Doesn't That Hurt the Cow's Back?

Ted Thring is a book reviewer for the Queen’s University radio
station.

In this enjoyable collection of short stories, Steve Thompson re-creates
his life growing up on a family farm in rural Eastern Ontario during the
late 1940s and 1950s. It begins when he and his brother receive their
first tricycles and ends with his first automobile. Along the way his
experiences include encounters with wild and domestic animals, girls,
and neighbors. His father, a farmer who doubles as an electrical
contractor, contributes wise and humorous comments. The title of the
book derives from the final story, which concerns the breeding of a cow.

The author is a retired teacher who has published two
novels—Watchers, Moles and Assassin (1996) and The Chameleon’s
Revenge (2000)—and several short stories. In Doesn’t That Hurt the
Cow’s Back?, he manages to capture a way of life—and
innocence—that is fast disappearing.