Archive for the ‘Animals’ Category

Review: A trio of Dog stories by Susan Wilson

Tuesday, November 12th, 2013

One Good Dog
A Man of His Own
The Dog Who Danced

Susan Wilson has written a number of books, but the three above are her dog stories. Since I’m a sucker for a good dog story, these are the three I’ve read. The Dog Who Danced is the story of a blue merle Sheltie and his owner and how they accidentally part ways and then find each other again. A Man of his Own is a WWII story, and a love story, as well as a dog story. When Rick Stanton goes off to fight for our country, he leaves his beloved dog Pax with his wife. But she discovers that dogs like Pax are in demand to help fight the war, and protect soldiers like her husband. She sends Pax off to be a war dog. Both Rick and Pax return — changed. How they deal with the changes is the heart of the story. And One Good Dog is the story of a power-driver who, in one very bad moment, destroys everything he’s built up in his life. How he rebuilds his life, and how a pit bull helps him do it, are the heart of this story.

First let me say — I can’t stand dog stories where the dogs are portrayed as little humans in fur coats. When one like this makes it to the best seller list, I do usually read it, but I roll my eyes a lot in the process. So, full marks for Ms. Wilson, who never made me roll my eyes once in the process of reading these three books. Her dogs are dogs. We are privy to some of their thoughts, especially in One Good Dog, but they are dog thoughts — or at least, thoughts that could reasonably be attributed to dogs, by people who know them well. The dogs are well drawn characters, which is the best thing dogs can be in books. They are not props, and they are not people. The human characters are well drawn too and their stories well told.

I haven’t quite committed to reading any of Ms. Wilson’s other books, which tells you I’m not totally in love with her writing. But if she comes out with a new dog story, I’ll definitely be reading it!

About the Author

Susan is the author of seven well-received novels including her 2010 novel, ONE GOOD DOG, which enjoyed six weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.

Her 1996 novel BEAUTY was made into a CBS Sunday Night Movie starring Jamey Sheridan and Janine Turner and can still be seen occasionally on the Lifetime network.

She is working on her next novel, another work featuring the complicated relationship between humans and the dogs they love.

She lives on Martha’s Vineyard with her husband. She has two grown daughters and two grandchildren. Susan also lives with her demanding terrierist, Bonnie. You can visit her site at Susan Wilson Writes.

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