Gold Dust

Initially going into the reading of this story, I thought I had nothing to loose since I didn't have to pay for the book and that was a good feeling.  However that did not help me enjoy it that much more.  I couldn't believe the relationship that main character formed with his camel.  At first I figured it was kind of cute (mainly because I imagined him being between the ages of 7 and 14) and his pridefulness was just a side effect of never having actually had something else to boast about.  But the kid was not a seven year old, and things only got worse from there.  I had a hard time focusing on themes like religion, or the setting in general because every paragraph I kept asking myself "Good Lord, is he really talking about his camel"?  The camel has a love interest and then contracts what made me think of a modern day STD (I know this is a far stretch of the actual plot but I had to find some way of entertaining myself).  I also couldn't get my mind off of PETA and how proud they would be of this man to be placing the well being of an animal over that of his family.  

Call me specie-ist but animals are animals and humans are humans.  Please don't try to relate this to my family pet, because I've had a few of them die or run away and I got over it.  However if my mother brother or sister were to pass away I would be unable to get over it.