Saturday, July 16, 2016

The Dogs of Littlefield; Suzanne Berne

 The Dogs of Littlefield; Suzanne Berne
Brilliance Audio & Simon & Schuster
Carol Monda - narrator (excellent)

The Dogs of Littlefield was one wacky novel, it made me laugh and smile a lot. The audiobook reader, Carol Mondo, was perfect for this offering.

Littlefield, Massachusetts was recently named the 6th best place to live in the US. Great schools, charming town,  tree-lined streets and 1,146 psychotherapists and 679 psychiatrists and a few other unusual statistics.


Just after Dr. Clarice Watkins, a psychologist from Chicago, arrives in town to research the quality of life in Littlefield, someone begins poisoning the dogs in the town.  Things like this just do not happen in Littlefield, a town full of quirky, upper class busy bodies. So could the poisonings be in protest of the controversial off-leash proposal of a local dog park?

This book can best be described as a comedy of manners with a little mystery added to the mix. There  were a lot of characters but, it wasn't critical to keep them straight, the enjoyment factor was in the behavior and actions of the opinionated, neurotic and self-obsessed residents of Littlefield.  For example,  Dr. Watkins, new to the town,  is one of two persons of color in the town, and since she's from Chicago, some assume she knows the Obamas personally.  Equally insane is the way they react to a student from Pakistan.

I have to be honest, the mystery aspect of this novel is weak and the story lacks substance, but, the snarky writing never ceased to entertain me. I loved the descriptive writing about this insular town and the reactions of the wealthy people behaving badly.  If you enjoy quirky characters, this is a great summer book for you.  I highly recommend the audio as well.

Plot - 3 stars
Entertainment Value - 5 stars
(audiobook & eGalley)

7 comments:

  1. Sound pretty good and we're used to quirky here in the South!

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  2. I like comedies of manners better in novel form than play form. And comedy has been missing from many of the books I have read lately, except for Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler, which was hilarious.

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  3. I liked the quirky humour in this as well.

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  4. I had this from the library-- print-- but let it go after just one chapter. I wasn't sure what vein this story was to be written in. Mystery, chick lit, humor? Anyway, it does sound good as pure entertainment value, so thanks.

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  5. Sounds like a very interesting read!

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  6. I got this one right after you told me about it. I am reading Before the Fall right now and The City of Mirrors at the same time. I need to make room for it after those two.

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