Reviews
Imagine Lassie wandering into Sex and the City."-The New York Times Bridget Jones but with less angst and more heart, and cut-to-the-quick observations that make this more than just a dog story . . . it's a story about life's possibilities."-Orlando Sentinel A charming tale."-San francisco chronicle --, Most people find that there are defining moments in life: a child's birth, getting married, even chance encounters can all divide an individual's experiences into "before" and "after." For Bernikow, a journalist and lecturer on women's history, life is divided neatly into "before fate dropped a dog into my world" and "after my first pet store visit." While running in Central Park one afternoon, this dedicated pet-hater came upon a crowd gathered around a police car. She wandered over, saw an abused pooch in the back seat and didn't exactly fall in love, although she soon found herself with leash in hand and an admiring ring of spectators. After a few days with the brown boxer she named Libro (Spanish for "book"), she discovered that they were mismatched but splendid pals, so she set off to chat with fellow dog lovers in the park's fenced-in dog-run area. In its lesser moments, the book can be schmaltzy and forced, as when Bernikow speaks of fate and epiphanies, attributing supernatural powers and uncanny intuition to her dog friend. Fortunately, these passages are tempered by Bernikow's description of trotting Libro around New York, meeting people who normally wouldn't bother to talk with her. In these vignettes, she allows her sense of absurdity to shine through, and the work takes on a cosmopolitan tone: "Many people said they'd grown up with boxers or their grandmothers had boxers, which made me feel rather retro, the kid still in stretch pants on the ski slope while everyone else wore microfiber." Her delightful riff on her dog's life will be snapped up like a delicious treat. Agent, Lisa Bankoff, ICM. Author tour. (Oct.), Imagine Lassie wandering into Sex and the City."-The New York Times Bridget Jones but with less angst and more heart, and cut-to-the-quick observations that make this more than just a dog story . . . it's a story about life's possibilities."-Orlando Sentinel A charming tale."-San francisco chronicle, "Es ist Wischmeyers Verdienst, diese für die Geschichte der Patristik in Berlin jener Jahre unschätzbaren Hefte ans Licht gezogen zu haben. [...] Es bleibt noch die Aufgabe, ein Wort über die Edition zu sagen. Sie ist mustergültig."Kurt Niederwimmer in: Amt und Gemeinde 55/2004, "Bridget Jones but with less angst and more heart ... more than just a dog story . . . it's a story about life's possibilities."-, "Bridget Jones but with less angst and more heart ... more than just a dog story . . . it's a story about life's possibilities."-Orlando Sentinel, Dog fanciers will enjoy this true story of the author's gradual transformation from footloose Manhattanite and social butterfly into responsible dog owner. After she rescued an abandoned dog in Central Park and decided to keep him, Bernikow's entire lifestyle had to change. In her book she provides an honest portrait of how having a dog changed her life, socially, mentally, and physically. Writing a good book for first-time owners who aren't sure about the degree of responsibility involved in dog ownership, Bernikow shares all the ups and downs that she experienced. Her story shows how, at first, she felt overwhelmed and a bit resentful about her new responsibility but ultimately realized that, for her at least, the good things outweighed the inconveniences.
