Judgment, No. 16

The Dog Stars

by Peter Heller

"Both savagely funny and achingly sad, a breathtaking story about what it means to be human." 

*

This is a new book in the ever-tired genre of post-apocalyptic fiction. Only this time it's not about girls and boys pretending to be grown up, sticking it to the man, fighting for their lives amongst zombies and vampires whilst falling in love with the mysterious new boy/girl. This is about a man and his dog and their search for happiness after they've lost everything. Well, after everything they've lost was taken from them.

So, it has everything I love (at least at this point in my life): dogs, disasters...and a lack of teenage drama. It sounds amazing.

But, really. Everyone from Oprah to the Salt Lake Tribune is raving about it. It's been a while since I've judged or even read adult fiction (now, don't be crude) so I'm not exactly sure how to go about this. The predictability of YA is gone. I would say, though, this seems like a cross between I Am Legend...and any number of dog-people books. I'm sure there will be love/making which could be beautiful/awkward. Hig, the main character, will probably be a callous guy whose only soft spot revolves around the memory of a wife and his faithful dog.

In any case, I am excited to read again. I am excited to read this. And I am excited to see if it really is as amazing as everyone is saying.

Here's hoping.