Book #94

Walking in Circles Before Lying Down
by Merrill Markoe

This one I read after Toni's insistent recommendation. She read it and loved it, mainly because it's about a woman who starts hearing her dogs talk to her, and Toni and I have been doing the talking for our dog -- and our other pets -- all of his life. And after reading this, I wish Charlie would just drop the act and talk to me himself. I'd like to hear what he has to say about those squirrels in our yard. And his explanation for trying to eat cat poop, as he was doing this morning. Nasty little dog.

This was a wonderful book. The writing was good, the characters were outstanding, and I enjoyed the plot. The main character, Dawn, is terrible at romance. She's been through two marriages and divorces, both because she jumped in too deep, too fast; her only lasting and positive relationship is with her dogs, first an adopted Newfoundland named Swentzle and then a pit bull puppy named Chuck. She has a psychotic family, between her father the rockabilly guitarist who is trying to be a player in his 60's, her mother the egotist with her newest invention of the Every Holiday Tree (I loved that Dawn's mother took credit for being the first to describe coffee in wine terms -- bold, nutty, exciting, that sort of crap), and her sister the up-and-coming Life Coach, and Dawn herself has no particular career goals. She is trying to write a book, and in the meantime is just trying to get her life in order. Which is when, in the middle of another emotional crisis -- when her newest boyfriend, Paxton, dumps her -- her dog Chuck starts talking to her.

The dogs -- since every other dog Dawn meets starts talking to her after Chuck does -- are depicted perfectly. They have the instinctive wisdom of animals, and the total inability to understand human society that anyone who owns a dog knows they all share. One of the best parts of the book is when Chuck decides to use his instincts to find Dawn a suitable mate, since Chuck and Paxton don't get along. Chuck takes her to the dog park and starts sniffing men, muttering "Asshole . . . moron . . . asshole . . . asshole" as he passes by each one, and recommending men to her regardless of human morals: first a five-year-old (since Chuck himself has had pleasant romantic encounters with one-year-olds, and so doesn't see Dawn's problem with this kid), then a married man there with his family, then an 80-year-old before he finally settles on a gourmet butcher who . . . poses a whole new problem for Dawn once she gets to know him a little bit better. It was hilarious, and felt very true to life; I think dogs would have the same issues with the reasons people find for accepting and rejecting love.

The story ends well, with the right reconciliations and the right alienations, and with a good resolution to a very scary part when Chuck runs away. It was a fun book to read, very well written, and clearly written by someone who shares my love of and respect for animals, which was just icing on the cake.