Customer Reviews

Must Love Dogs

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Laugh out loud funny, this book is as much fun as a brand new puppy (without the messy cleanup and chewed up shoes). Claire Cook takes us on a life journey with Sarah Hurlihy, 40 year old divorcee, pre-school teacher, and member of a large, wild and rowdy Irish American family. In her first foray into the world of personal ads, Sarah manages to select a Mr. Right who is none other than her own widowed father. Will she have any better luck when her sound-alike sister writes a personal ad for Sarah, and records a voice message? The importance of family relationships and the dysfunction of same glows through every single page in this delightful and frothy little book. Fun, uplifting, and insightful, I highly recommend this charming book.

I wasn't spurred to see the movie. While I'm familiar with the Irish Boston area family (being originally from that area myself, and then having spent a fair amount of time around the Irish from Ireland), and while "Must Love Dogs" got that pretty right, the rest of the story...well, really didn't get anything right. Usual tale of failure: flat characters, boring narration, trite humor, dull plot points. Don't give this one a try.

I loved the beginning and middle of this book. I began to think I didn't want it to end because it was so entertaining. I thought the writing was honest, and clever. But toward the end I realized I didn't have a clear opinion as to what a "happy ending" would be. When it did end, I didn't know if the ending was the best case scenario for the main character, whom I'd come to adore. I felt her love interest's character and appeal was underdeveloped and I was left wishing for better for her... and me! Besides that, I loved the humor and honesty that shone through the rest of the book. I wish I could have written a better ending for it though.

Claire Cook freely admits that she's never answered a "real" personal ad, never placed one, nor experienced anything she wrote about- obviously. She ran a fake ad for "research" and came up with a character who dates her dad? Come on- there are telephones! She couldn't call first? How lame. Or dangerous!
Anyway- without the personal ad story line, the book falls apart. I was hoping for more.

A friend of mine gave me this book to take with me camping. I started reading there and couldn't wait to come back and see what happens at the end!

The story is not new but the narration and the description is absolutely amazing.. real life situations and feelings.. you could understand Sarah's feelings and her depression, laugh and cry with her.. she has a great family around her who actually cares.. friends and coworkers from every day life..

Sarah's ordeal was how to start all over again at 40 .. to find someone to love and share her time with after her divorce . . we know enough about each character to make us understand Sarah and what goes on around her.. which I think made the story interesting and an easy read!

It is like watching a movie where you actually know what would happen at the end but because Cook is such a funny and creative writer, you don't give it a second thought. You read and turn the pages, laughing, cracking up, feeling sad for her sometimes and can't wait to see what'll happen next!

Enjoy!

A recently-divorced teacher is coerced into playing the dating game again, under not so subtle pressure from her large Irish Catholic family. Zany, colorful characters and a plot based on Murphy's Law make this a quick and fun summer read.

Sarah Hurlihy is forty years old, divorced, and a preschool teacher. She has started dating again, thanks to the personal ads, and her first date is so hilarious I woke my husband up laughing out loud. A great start to a funny and upbeat book.

Sarah is one of six children in a close-knit Boston Irish family. Everyone is involved with everyone else's business. Her widowed father, Billy, is dating at least two women, one is a raucous woman named Dolly who doesn't take "no" for an answer. Sarah's sister Carol convinces Sarah to place her own personal ad, including the words "Must Love Dogs"...although Sarah does not own a dog of her own. The ad produces multiple hilarious dates, many including her brother Michael's dog, Mother Teresa. Who will Sarah choose? John, the quiet dog lover? Bob, the handsome single parent? George from Hanover? Maxwell, the Hemingway look-alike? Can Sarah's family back off long enough to avoid scaring all of the men away?

MUST LOVE DOGS focuses on a family who just can't keep their noses out of each other's lives. Many scenes of the book had me laughing so hard my sides hurt. One that comes to mind is when Sarah is having a lonely evening at home, even the personal ad responses she calls aren't home. Then Dolly shows up looking for Billy. One by one Sarah's siblings show up with problems, then two of the men Sarah dated arrive. Next, the phone calls are returned. Her house becomes a three-ring circus. The interactions between the various individuals left me in stitches. The characters have true-to-life experiences with love and hurt, which give the book depth and meaning, as well. Sarah's brother Michael and his wife, Phoebe, struggle with their marriage. Carol and her daughter, Siobhan, strive to find common ground. The family is able to forge solutions without alienating, all the while meddling in Sarah's dating life.

I highly recommend MUST LOVE DOGS, which gives an optimistic look at re-entry into the dating scene with the help of family. It is the perfect summer read to share with friends

Sarah Hurlihy is in her forties, divorced and lonely. She spends her nights making new recipes (macaroni and cheese mixed with wine) and watching reruns of the Brady Bunch.

She takes out a personal ad to find someone to love and share her time with after her divorce. After her first failure where she unknowingly answers her father's ad, you would hope that she would give up...but she didn't. You could understand Sarah's feelings, her depression and want to laugh or cry with her at times.. she has a great family around her who actually cares. Her friends and coworkers from every day life and a huge help and comfort.

This is a light fluffy romantic book which we all need at times when you want to just be dragged along with the story and laugh!!!!

Many of the negative comments missed the point. Sure, there are books out there like The Ya-Ya Sisterhood, the meat and potatoes of reading, that leave you feeling full and perhaps a bit heavy.

Must Love Dogs is a light lunch and a sinfully sweet dessert eaten knee-to-knee with a funny, charming and sharply insightful woman.

There are certainly times you want that satisfying meal, but more often than not, I'll take the light and tasty lunch.

Sarah Hurlihy is in her forties, divorced and lonely. She spends her nights making new recipes (macaroni and cheese mixed with wine) and watching reruns of the Brady Bunch.

She takes out a personal ad and tries to find someone to date. After her first failure where she unknowingly answers her father's ad, you would hope that she would give up...but she didn't.

She now tries to balance the new men in her life: John Anderson: who is sweet, but it doesn't always quite work out. She also likes a dad from the preschool where she teaches: but she doesn't know if he is dating her co-worker or he is just overly charming. All the while she is trying to deal with the old men in her life: her brother Michael, who keeps getting kicked out of the house by his wife. Also her dad: who is looking for a "slow bloom of affection," and is continually running away from one of his psycho girlfriends Dolly, who thinks he is a "no-good alley cat."

I found the whole personal ad--finding love thing something to hold my interest at first, but Sarah doesn't like anyone and jumps back and forth between not-very-entertaining characters. I kept getting the names mixed up and found myself reading quickly to find something worthwhile. The other part of the book, she spends her time being lonely and hating her life because she is not as pretty as her co-worker, she has never been the "good looking sister," and she just wants to be with someone again. I found myself feeling more and more sorry for this woman who wants to fill the void by "finding a man."

I was attracted to the book because the cover caught my eye: the title written in black curly handwriting, two cute puppies held on leashes by two pairs of legs, but maybe I shouldn't have judged the book by it's cover.