Zoology

Wow. I'm stunned that this is a first novel. The writing is confident, sophisticated and unpretentious. I love Henry, the main character, who is sweet and observant and funny. With so many gimicky novels around, it was a deep pleasure to read this entertaining book about a young guy starting out in the world. The plot hooked me with its vivid details of life at home when you're supposed to be in college, how it feels to move in with your brother and his girlfriend in New York City and what it's like to work at the Central Park Zoo. Reading Zoology, I remembered how satisfying it is to get involved with a good book. A real treat. I'd recommend it to anyone.

I loved Zoology. It's the story of a young man whose best friend happens to be a goat, and it's honest, funny, sharp and sad -- it's the best novel I've read in a long, long time. You'll remember the joys and pains of the first time you fell in love, and most importantly you'll remember what it's like to feel alive. This book is filled with clear, confident prose, and you often forget that you're even reading. Ben Dolnick has an amazing eye for detail and the rare ability to create a real world filled with real people. As soon as I finished it, I started again on page 1 and reread it. It will be a long time before I forget Henry, Margaret and Newman. Read Zoology and you'll remember why you love books.

wow, what a fantastic book. ben dolnick has created a winsome, earnest, throughly endearing everyman. henry reminds me so much of myself at times that it's unsettling. and at times, laugh out loud funny. this is the kind of book i'd end up writing if i could, and i suspect there are many people out there who will feel the same way once they read it. especially any thoughtful college-age and post-grad dudes.

I don't read much fiction so when I picked up this book I had no idea what to expect. What I found was a story that speaks to me more than anything I have read, seen, or heard in a long time. Zoology is like a "Catcher in the Rye" for my generation. Like the great book I compare it to, Zoology is more than a coming of age story, it is a being of age story. Elinsky doesn't grow up so much as learn how to accept that he is already living in the flawed, complicated, but rich world of grownups. I love the story in Zoology and its writing takes the book even higher. There's a thousand little descriptve gems in the book where Dolnick's language glows. "Furry dust," "sour, bready smell of saltines," "a little fizzing pill of hate," "like a house burned down to the pipes and bricks and black," to name a few. I give Zoology the highest rating I can. I loved this book.