Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 21-25 of 74
One of a kind... March 13, 2001 9 out of 9 found this review helpful
After reading many books about "dogs", a friend suggested this book. Unlike many others, this book deals almost exclusively with the dog/person relationship, and discusses it in depth and detail not found in any other book I've read.Not everyone relates to their dog in the way Ms. Knapp does, and I certainly didn't agree with everything she wrote, but the book provides such a warm, intimate, unflinching look into her first relationship with a dog that I could not help getting teary at certain points. For some, dogs can and do provide a type of love found nowhere else. Even, as Ms. Knapp points out, if your life is balanced and full with a spouse, kids, career and other emotional connections. Perhaps one of the best things this book accomplishes is the confidence with which she says that loving a dog does not mean you are emotionally flawed. That alone should be merit enough. This book is so different from many other dog books. It is introspective, personal, affirming. One of the best books I've read in a long time, and one that could be read again and again.
A little too neurotic for my tastes. January 21, 2001 Ronald Brown (Florham Park, NJ USA) 2 out of 10 found this review helpful
I am a dog lover and appreciated Caroline's love for her dog. But I found her analysis that relationships with dogs are all tied to other messed parts of our lives a little much. She loves her dog to make up for the love she never felt from her parents, etc.
Read half of it, anyway... January 8, 2001 Lisandrea Wentland (Virginia Beach, VA United States) 3 out of 8 found this review helpful
Love your dog?So does Caroline Knapp, author of Drinking, A Love Story. This is an interesting look into the relationships people have with their canine best friends - is it normal? Caroline quotes hundreds of people and resources to defend her love for Lucille, her shepherd mix. Lucille's antics, used as illustrations throughout each chapter, are laughable - an enjoyable just-before-bedtime read, which will have you longing for the warm body of a dog at the foot of your bed, too. I did not finish the book, however, because it became monotonous. I felt I'd gotten the point, already...
This is a great book December 27, 2000 6 out of 6 found this review helpful
I can't say enough about this book. A few years ago I read Caroline's book "drinking a love story" and found it hit very close to home and that we had many, many things in common. After spending 10 years sober and divorced, I decided it was time to commit to a dog. I THOUGHT I was getting just a dog. No, not me, extremist that I am. I got a 15 pound bundle of love and joy that I can barely leave to go to work. I am so happy to read that other people have shared this insanity. I have found myself like the author reduced to eliminating activities that don't include the dog. Caroline gives me hope that this situation will abait. The book is extremely well written, funny and thoughtful. I don't necessarily agree with some of the other reviewers that people who aren't crazy about their dogs will appreciate it. I suspect that many of those people who say "come on, it's just a dog" would never get this book. "A pack of two" is right up there on the list of books for dog lovers along with "dogs never lie about love".
I could read it again and again... November 4, 2000 2 out of 3 found this review helpful
If your dogs are an integral part of your family, this book is for you. This is the best book I've read in years....
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