Customer Reviews

Dog Days

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book can be read on many levels, but it really isn't a novel about the mob, or about a greyhound, or about cyberculture. It's a novel about a young man coming to terms with himself and deciding what matters in life.

What gives this book it's real power is that the author has done a creditable job of asking the big questions, the questions that we don't seem to have time for anymore. And the vehicle he's done it with stands up as good, fast paced, entertainment as well.

John Grisham, a mindnumbing hack of a writer, isn't even in the same league with Lyons; though one might understand why the Grisham fan below sells Lyons short. The comparison with Elmore Leonard is a little more apropos, but Leonard trades in a different currency than Lyons. Lyons' primary characters are people you might know, or want to, while Leonard's are the sort of two dimensional automotons from televisionland you suffer silently every day in the world.

The transitions that bother some of the reviewers below are actually accomplished quite seamlessly. I'd submit that the complaints are really that the book you finish reading here is not the book you started out reading. Lyons leads you from what looks like a yuppie computer novel to what looks like a comedic novel to what looks like a crime novel/love story. And finally, at the end you realize that all along it's been all of these and a coming of age story, done with humor, finesse, understanding, and insight. In other words, it's a bit like life itself.

Lyons is the kind of writer who has the talent and the instincts to help recreate the novel as meaningful art, in the terms of our times. If he's willing to risk it and if enough people buy his books to motivate the publishing houses to give him the chance.

Dogs Days by Daniel Lyons was a unique book for me to explore. I work in the dot com world, own a retired greyhound and have spent many years in the past working in the field of waste management in New Jersey if you know what I mean, so I feel uniquely qualifed to review this book. I cracked up at the description of the techie hotshots because it was so right on the money. The arrogance and self centeredness of these kids was descriptive and precise. We know almost immediately that these geeks would get what they deserved and there was nobody better to complete the task than the goons from North Boston, two cultures intertwine that deserve eachother. I really felt sorry for the grey since I know how high maintenance they are and the poor dog had to put up with this high tech high jinx insanity. The first half of the book was great, describing the false promises the software industry offered these kids resulting in unbelievable work schedules and enthusiasm for their work. When the corporate powers that be finally nixed their project things get ugly as they often do. The kids were unable to see between the lines and through their bosses smoke and mirrors, something the older generation is more adept at which is why high tech hates greyhairs. The book was well done but falters during the second half when the focus is on the race track and gumbas in Florida.

Lyon's first novel -- based on an excellent short story from his previously published collection -- is one of those rare books that made me laugh outloud and demand that people around me read specific passages to see if they too had the same warped sense of humor that Lyons and I seem to share.

The scenes set in the offices of Ionic, where Reilly and Evan torment a colleague, one Janet Scuto, are some of the best send ups of Dilbert Cubicalism since Douglas Coupland's Microserfs. When asked in a survey to suggest what they would like to see stocked in the office vending machines, Reilly and Evan suggest "handguns and Ecstasy."

The book would have ended well with the boomerang-return of Coco -- life on the lam from the mob was the low point of the story -- but the first two-thirds of the book are some of the best comic writing to be published since Barry Hannah's Geronimo Rex.

A great Boston novel from a great Boston writer!

This is truly inspired writing. It's got grit, humor and wonderful insight into the life of a recent post-grad struggling through the early years of real life. The love story is genuine. The mobsters are Soprano-esquely flawed and human (and this was written pre-Sopranos). The dog is lovable without being a cute manipulative device. My only complaint would be the last fifty pages or so, which seemed to divert from the true heart of what this novel was about. But in the end, it all wraps up nicely and you can forgive Mr. Lyons for a small misstep in an otherwise wonderful read.

Being quite familiar with the North End of Boston, I found most of the novel very realistic. I believe there is a little of Reilly in all of us; for there is a time in everyone's life that we feel on top of the world, only to watch it slowly erode. Reilly, Evan, and the rest of the crew are all Gen Xers, but it is no problem for those of us outside that generation to relate to the story line. Only disappointment concerned the latter part of the book. For a story that started so realistic, I found the ending a little farfetched. As the story got farther and farther from the North End of Boston, it got farther and farther away from reality. All in all a great read, and I would recommend to anyone.

This book was listed as "Used-Good" but it is in excellent condition. I would have listed it as "Used-Like New."

Don't let the title fool you - this book is probably the best geek read since Microserfs by Douglas Coupland. Well written, engaging and a superb ending.

This is most definitely a light book. Not anything intellectual but amazingly fun. I loved the descriptions of Boston, the computer culture and the absolute hilarity that ensues from one minor act. If you are looking for a lift and some laugh out loud moments, buy this book!

The premise of Lyons' debut novel treads that fine line between being both believable and outrageous enough to warrant promise; and his ability to write characters that are humorous and fit certain molds without lacking scope keeps the pace from plodding along. Yet, at a certain point the story becomes what it is not--the plot resolves itself in a manner that it nothing like everthing that has come before. The plot endures a thoroughly unexpected turn of events (and not in a good way). The drive through state lines to escape the mafia, the motel scene, ect. If Lyons had kept the story from getting so out of hand, this would be an excellent novel. Nonetheless, a good, fast read.

This is a fast read, it's laugh out loud funny. If you've lived in Boston, you'll enjoy the mention of local sites and you'll picture a side of the North End that you might not have seen (the mafia).