The Second-Chance Dog: A Love Story (2013) - Plot & Excerpts
I liked the part about the dog rehab, but the people part was awful. Two whiny adults who get divorced, probably because they have no self esteem. Meet - have panic attacks together, about 250 pages worth. He is on the verge of bankruptcy even though he just bought a farm and a has kazillion Apple doodads, but at 60 whatever years old can't balance a checkbook. She because she seems to know nothing about the world and any kind of technology, and perhaps was living under a rock. I've never read any of his other books, but he keeps saying how he's trained a bunch if other dogs and written books about it, but he doesn't seem to have a clue about Freida, no where to look for help, or really even like dogs all that much. He has 3 others in the book, but funds it strange that people talk to their dogs and he has to resolve to do so himself? That's not a dog lover!She lives Freida but never in the book does the author show she cared or wanted to help with the dog's behavioral issues? What kind of dog owner us that? And just crates her up and leaves her alone because she can't be byanyone. That is not ok. The overall picture just doesn't fit quite right, and it kind of left a bad taste in my mouth. This is a book if I were reading it when I died, I would die all over again at the thought of being caught holding my eReader with a page from it on the screen. If you look at my reviews, you'll see what I value. Weird characters, weirder plots, Pyncheon, Erickson, Wallace, St. Aubyn...none like this. Katz doesn't use the figures of speech and tropes I so value in literature: no memorable metaphors, no synecdoche, no schemes, no adnomination, no alliteration, no hyperbole, no irony, no assonance, no anadiplosis, nothing but straight narration, which in rhythm and structure reads as if he's talking to the reader personally, reminiscing, as he deals with the complexities of Frieda, the outlaw dog, Maria, his reluctant bride, his panic attacks, aging, even his financial disaster.Katz, in all his books, talks about how he's trained dogs. Undoubtedly, he is the most imaginative and creative trainer I've ever come across. No, he doesn't fall for that nonsense about an dog owner being an alpha wolf. If you have a dog, or are thinking of getting one, read Katz's advice. He's not a guru. His books aren't concerned entirely with dog training That comes up as an inherent part of the whole story of how he, Maria, and Frieda survived a really rough patch.This is five stars for a book to read on a rainy afternoon, getting to know more about Jon Katz. He has written 25 books. I'll treasure reading the others when I need a respite from the intelligentsia.
What do You think about The Second-Chance Dog: A Love Story (2013)?
I thought this was a dog story, not about a 60 year old married man's affair with a married woman.
—rouze
I did not find this engaging and put it down prior to the halfway point.
—AmyCelina
Loved this book! An easy read and a true testament to the love of dogs.
—KatieLA
