(Larger Image)
|
Good Dog. Stay.
by Anna Quindlen
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Random House (2007-11-20)
ISBN: 1400067138
EAN: 9781400067138
Dewey Decimal #: 818.5403
Binding/Media: Hardcover - 96 pages
Edition: 1
Release Date: 2007-11-20
SKU: 7017-Quindlen-R
Condition: Collectible: Like New
Comments: Stated 1st Edition. Small 8vo. Tight binding; appears unread.
|
Editorial Reviews
|
Product Description
“The life of a good dog is like the life of a good person, only shorter and more compressed,” writes Pulitzer Prize-winning author Anna Quindlen about her beloved black Labrador retriever, Beau. With her trademark wisdom and humor, Quindlen reflects on how her life has unfolded in tandem with Beau’s, and on the lessons she’s learned by watching him: to roll with the punches, to take things as they come, to measure herself not in terms of the past or the future but of the present, to raise her nose in the air from time to time and, at least metaphorically, holler, “I smell bacon!”
Of the dog that once possessed a catcher’s mitt of a mouth, Quindlen reminisces, “there came a time when a scrap thrown in his direction usually bounced unseen off his head. Yet put a pork roast in the oven, and the guy still breathed as audibly as an obscene caller. The eyes and ears may have gone, but the nose was eternal. And the tail. The tail still wagged, albeit at half-staff. When it stops, I thought more than once, then we’ll know.”
Heartening and bittersweet, Good Dog. Stay. honors the life of a cherished and loyal friend and offers us a valuable lesson on our four-legged family members: Sometimes an old dog can teach us new tricks.
|
Customer Reviews
|
Converted Cat Lover
Rating  (5)
Date: 2010-07-25
I have five Siamese Cats. Needless to say, I have always considered myself to be a 'cat person.' After listening to Good Dog Stay while driving through the streets of Richmond Virginia, I found myself pulling to the side of the road after being so touched by the love the book explains. I am 63 years old and never have had a dog. I lost my father several years ago and have had a huge hole in my heart since he left. After listening to Good Dog Stay, I decided to try and see if a puppy could ease some of the pain. To my delight, it was just what I needed. I have a little Bichon/Shih tzu puppy who loves me unconditionally just as my Dad loved me. I listen to the book at least once a month and get something new from it with each hearing. Anna Quindlin, thank you so much for being an enormous part of my healing.
Blessings,
Ewok's Mom
|
|
Tiny book. Big heart. Warm feelings.
Rating  (4)
Date: 2010-06-20
I read this book from start to finish at the beach yesterday (82 pages). It is a sweet, heartfelt memoir of the author's black Lab, Beau.
It is a quick read because it has a picture of a dog (all breeds) on every page. It looked to me more like a short story/essay that was plumped up to sell as a book because the author is Anna Quindlen or because the dog memoir is really big money these days (Marley & Me, etc.).
This one, in its basic framework, is similar to Marley & Me, with many fewer hijinx. Beau had his moments of getting in trouble, for sure, but nothing on the scale of Marley. One of my least favorite things about Marley & Me was that the author's ego came through so strongly that it nearly ruined the book for me...I didn't feel that at all in Quindlen's story. What came through was heart.
I recommend it, but suggest you get it at the library or borrow it from a friend (like I did) rather than paying a big book price for a short story fluffed up with pictures.
|
|
Right to die
Rating  (2)
Date: 2010-06-19
This book is not essentially about her Labrador but rather the life question
found in the last paragraph. " Was the trade off between being infirm and being alive worth it.?"
I found it disturbing. It was a gift from a friend who I am sure did not realize the real purpose of the book. There are a lot better books out there about the relationsip between a person and their dog.
|
|
Anna Quindlen Spins Gold
Rating (5)
Date: 2009-10-12
Granted, the book is slim and much of it is photography, but this unpretentious eulogy is, I think, a great gift for someone who has loved and lost a beloved dog. Anna Quindlen has a down-to-earth, observant, intelligent, wise, and insightful writing style. I have read much of what she has written, and I always come away touched and enlightened. This book is short, but it is everything it should be.
|
|
A short, touching book that recounts the life and death of her beloved Labrador Retriever, Beau.
Rating (5)
Date: 2009-07-31
2 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
Heard GOOD DOG. STAY., written and read by Anna Quindlen . . . it
is a short, touching book that recounts the life and death of her beloved
Labrador retriever, Beau, about whom she writes:
* The life of a good dog is like the life of a good person, only
shorter and more compressed.
I felt like I got to really know the dog and was moved when
I heard this passage:
There came a time when a scrap thrown in his direction usually bounced
unseen off his head [given that the dog once possessed a catcher's
mit of a mouth]. Yet put a pork roast in the oven, and the guy still
breathed as audibly as an obscene caller. The eyes and ears may have gone,
but the nose was eternal. And the tail. The tail still wagged, albeit at half-staff.
When it stops, I thought more than once, then we'll know.
I liked finding out about what Quindlen learned by watching her dog: to roll
with the punches, to take things as they come, to measure herself not
in terms of the past or the future but of the present, to raise her nose
in the air from time to time and, at least metaphorically, holler, "I smell
bacon!"
My only regret is that this is one book that probably would have
been even more enjoyable had I read it instead of listened to it, given
that I understand there were many beautiful pictures that went along
with the text.
|
|
|
|
|