Dog Days by Ericka Waller
Dog Days is the first novel by Ericka Waller. I knew Ericka many years ago from her blogging days, back in the days when there was a big, friendly blogging community. So, when I saw she’d written a novel, I was keen to read it. It took me a while though – I didn’t have a dog myself when I first decided I wanted to read it!
Dog Days is seemingly three separate stories – of George, Lizzie and Dan – who all have some connection to a dog.
George is newly bereaved and struggling. He doesn’t know how to cope with life without his wife Ellen. He doesn’t know how to ask for help and he certainly doesn’t know how to thank people for it. He is cross that Ellen bought a puppy just before she died, without talking to him about it first.
George is not a likeable character. He swears and calls people horrible names. I don’t know why anyone would want to help him! Even though he’s lost his wife and most people would cut him a bit of slack, his behaviour still feels unacceptable.
Lizzie is living in a shelter with her beloved son, Lenny. She doesn’t want to talk the to other women or the manager about what happened to her. She just wants to hide away with Lenny. Lizzie is obsessed with science and facts and brings them into every conversation, which other people find a bit strange.
Dan is 25 and a counsellor, but he feels like he needs counselling himself. He counts things to cope with everyday life and talks to his dog, Fitz. When Atticus walks into his room, he doesn’t know how to solve him. He doesn’t understand why Atticus needs counselling and none of his old techniques seem to work. Atticus seems to take pleasure in winding Dan up and Dan can’t wait until he doesn’t have to be his counsellor any more.
Dog Days is a sweet story. For most of the book it goes along as a nice and gentle read, then towards the end there are a couple of twists and you realise it’s not quite as sweet and gentle as it seemed. It reminds me a bit of something by Mike Gayle.
If you are looking for a moving read with believable characters, I would recommend Dog Days.
It sounds like a really interesting book, the characters very complex. I do like stories like this, especially when they have a twist. What was Ericka’s blog, I probably remember her from somewhere.
It’s a really nice story, with just the right level of darkness! I think Ericka’s blog was something like Mum in the South. I feel like she won an award at Britmums one year.