While some of the books I review on my site are furnished by the publishers, authors, or publicists for the purpose of review all of my reviews are truthful, honest, and my sincere opinion.

Friday, July 30, 2010

Review: Audiobook Men and Dogs by Katie Crouch

Thanks to Anna at Hachette for letting me review this one.



About the Book

In April of 1985, Buzz Legare went fishing. The next day all that was found was his boat and his waiting, faithful dog.

Twenty years later, his daughter Hannah still finds hope in believing, alone among her family, that he's still alive somewhere. She has a smart husband, a thriving business, a beautiful home in San Francisco-and a huge hole in her troubled heart. True to her trademark talent for self-sabotage, she finds herself one starry night climbing up the fire escape in a desperate (and drunken) attempt to win back her own husband--and failing disastrously.

Slightly worse for the wear, Hannah returns to Charleston to salve her wounds. There, old loves, unrepented crimes, and family legends are stirred up from the dust. Hannah's brother Palmer, the stoic with a secret of his own, cannot dissuade her from a manic search to uncover clues to the past, and they will both face shocking discoveries that lead them to reconcile their very different notions of loyalty and blind faith.

As she did so memorably in her bestselling debut, Girls in Trucks, Katie Crouch has created another great voice--spiky, tender, and hilarious--in the screwball heroine Hannah Legare. Much like Julia Roberts in My Best Friend's Wedding, Hannah follows the misguided impulses of a heart that's in the right place.

For more information about Men and Dogs please visit Hachette's website.

My Review

I've read another Katie Crouch book, and I really liked it. This one did not disappoint.

It took a little for me to get used to the narrator's voice. But once I got used to her voice I really got into the book.

Hanna was so messed up, but she really was a great character. I went from feeling bad for her to being so angry at her, and back again. She had some great grounding forces in her life though. Her brother Palmer (who also has some issues) and her mother Daisy were great characters also. They had dealt with what Hanna was so unwilling to really deal with, and while they understood her issues I think they were ready for her just get on with things.

The ending was really touching. I think I like the audiobooks more because it's harder for me to guess what is going to happen, and so the endings are always a surprise for me. I really liked the ending of this one. While it was a "happy" ending it wasn't what I would have expected to happen.

Crouch writes with so much humor in her books. Given the depressing topics she writes about the humor is a much needed relief. I think without the humor this would have been a very sad book. Not having dealt with what Hanna is going through I still was able to understand her because Crouch's writing makes it so easy to relate to the characters.

Again Crouch has written a great novel!

Men and Dogs: A Novel

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