which will remain with you.  The picture of Nancy and ‘That dog name Blacky’ tell several stories, not just the written: the words for Karen, Bronson and Homer touch the heart.

Lifestyle, Non Fiction