Fluid prose and a reflective tone drive this thoughtful book about dealing with grief. Winner of the National Book Award in 2018, Sigrid Nunez shows how to put it all together within the form of literary fiction.
Dec 14, 2022thisgrluvsbooks rated this title 0.5 out of 5 stars
I did not finish it. I gave myself permission to give up after reading half of it. The book jacket tells you this is a story about a woman and her dead friend's dog. It is really about a woman telling you all about what her dead friend…
Dec 28, 2021moraggunn rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
The events of this novel are very few. It is mostly reminiscences of the departed friend, the processing of grief, and contemplations on the plight of the contemporary literary fiction writer who earns her keep by ‘teaching’ writing in a…
Sep 01, 2021biffblack rated this title 1.5 out of 5 stars
Truly awful. This is the 3rd Nunez book I've encountered, the first one I've disliked and couldn't finish. Far from being beautiful or moving, it's a self-indulgent bore that revels in ugliness.
Jan 29, 2021Ravenpicks13 rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
This is a book I couldn't put down, once I started reading it. It is a book about a women adopting a dog that her friend who died left her. It is a big dog and it is not allowed in her building. She really bonds with Apollo the dog. On the…
Nov 11, 2020Indoorcamping rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Five stars because this is the kind of writing that is so delicious you feel like you’ll gain weight. It’s a grown up adults book, not that there is a lot of sexy stuff but there is a lot of creative structure, untraditional, downright…
For the most part I hung on to the final chapter of the book but it was a struggle as the story seemed to falter the farther I got into it. The characters and writing style left me with an empty and hollow feeling. If I was actually going…
Mar 17, 2020Booker77 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Bought this for the upstairs neighbor a retiree who lives alone. But after screening the short novel, decided against it.
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jr3083
Mar 04, 2020jr3083 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
This is only a small book, and it feels as if you are reading a memoir or a diary, rather than a novel. It is addressed to an unnamed, dead friend in the second person "you" throughout, and it is a series of short paragraphs, separated by…
Jan 28, 2020chinook24 rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
I was surprised by the number of quotes from other authors that was in the book. After a while it appeared to be to be a book of essays regarding dogs, friendship, and suicide. The essays were linked together by a theme of the…
Jan 23, 2020maipenrai rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
Obviously I am more of a cat person, but I get my dog fixes by sitting for friends' pets. This unique book is a study of grief. Although the "mourned" individual is perhaps not the nicest person or the most worthy of profound sorrow, …
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Cas22
Jan 13, 2020Cas22 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
This is a beautifully written book that intelligently and insightfully explores themes of attachment, loss, grief and the animal-human bond. It is also a reflection on writers and writing and, at the same time, touches on issues of sexual…
Nov 02, 2019Walter724 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
This is a beautifully-written book. It was like I was reading about a friend, and it left me feeling that I wanted a pet like Apollo the Great Dane. I liked this novel a lot.
Oct 21, 2019Bendbookworm rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
Be prepared for an in-depth probe of grief if you pick up this book as well as in-depth musings on the writing process and writers. Through this process the author showcases her knowledge of literature and philosophy and bonding with a…
Sep 08, 2019OPL_ErinD rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
You could take so much away from this small book. It's about loss and friendship, it's about a dog and the bond between man and animal, but it's also a beautiful book about writing and literature that had me making a new "to be read" list…
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