Customer Reviews

Good Dog. Stay.

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

Anna Quindlen has written a succulent tribute to her beloved black Lab, Beau. It's funny, and fond, sentimentally delightful, a fitting honor to a dog who lived a long life.

There isn't any whining here. She makes you laugh as she recalls the pup who spent so many happy days and when he grew old could still get excited about the scent of pork roast in the oven.

When it was his time to go they said goodbye with dignity. The many photos of dogs enhance this pithy homage to a wonderful dog.

Quindlen is not adequately appreciated for her sense of humor. She is one of our leading literary stylists. This book will be treasured by many dog lovers.

I purchased this book to be quite honest because the picture of Beau on the cover reminded me so much of my dog Shelly who I had to put down 1-1/2 years ago. I don't know exactly what I hoped for when I purchased this book other than perhaps a loving, funny, retrospective on the life and times of a Black Lab. I guess to a certain extent that is exactly what this book is however there is so little text between all those photos that I can't help but feel that I've been cheated. First off the book is small. Then about half of the pages (or more!) are photos. The text is double spaced. If this had been printed more like any other book it would have taken up perhaps 20 pages total. Somehow, that is just not enough reminiscing for me! I want to hear more of Beau's adventures. I want to hear more about how he aged and how he dealt with Bea (the Quindlen's Yellow Lab companion for Beau). I want more! What little is there is moderately interesting but it lacks the 'wisdom learned through experience' I had imagined I might find between the pages. Overall the book was a disappointment (obviously) and not one I'm likely to read again. But I sure would have loved a chance to say hi to Beau regardless of how bad his book is!

I have to be quite honest. I read this whole "book" at my local bookstore and did not spend a dime on it! Part of the problem is that, though it is selling as a book, what it really is is a quite lovely, funny and moving essay about some of Ms. Quindlen's life with Beau, her Lab. I own a Lab and feel about mine the same way Ms. Quindlen does about hers. Like other reviewers here, I do wish that she would expand this essay into a real book--and that I would buy. But for now, I can recommend this book to all dog owners--and certainly to any of you who enjoy your Lab as much as I do mine. Read it, for sure--the purchasing of it, quite honestly, I have to leave up to you.

A wise, warm, and compelling little book that is as much about a family as it is about the dog they loved. Quindlen poignantly captures the obscure, seemingly mundane, events in life that are only fully appreciated in retrospect. In truth, this is a finely crafted essay on how we learn to let go of those we cherish most.

With dog books such a profitable cottage industry, it's no surprise to see famous people/writers throwing their hat in the ring.

"Good Dog, Stay" is a thoughtful, heartfelt tribute to a dog. And, in Quindlen style, there are some magnificent turns of phrases, laugh-out-loud humor, and sharp insights proffered.

In order to disguise the brevity of the book, the publisher pads nearly every other page with stock photography of generic dog photos, which felt contrived and meaningless. Why not photos of Quinden's dog?

While Quindlen's writing is as crisp as ever, I think the publisher was misguided on this project.

To even call this a book is an unimaginable stretch.
I love dogs and thoroughly enjoy reading almost any book having to do with them and their exploits.
This "Book??" is 83 tiny pages composed of 53 pages of photos of various dogs...cute... and 30 miniature pages of Fluff. And all this from a supposed #1 selling New York Times Bestselling Author!!!!!..And all for ONLY $14.95!!!!
When was the last time you paid $.50 per page for this kind of exploitation?
Anna Quindlen ought to be ashamed of herself

In my world, an Anna Quindlen book about a dog is about as good as it gets.

This slim hardback, which includes charming photos of dozens of dogs, tells the story of Quindlen's black Labrador, Beau, about his life and death. It's a love story to dogs in general, and Beau in particular. Anyone who knows dogs will see truth in every paragraph, from the absurdity of praising basic bodily functions during housetraining to the ever-present wagging tail. She captures the essence of what a dog is. "When you say "Sit!" a cat rises and stalks out of the room. Most dogs will fall back on their haunches, vibrating slightly, their liquid eyes locked on yours."

The book traces the Quindlen children growing up as Beau grows older. In the end the grown kids make the final decision that it was cruel to keep their ailing pal alive. When the vet makes the final house call. Ms Quindlen has her arms around Beau's neck, whispering in his ear. "Yes, yes, you are the man," I murmured, "you are the best dog, yes, everything's going to be all right."

It took me a half hour to read, and my shirt is still damp from crying. I hugged my chocolate Lab and wrote this review. This is a great book.

I bought this book for my husband as part of the grieving process after our 14-year-old black lab died. I expected Anna Quindlen's usual wisdom and frankly I was disappointed. The text was very short; not enough in quantity or quality to justify a book in my opinion. Worse, every page featured those awful cutesy stockhouse dog photos that seem the antithesis of the honest and straight style I expected based on reading her wise columns in the NY Times for many years. The book came across as a celebrity milking something very thin for some extra cash. Come on, Anna, you can do a lot better than this!

DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK!!! If anything, read it in the store because of how short it is. I read other reviews before checking this book out from the library and I thought they were just exaggerating when they said it took 20 minutes to read, but they were right! This book is extrememly short.

Not only is it short, its just not very good at all. There is no plot, very dry humor, and no real meaning. The author never gets the reader to truly care about her or her dog. There are no good side stories either, just quick one-sentence references to what Beau did. The book is not well written and it seems to just skip around without a purpose. Another thing that annoyed me was that this book was filled with cliches. Did she learn anything from her dog that couldn't be found on a hallmark card? I honestly don't understand how people can say this is a good read. If she truly cared about Beau, then this book doesn't show it very well. Is her dog only worth 40 jumbled pages of wide-spaced text? I'm not really sure why this was even published. It seems like the author is just trying to earn some quick money by hopping on the "dog book" train.

If you haven't read Marley and Me, read that instead. If you have read Marley and Me, read it again instead of this book.

Also, half of the 80 something pages are black and white pictures of random dogs. It seems like this was done so that the book wouldn't be a skimpy 40 pages.

Please save your money and check this out from a library or read it in a store. The best part about reading this book is realizing that you only wasted 20 minutes of your time and not more.

While I thought the book would be great, considering the author, it left much to be desired. This more than likely could have just been written as an article in the newspaper, not published as an entire book. The pages were filled with pictures of random dogs, and not much text.

I really kept hoping that the author would elaborate more on her dog, really draw me in, make me miss her dog, and want to have a dog like hers. There was not enough text to do so, and I really can't recommend it, if you are really looking for a meaningful dedication to a loved pet. It really could have done so much more.