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readouid's review against another edition
4.0
Thomas applies her unique balance of immediacy and detachment, intimacy and non-self-judgement to the brink of aging, the brink of death. For such sad subject matter, you can feel her buoyant joy. She grapples with some of the toughest stuff, yet finds plenty of small pleasures. Every thing I read by her I want more of.
jacklynruth's review against another edition
4.0
This story is told in very short chapters. Each is connected in some way to another. We learn about the best friend Chuck. The daughter who has cancer. But most all is Daphne the dog who destroys everything. The most expensive dog the author has owned and yet despite it all is loved. I enjoyed the dog stories in the book the most.
ryndleto's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
2.5
Some of the authors writing was really pretty, but I don;t understand the plot or character growth that occurred. This book felt like walking through an uninspiring museum. I wanted to learn something cool so bad so I paid attention but I didn’t learn anything of interest.
lisalibrarian's review against another edition
5.0
I am in love with her writing.
I think you'd enjoy this one, Pat.
I think you'd enjoy this one, Pat.
melissakuzma's review against another edition
4.0
I pretty much read this book in one sitting. Once I started, I just couldn't stop. As she did with Three Dog Life, Abigail Thomas completely won me over talking about her dogs, but there is oh so much more. Next time we go to Woodstock I'm just going to go to Cucina every night and wait for her to come in so I can tell her how amazing I think she is.
snackbeast's review against another edition
4.0
I hate giving star ratings to memoirs...it's like I'm judging someone's life experiences as "good enough." Normally, the only rating factor I incorporate is the quality of the writing. This was different. Ms. Thomas is a phenomenal writer and storyteller, AND the "story" was deeply moving, full, honest, and cringe-worthy. Nothing was hidden away, even the ugliest, darkest bits of her life were left out in the open for everyone to see.
As cliche as this is going to sound, I laughed, I cried, and I wanted more at then end...which is why I've already shelved "Three Dog Life" for future reading.
As cliche as this is going to sound, I laughed, I cried, and I wanted more at then end...which is why I've already shelved "Three Dog Life" for future reading.
eileen_critchley's review against another edition
3.0
***1/2 kind of random essays, but I enjoyed most of them.
megsib's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Friends gave us this book a while ago, and as I was dusting the bookshelf, I picked it up and started reading the first pages. Thomas's writing is captivating and the short chapters made the book even more engaging. I loved the pace of this memoir and Thomas's wonderful humor.
I took a short break from the book as my turn came up in the library queue for All Quiet on the Western Front. After finishing that book, I had a hard time getting immersed back into Thomas's book. I thought I would have to shelve it and wait until the feeling of All Quiet was not such a presence in my reading mind. But I only ended up waiting a day and found it as enticing as it was before the pause. I'm glad I finished it.
I particularly liked her writing about her dogs and getting older and thinking about dying. I think if someone had told me the memoir was about aging and dying and thinking about that a lot, I would have not read the book. Don't let those themes deter you from reading it. It isn't a dreary book. It was more engaging for me than I Want to Die But I Want to Eat Tteokpokki, quicker paced, funnier, and more insightful for me about depression and being in a long funk.
One of my favorite parts, which there were many: Thomas is writing about the awful feeling of recognizing your own pending absence in a place you spend a lot of time (like home, bedroom).
"I get one of those awful moments when I feel nothing at all. Then thank god Harry farts one of his room-clearing farts and I have to put the scarf over my noes and I get up and find The Bourne Identity and stick it in the DVD player and the unfeeling retreats, but it doesn't disappear. Once you've felt this, you can't unfeel it. Once the carnal knowledge of your own death has jumped you, your innocent days are over. You can't put the shit back in the pig."
I took a short break from the book as my turn came up in the library queue for All Quiet on the Western Front. After finishing that book, I had a hard time getting immersed back into Thomas's book. I thought I would have to shelve it and wait until the feeling of All Quiet was not such a presence in my reading mind. But I only ended up waiting a day and found it as enticing as it was before the pause. I'm glad I finished it.
I particularly liked her writing about her dogs and getting older and thinking about dying. I think if someone had told me the memoir was about aging and dying and thinking about that a lot, I would have not read the book. Don't let those themes deter you from reading it. It isn't a dreary book. It was more engaging for me than I Want to Die But I Want to Eat Tteokpokki, quicker paced, funnier, and more insightful for me about depression and being in a long funk.
One of my favorite parts, which there were many: Thomas is writing about the awful feeling of recognizing your own pending absence in a place you spend a lot of time (like home, bedroom).
"I get one of those awful moments when I feel nothing at all. Then thank god Harry farts one of his room-clearing farts and I have to put the scarf over my noes and I get up and find The Bourne Identity and stick it in the DVD player and the unfeeling retreats, but it doesn't disappear. Once you've felt this, you can't unfeel it. Once the carnal knowledge of your own death has jumped you, your innocent days are over. You can't put the shit back in the pig."