Review: The Lost Dog by Michelle de Kretser

Tom Loxley is a divorced, childless, Jamesian scholar who is stalled at the end of writing his book. He takes his dog to a friend's cabin in the bush in order to find the inspiration to finish but on a long tramp with the dog, the dog runs away and doesn't return. Tom's sometimes frantic and sometimes desultory search for his lost dog then weaves in and out of the other plot threads, flashbacks all: his childhood in India and then Australia, his marriage and its ultimate failure, his sexually frustrated obsession with his artist friend Nelly Zhang, and (the only non-flashback) of his mother's aging diminishment.

There are a wealth of themes weaving throughout the tale. There's that of the immigrant and the outcast; there's familial duty and the inheritance of the past. Loss and redemption as well as desire and denial play their own enormous roles as the story builds to its climax. Despite the small action guiding the story, the search for the dog keeps the reader engaged and slightly tensed wanting an outcome even as Tom's life up until the loss of his dog unfolds slowly and with great deliberation reflecting the alternating hope and futility of the search itself.

The writing here is often times dense and rich in meaning with de Kretser showing her deftness with apt metaphors. Her descriptions are minute and startlingly accurate, a decided strength in a story with such an insubstantial plot driving the tale. If there's a weakness here, it's in the characters. Tom himself is hard to like, aimless and as stuck in his life as the conclusion of his scholarly research. Nelly Zhang is eccentric but stand-offish, even to the reader, exploiting her racial identity when it suits. And the long intervening amounts of text between when hints of mystery and understanding are dropped and when their threads are finally reintroduced into the story can induce a sense of frustration in a reader more accustomed to a straightforward writing style. But even with these considerations, it is clear that de Kretser is an accomplished and stylish writer. In the end, while I found it hard to sympathize or care for any of the characters, I wanted to know what happened to the dog, was impressed by the calibre of the prose, and amazed by the dexterity of keeping all the disparate plots going and ultimately interconnected. I look forward to reading de Kretser's other works.

Thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy of this book for review.

Review: The Blessings of the Animals by Katrina Kittle

My sister is a vet. My brother-in-law is a vet. We have more than the usual number of vet friends. We are surrounded by vets and by the animals who need them. There's something of a mystique about their jobs despite the fact that my sister says 90% of being a vet is about "ears and rears." Two good reasons I could never have been a vet myself. Well, that and the whole biology class thing. But if I can't be a vet in real life, I still have a real affinity for vet stories and an even greater affinity for stories that include animals. Kittle's latest novel after Traveling Light, Two Truths and a Lie, and The Kindness of Strangers, deftly handles both while closely entwined with issues of love and marriage and the definition of a successful relationship.

Cami Anderson is a successful vet who volunteers for animal rescues. She and her husband have hit a rough patch in their marriage but Cami is shocked when she comes home from a particularly emotionally grueling rescue to find that Bobby is leaving her. That her admittedly stagnant marriage is over completely blindsides her and is especially painful as the true reality of their estrangement comes to light. While she grieves the loss of her own marriage, she watches her parents celebrate their fiftieth anniversary, watches her soon-to-be-ex-sister-in-law plan the extravagant wedding she thought would never come, and watches her brother and his partner fight to adopt a baby into a relationship that can't be legally recognized. Into the mix, her almost grown daughter is having her own relationship troubles, spurred on by the collapse of her parents' marriage. And Cami herself is skittish about starting a new relationship either with her best friend or with a like-minded stranger.

Equally weighted with the human drama in the novel are the cases that Cami sees in her clinic and on rescues. She knows that she can always rely on animals to ground her and to offer her unconditional love and trust, even when they have been so abused that they are broken almost beyond repair. In healing the desperate animals, she will perhaps learn to heal herself and open her heart to chance, even knowing that not every man will be worthy of that chance. Cami finds her peace with her animals, learns to let go (both in actuality and emotionally), takes a chance, and appreciates the beauty of being happy in the present.

A quick and engaging read, this novel not only focuses on marriage and the questions that a commitment of that magnitude can raise but also on happiness and finding fulfillment in life, chasing the things that are important and recognizing that just because something is familiar, it isn't necessarily the right or best thing. The characters, both large and small, are engaging and diverse, all adding important puzzle pieces to the whole of the book. And Cami, as the main character, shows significant, satisfying growth. The storyline was appealing, unpredictable but fitting. The pacing was quite good, never rushed and never drawn out. The themes are serious and yet leavened with humor. Animal lovers will relate to the story and Cami. Book clubs will love this offering, giving just enough to discuss but also enough for members to relate to in their own lives as well. I finished it with a smile and a warm spot in my heart for Cami and her animals. Sensitive readers will want to know that there are horrific descriptions of animal abuse contained within but these are never gratuitous and serve to highlight not only the terrible things people do to our fellow creature but also to show how even the most ill-used can be rehabilitated and learn to trust and love again.

Thanks to Harper Collins for sending me a review copy of this book.

Review: Free to a Good Home by Eve Marie Mont

Noelle Ryan is a vet tech at an animal shelter. She loves finding homes for the dogs in her care, drawn to the innocent and needy. At home she has a rescue dog herself, Zeke, a friendly Great Dane upon whom she lavishes the love for which, thanks to the collapse of her marriage, she has no other outlet. Recently divorced, despite still loving her ex-husband, she and Jay continue to keep in touch as he builds his new life. Noelle still can't say no to Jay so when he asks her to give his mother, the eptiome of the evil mother-in-law, injections, she says yes, reluctantly but still she says yes. Noelle is the person everyone turns to when they need a favor, taking advantage of her giving heart, never stopping to consider that she might be reeling from the double whammy of discovering that she can't have children and that her ex-husband is gay. Even while she continues her caretaking of strays, surrendered animals and her cantakerous ex-mother-in-law, she meets Jasper, a relaxed musician who offers her the chance to be happy simply for the sake of being happy if only she can find the courage to take it.

Noelle as a character is good and kind and loyal but she's also a bit of a lost soul. Luckily canine Zeke and the other shelter dogs help ground her a bit. Ex-husband Jay is selfish and thoughtless. He never stops to consider what his requests and suggestions do to Noelle emotionally, keeping her inadvertantly tied to him. As a boyfriend, Jasper is almost too perfect, giving Noelle the space she needs to find closure with Jay and to trust in her own feelings again. There was just such a charming feel throughout this book about second chances. So many of the characters had to accept the curves life threw at them and go on to create a different life, perhaps not the one once envisioned, but one that contained the potential for much happiness nonetheless and this same theme was reflected in the lives of the shelter dogs with whom Noelle worked. The dogs took what happened to them and in most cases, were rehabilitated to find love and caring in new homes.

The novel tackles a lot of weighty topics (terminal illness, homosexuality, infertility) but retains an air of pervading hope and a sense of happiness just around the corner throughout. This is a perfect book for dog lovers (although one set of Noelle's neighbors will make you mad) and for those who appreciate stories about new beginnings and genuinely nice characters coming into their own and fitting in their skin. I read this in a day so it's a quick and delightful book and would be perfect to tuck into a beach bag.

(For those of you who worry when a dog is on the cover of the book--after all the general rule of thumb is that the dog dies--I will ease your mind and say that Zeke is alive and licking at the end of the book. Not really a spoiler, I promise. Just a reassurance.

Make sure to visit Eve's website where you'll find her blog and all sorts of fun information. And don't forget that the book releases today so you too can have a copy of this charming story.

Thanks to Kaitlyn at Berkley for sending me a review copy of this book.

What An Animal III Challenge

I love animal books. I even love animal books about animals I don't love. So how could I not sign-up for the What An Animal III Challenge? I have more than enough animal books on my shelves to sustain me through years and years of this challenge and I suspect I will just continue adding to the stash as time goes on.

Here are the rules:

1. Read at least 6 books that have any of the following requirements:

a. there is an animal in the title of the book

b. there is an animal on the cover of the book

c. an animal plays a major role in the book

d. a main character is (or turns into) an animal (define that however you'd like).

2. The animal can be any type of animal (real or fictitious)--dog, cat, monkey, wolf, snake, insect, hedgehog, aardvark...dragon, mermaid, centaur, vampire, werewolf...you get the idea...


3. Challenge runs from March 1, 2010 to February 28, 2011. That’s a full year to read at least 6 books (you can read more if you’d like). You can still sign up after March 1st as long as you can get 6 books read by February 28, 2011 ;o).


4. Books can be fiction or nonfiction.


5. You may make a list of books at the beginning of the challenge or you can just list them as you find them.


6. Book titles may be swapped out at anytime (assuming you made a list to begin with).


7. Crossovers with other challenges are permitted and encouraged.


8. You don't have to have a blog or write a review, but you can if you want to.


And here's my initial list:

1. Waiting for My Cats to Die by Stacy Horn
2. I and Claudius by Claire de Vries
3. What the Dogs Have Taught Me by Merrill Markoe
4. The Dogs of Bedlam Farm by Jon Katz
5. The Lost Dog by Michelle de Kretser
6. Encounters With Animals by Gerald Durrell
extra: It’s All Greek to Me by John Mole