I'm not a dog person, and I didn't expect to like this book; I ended up loving it. I finished it on a plane, weeping. My husband and I went through a very similar custody battle/lawsuit brought on false charges and this really, really hit home. I could feel Denny's anger and frustration; it is so hard to keep the correct attitude around your children when you are being so viciously attacked and betrayed. And the financial drain.. That entire situation was very true to life. Difficult for me to read but cathartic at the same time.
Surprisingly I enjoyed the racing descriptions. I've kind of taken an interest in high-powered cars thanks to the BBC's show Top Gear, though I admit without a couple of years of it under my belt I might have dismissed those parts of the book.
And Enzo! Oh how I loved him! The evil zebra gave me a chuckle; also when Tony washed Enzo's toy, and Enzo hated that he liked it better clean. When he ripped the rotten custody papers away I wanted to reach into the book and hug him!
Many times the past week I've found myself thinking or saying "The car goes where the eyes go."
Thank you so much for putting this book on the reading list. I had never heard of it so if I didn't belong to this club I probably would not have read it.
In the past four years I have been by the side of my two dogs when they died here in our kitchen. I so related to the author's narrative of Enzo's old age and death. Toward the end of our 15 year old shih tzu Willie's life he was practically incontinent. You love your pet and you deal with it.
I laughed when I read about the crows and the plastic bags.
The author did a great job of getting into a dog's head and describing how it would react to human behavior.
I was really mad at Maxwell for feeding that hot pepper to Enzo so when Enzo used that very thing to help him get back at the Evil Twins I had to grin.
Looking forward to reading more comments from the rest of you.
I enjoyed this book. I really like Enzo and his perspective on things. One thing that really stuck with me was Enzo’s view on reincarnation, especially his logic in Chapter 5. Point #1 – The Dew Claw (“evidence of the pre-emergent thumb”), Point # 2 – The Were-Wolf (“man steps out of the darkest corner of the forest and finds himself transformed into …. a monkey? I think not”.). Somewhere he mentioned that “man” was the ultimate reincarnation (the top rung, so to speak). Then I look at some of my students …… enough said. I also greatly enjoyed the whole thing about crows, chapter 13. Eve returns from grocery shopping and leaves a bag on the porch and the crows take it and attack it to find out it is full of Enzo’s poop. Ha, ha, Enzo’s own version of Angry Birds. Even though I knew it was coming, I did shed a tear or two at the end when Enzo died. And those horrible horrible inlaws. I couldn’t believe how far they would go. Not even allowing Denny to attend his wife’s funeral. And I admire Denny’s persistence to stick with it to get his daughter back. He made a LOT of sacrifices.
I also knew someone who was accused of child molestation in order to prevent them from getting custody. That is just wrong! That was during a divorce, but after the death of your spouse must be even harder.
I agree with almost everything you've all said so far: the crows (I read that section out loud to Mom), the zebra, hot pepper revenge, washed toy, etc (but not the racing, that didn't do much for me). There are a few other parts I wanted to mention:
Chapter 2: "...I remember my mother, a heavy bitch of a lab with pendulous teats that swung to and fro as my littermates and I chased them down from across the yard." Probably not a description that most human mothers would appreciate. :-)
Chapter 3: "...memory is time folding back on itself." I love this way of thinking about memory.
Chapter 9: Did anyone else get excited about Denny driving in Watkins Glen?
Chapter 17: "when I sleep, I don't feel the urge to urinate nearly as badly as when I am awake." This doesn't work for me. Bummer.
Chapter 19: "Pretend you are a dog like me and listen to other people rather than steal their stories." I know I steal mom's stories sometimes when she is talking to me, so this makes me think maybe I should work harder at listening rather than directing the conversation. Joy- do you think this is part of being a teacher? I sometimes get the urge to direct the converesation subtly to where I want it to go, like I do in the classroom.
Chapter 28: The one part that I didn't like in the book is when Enzo takes out his grief and anger on a squirrel in the park. This was both disturbing to me and disappointing.
Chapter 34: "That which is around me does not affect my mood; my mood affects that which is around me." I believe this 100% and have been trying to convince other people that this is the case. True, it is hard to remember in the middle of a rage over something that has happened, but it is very empowering to be able to shift your mood to what you want.
I knew it was coming, but I still got weepy at the end. Shiloh (dog) was snuggled up next to me when I finished, wagging his tale. He has a torn knee ligament that he has been limping on for about 2 weeks, so I really felt for Enzo at the end.
M - I totally got excited about the Watkins Glen connection too. =)
The stealing stories is very insightful. I know very few people who don't steal stories in a conversation. Interestingly, I just completed a training course on active listening, and the phrase "what I heard you say was _____ " is VERY popular in my company right now. While I think saying that in normal, personal conversation seems a bit odd, I have a friend who kind of adapts the concepts to her own use. For years I always wondered what made her such a great listener and made me feel like I was the only person who existed in her world when we talk. Turns out she kind of repeats the last word of your sentence back to you - when appropriate. It gives emphasis to the story you're telling and really makes you feel like she's totally immersed in what you're saying.
Lastly - the squirrel. I didn't like the gory description, but I can appreciate Enzo struggling with his dog-ness. If he had already overcome his baser instincts, he would have been a man in this incarnation. He also imitates Denny in this area - mimicking the violence and remorse of Denny hitting Enzo earlier in the book.
9 comments:
I'm not a dog person, and I didn't expect to like this book; I ended up loving it. I finished it on a plane, weeping.
My husband and I went through a very similar custody battle/lawsuit brought on false charges and this really, really hit home. I could feel Denny's anger and frustration; it is so hard to keep the correct attitude around your children when you are being so viciously attacked and betrayed. And the financial drain.. That entire situation was very true to life. Difficult for me to read but cathartic at the same time.
Surprisingly I enjoyed the racing descriptions. I've kind of taken an interest in high-powered cars thanks to the BBC's show Top Gear, though I admit without a couple of years of it under my belt I might have dismissed those parts of the book.
And Enzo! Oh how I loved him! The evil zebra gave me a chuckle; also when Tony washed Enzo's toy, and Enzo hated that he liked it better clean. When he ripped the rotten custody papers away I wanted to reach into the book and hug him!
Many times the past week I've found myself thinking or saying "The car goes where the eyes go."
This book will stay with me for a long time.
Thank you so much for putting this book on the reading list. I had never heard of it so if I didn't belong to this club I probably would not have read it.
In the past four years I have been by the side of my two dogs when they died here in our kitchen. I so related to the author's narrative of Enzo's old age and death. Toward the end of our 15 year old shih tzu Willie's life he was practically incontinent. You love your pet and you deal with it.
I laughed when I read about the crows and the plastic bags.
The author did a great job of getting into a dog's head and describing how it would react to human behavior.
I was really mad at Maxwell for feeding that hot pepper to Enzo so when Enzo used that very thing to help him get back at the Evil Twins I had to grin.
Looking forward to reading more comments from the rest of you.
B, I with you, I never would have read this book without the club and I'm so glad I did.
I totally agree about the hot peppers too. =)
I enjoyed this book. I really like Enzo and his perspective on things.
One thing that really stuck with me was Enzo’s view on reincarnation, especially his logic in Chapter 5. Point #1 – The Dew Claw (“evidence of the pre-emergent thumb”), Point # 2 – The Were-Wolf (“man steps out of the darkest corner of the forest and finds himself transformed into …. a monkey? I think not”.). Somewhere he mentioned that “man” was the ultimate reincarnation (the top rung, so to speak). Then I look at some of my students …… enough said.
I also greatly enjoyed the whole thing about crows, chapter 13. Eve returns from grocery shopping and leaves a bag on the porch and the crows take it and attack it to find out it is full of Enzo’s poop. Ha, ha, Enzo’s own version of Angry Birds.
Even though I knew it was coming, I did shed a tear or two at the end when Enzo died.
And those horrible horrible inlaws. I couldn’t believe how far they would go. Not even allowing Denny to attend his wife’s funeral. And I admire Denny’s persistence to stick with it to get his daughter back. He made a LOT of sacrifices.
Oh, I forgot about the zebra. That was really funny.
I too, have thought about "the car goes where the eyes go".
And enjoyed Enzo watching TV and how much he learned from educational and history channels.
J - nice "chick magnet" photo. =)
I will finish tomorrow probably, so A, if you are ready with your next pick...
I also knew someone who was accused of child molestation in order to prevent them from getting custody. That is just wrong! That was during a divorce, but after the death of your spouse must be even harder.
I agree with almost everything you've all said so far: the crows (I read that section out loud to Mom), the zebra, hot pepper revenge, washed toy, etc (but not the racing, that didn't do much for me). There are a few other parts I wanted to mention:
Chapter 2: "...I remember my mother, a heavy bitch of a lab with pendulous teats that swung to and fro as my littermates and I chased them down from across the yard." Probably not a description that most human mothers would appreciate. :-)
Chapter 3: "...memory is time folding back on itself." I love this way of thinking about memory.
Chapter 9: Did anyone else get excited about Denny driving in Watkins Glen?
Chapter 17: "when I sleep, I don't feel the urge to urinate nearly as badly as when I am awake." This doesn't work for me. Bummer.
Chapter 19: "Pretend you are a dog like me and listen to other people rather than steal their stories." I know I steal mom's stories sometimes when she is talking to me, so this makes me think maybe I should work harder at listening rather than directing the conversation. Joy- do you think this is part of being a teacher? I sometimes get the urge to direct the converesation subtly to where I want it to go, like I do in the classroom.
Chapter 28: The one part that I didn't like in the book is when Enzo takes out his grief and anger on a squirrel in the park. This was both disturbing to me and disappointing.
Chapter 34: "That which is around me does not affect my mood; my mood affects that which is around me." I believe this 100% and have been trying to convince other people that this is the case. True, it is hard to remember in the middle of a rage over something that has happened, but it is very empowering to be able to shift your mood to what you want.
I knew it was coming, but I still got weepy at the end. Shiloh (dog) was snuggled up next to me when I finished, wagging his tale. He has a torn knee ligament that he has been limping on for about 2 weeks, so I really felt for Enzo at the end.
M - I totally got excited about the Watkins Glen connection too. =)
The stealing stories is very insightful. I know very few people who don't steal stories in a conversation. Interestingly, I just completed a training course on active listening, and the phrase "what I heard you say was _____ " is VERY popular in my company right now. While I think saying that in normal, personal conversation seems a bit odd, I have a friend who kind of adapts the concepts to her own use. For years I always wondered what made her such a great listener and made me feel like I was the only person who existed in her world when we talk. Turns out she kind of repeats the last word of your sentence back to you - when appropriate. It gives emphasis to the story you're telling and really makes you feel like she's totally immersed in what you're saying.
Lastly - the squirrel. I didn't like the gory description, but I can appreciate Enzo struggling with his dog-ness. If he had already overcome his baser instincts, he would have been a man in this incarnation. He also imitates Denny in this area - mimicking the violence and remorse of Denny hitting Enzo earlier in the book.
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