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[BOOK REVIEW] Oogy: The Dog Only a Family Could Love
14 years ago
(I think I'll be using my FA journal to keep track of my reading. So as not to flood, I've put updates to my reading list after the review, and updated the original journal.)
Oogy: The Dog Only a Family Could Love by Larry Levin
So if you read my previous journal about my reading list, you probably noticed that I called this a terrible book. Fortunately, it didn't stay that way, but the first chapter nearly changed my mind about reading it. Why? Let me show you.
"The alarm seems to go off again in about fifteen seconds. I force myself to sit up. It feels as if I’m underwater, struggling to surface. I wriggle my toes and fingers, which I once read helps to keep you awake; I run my hands over my face and rub the sleep from my eyes. I nudge Jennifer, who without turning over asks for another fifteen minutes of sleep. Groggily, I push aside the comforter on my side; I swing my legs over the edge of the bed and drop to the floor. Stumbling around and over barely visible mounds of towels, sweats, T-shirts, socks, and athletic wear, I pass through the laundry room into the bathroom. There, I turn on the light, brush my teeth, and throw cold water on my face. Back in the laundry room, I pull off the T-shirt I slept in and put on a clean one from among the piles of clothing stacked up everywhere — on the built-in bench, atop the radiator cover, along both windowsills, and in front of the radiator. After a bit of a search, I pull out a pair of clean socks and sweatpants and lean against the dryer to pull them on."
The entire first chapter is like this. I swear I am not making this up. It is a minute-by-minute account of this guy's morning routine. It is the most dreadfully boring thing I have read recently.
After that, the story picks up. It's actually a very heartwarming story. Oogy was used as a "bait dog" to train pitbulls for dog fighting. When he was found, he was missing almost half his face. It's a miracle he lived. But the story is not so much about the dog, as it is about the family (including the dog) and how they come together.
Unfortunately, the author isn't a good writer. You have to slog through a lot of extraneous stuff -- the author spends many paragraphs just going on about how muscular the dog is, how broad his shoulders are, the shape of his profile. There is a lot of self-important and self-congratulatory talk about how great a person he is for adopting two boys and giving them everything they need and sending them on vacations and how they're never wanted for anything, and now they get to do it for a dog too. And, as above, a whole lot of just plain unnecessary cruft.
But overall I'm glad I read it, and if you like slightly sad but really heartwarming stories about people rescuing animals, you should pick this up. But be aware that the author isn't an experienced writer, and that really comes across.
NEW TO MY READING LIST
The Golden Compass - Philip Pullman
I have never read these books, but I saw the movie, and I like how it's described as the "anti-Narnia". Plus my ex took one of his character's names from the book (Pantalaimon) so I've been wanting to check it out for years.
Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card
A Sci-Fi classic, I figure I should give it a chance since it's one of my favorite genres.
WHAT I'M READING NEXT
I have the next four books in the Hitchhiker's Guide series waiting, but I'm tempted to break it up a bit. I may go for one of the classics I have waiting, like The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
Oogy: The Dog Only a Family Could Love by Larry Levin
So if you read my previous journal about my reading list, you probably noticed that I called this a terrible book. Fortunately, it didn't stay that way, but the first chapter nearly changed my mind about reading it. Why? Let me show you.
"The alarm seems to go off again in about fifteen seconds. I force myself to sit up. It feels as if I’m underwater, struggling to surface. I wriggle my toes and fingers, which I once read helps to keep you awake; I run my hands over my face and rub the sleep from my eyes. I nudge Jennifer, who without turning over asks for another fifteen minutes of sleep. Groggily, I push aside the comforter on my side; I swing my legs over the edge of the bed and drop to the floor. Stumbling around and over barely visible mounds of towels, sweats, T-shirts, socks, and athletic wear, I pass through the laundry room into the bathroom. There, I turn on the light, brush my teeth, and throw cold water on my face. Back in the laundry room, I pull off the T-shirt I slept in and put on a clean one from among the piles of clothing stacked up everywhere — on the built-in bench, atop the radiator cover, along both windowsills, and in front of the radiator. After a bit of a search, I pull out a pair of clean socks and sweatpants and lean against the dryer to pull them on."
The entire first chapter is like this. I swear I am not making this up. It is a minute-by-minute account of this guy's morning routine. It is the most dreadfully boring thing I have read recently.
After that, the story picks up. It's actually a very heartwarming story. Oogy was used as a "bait dog" to train pitbulls for dog fighting. When he was found, he was missing almost half his face. It's a miracle he lived. But the story is not so much about the dog, as it is about the family (including the dog) and how they come together.
Unfortunately, the author isn't a good writer. You have to slog through a lot of extraneous stuff -- the author spends many paragraphs just going on about how muscular the dog is, how broad his shoulders are, the shape of his profile. There is a lot of self-important and self-congratulatory talk about how great a person he is for adopting two boys and giving them everything they need and sending them on vacations and how they're never wanted for anything, and now they get to do it for a dog too. And, as above, a whole lot of just plain unnecessary cruft.
But overall I'm glad I read it, and if you like slightly sad but really heartwarming stories about people rescuing animals, you should pick this up. But be aware that the author isn't an experienced writer, and that really comes across.
NEW TO MY READING LIST
The Golden Compass - Philip Pullman
I have never read these books, but I saw the movie, and I like how it's described as the "anti-Narnia". Plus my ex took one of his character's names from the book (Pantalaimon) so I've been wanting to check it out for years.
Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card
A Sci-Fi classic, I figure I should give it a chance since it's one of my favorite genres.
WHAT I'M READING NEXT
I have the next four books in the Hitchhiker's Guide series waiting, but I'm tempted to break it up a bit. I may go for one of the classics I have waiting, like The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
I won't be re-reading them, however. Ever.
Good to hear from you, btw :)
Yeah, I could say more, but I shouldn't.
Good to see you're still among the living, too.
ONLY A FAMILY COULD LOVE ORGY
YYYYYYYYEAHHHHH
Did you read that excerpt by the way? You, of all the people I know, should appreciate the awfulness of reading a whole chapter like that...