Men and Dogs

This was a good book. I read it cover to cover very quickly. It was funny, light and also had that epiphany that you'd hope your protagonist will have when going through a life-change. Even though I gave it 5 stars, I would hope the author would push herself a little more in her next book. Maybe stir up the pot with a little more controversy or history or struggle. Having characters be rich and getting richer isn't all that unique or appealing to me. That said, good book.

I started reading this book on a whim and could not stop! What did I love so much about it? It was sort of like really smart chick lit. A wonderful, zany cast of characters...everyone in her family was so great to read about. My heart just broke reading about Palmer's teenage years....a great back story about Warren and Hannah in high school (part of me wanted that to work out) her supportive mom and stepfather... I like the fact that Hannah healed but wish that she would have been more optimistic about reconnecting with her family and going back to Charleston to visit. And I would have liked things to be a little more concretely realized at the end, but I guess we can just be happy she won's sabotage things anymore. I thought this book had kind of a slow start but really takes off once we meet the adult Hannah. I also though the plot line involving Virginia was a little forced but other than that, I loved this book!

April 8, 1985. Hannah Legare is 11 years old on that day, a date that will preoccupy her for the rest of her life. Buzz, Hannah's father, took the boat out that day and never returned. Still occupied by the family dog, the boat was found floating in the river. Buzz's body was never discovered, and Hannah, now an adult, still believes he is alive somewhere. The mysteries surrounding his disappearance nibble away at her. Why would he go fishing alone on a Monday at twilight? How could he fall out of a boat on a calm spring evening? Why did no one see him? How could a man fall from a boat while his dog remained in it? Hannah sees her father frequently, although it is in bits and pieces. For example, a college professor had his nose. She frequently double-takes when she glimpses strangers with his tall frame. Now living in San Francisco, far from her hometown of Charleston, Hannah drinks way too much and is unfaithful to her husband, Jon. After forgiving his wife multiple times, Jon has finally turned the tables on her, hooking up with another woman and telling Hannah he can't take her craziness any more. When Hannah, quite drunk, attempts to climb the three stories to their apartment (she knows Jon changed the locks on the door), she falls. She not only breaks ribs, she also cracks her skull by impaling it on a nail. Jon appears at the hospital to inform her that she can either go to rehab or back to stay with her mother, Daisy, and stepfather, DeWitt, in their Charleston mansion. It's the last place in the world Hannah wants to be --- the place she escaped from a decade-and-a-half ago --- but she has no choice. In Charleston, Hannah visits her first love's hippieish mother, Virginia. She can't resist seeing the object of her early devotion, even though Warren has not only become an Episcopal minister but has married the air-headed blonde she once feared he might find attractive. The description of her first glimpse of her old boyfriend is poignant as she describes his weight gain, his hairy neck and wrists, and his bland blue oxford shirt. Seeing Warren again uncovers memories that Hannah both embraces and fears, as her story is recounted, past and present. Hannah spends time via email checking on the staff of her and Jon's company, SweetJane, which sells luxury sex toys. However, she is mostly apathetic about their business, preferring to concentrate on trying to unravel the mysterious disappearance of her father so long ago. Her persistent belief that Buzz vanished rather than died has estranged her in many ways from the rest of her family --- a rupture that feels permanent. She visits her brother Palmer, who guards a secret about the day his father didn't return home. The secret involves Buzz's promise to attend Palmer's soccer game. Palmer suspects he was to blame for his father's fate, and that assumed guilt impacts his love life. Meanwhile, Hannah can't help digging around for clues to the past. If she solves the mystery of her father, m

When her father disappeared one day while on a fishing trip, Hannah Legare always believed that somehow, somewhere, he was still out there. She believes it for more than twenty years. In fact, most of her relationships are impacted by the defining moments of her eleven-year-old self. Now at thirty-five, Hannah's marriage is in trouble--and she knows it's her own fault. She can't keep herself from cheating on her husband. She considers these events "slips," because she knows that she only loves Jon. When she tries to get into Jon's apartment one night, after he has left her, she climbs the fire escape. When she falls three stories and is injured, but not seriously, she takes it as a sign. And goes home to Charleston, where it all began. To try and figure things out. What does Hannah uncover as she sorts through old photos, asks questions, runs into her old boyfriend, and theorizes about what happened that long ago day in April? What she finally concludes might surprise you. And what she does next could finally turn things around for her. Men and Dogs: A Novel was a compelling story that kept my interest and attention all the way through. It was a quick read, and one that displayed the author's talent for story-telling and her keen understanding of a slightly damaged person's internal world. Now I can't wait for whatever this author writes next. I loved that she depicted the southern landscape so colorfully, from the mansions to the waters surrounding the city. The streets and their names, like Broad and Tradd, reminded me of other stories in this setting, and made me feel as if I had walked these streets with the characters. Five stars!!

As a big man of Crouch's first novel, Girls in Trucks, I was eagerly awaiting Men and Dogs. Well, it's here and I am glad to report, it is every bit as good if not better than Trucks. Reading Crouch's books is like spending time with a great friend. Her style is wholly original, but if pressed I would say it is a little Dorothy Parker meets Lorrie Moore. I hate the whole pigeonholing of literature into genres like chick lit and such, because this is a book men can enjoy just as well as women. Complex characters, an intriguing plot, clever writing with a real warmth for the setting...Men and Dogs has it all. It is the perfect book whether you're sitting on a beach or riding the subway. A great, great read.