Walking in Circles Before Lying Down: A Novel [Paperback]

Merrill Markoe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 28, 2007

Dawn Tarnauer’s life isn’t exactly a success story. Already twice divorced, the young Californian is too busy job-hopping to start a career, her current boyfriend insists on living “off the grid,” her Life Coach sister perpetually interferes with incomprehensible affirmations, her eccentric mother is busy promoting the culmination of her life’s work: The Every Holiday Tree, and her father is ending his brief third marriage while scheduling two dates for the same night.

Dawn’s only source of security and comfort, it seems, is Chuck, a pit-bull mix from the pound. So, when her boyfriend announces that he’s leaving her for another woman, a despairing Dawn turns to Chuck for solace.
“I should have said something sooner,” Chuck confides, as he tries to console her. “Couldn’t you smell her on his pants?” Dawn is stunned. It’s one thing to talk to your pets, but what do you do when they start talking back? It’s not just Chuck, either; she can hear all dogs–and man’s best friend has a lot to say. The ever-enthusiastic Chuck offers his tried-and-true advice on the merits of knocking over garbage and strewing it everywhere, auxiliary competitive peeing etiquette, and the curative powers of tossing a ball. Doubtful of her own sanity, Dawn considers that, in the ways of life and love, it might be better to trust Chuck’s doggie instincts instead of her own.

Filled with sharp wit, biting humor, and canine conversation that would make Doctor Dolittle’s jaw drop, Merrill Markoe’s engaging, cleverly written novel is about the confusing search for love and the divine acts of dog.


From the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Markoe (It's My F—ing Birthday) delivers a light-on-its-paws account of dog-lover Dawn Tarnauer's canine-led quest for love. Twice-divorced Dawn is the product of a fantastically dysfunctional family (Dawn's sister, Halley, is an overly enthusiastic life coach, her mother is a struggling entrepreneur and her former smalltime rockabilly musician father invests "a lot of time into perfecting... authentic fifties outfits"); her dog, Chuck, begins talking to her after dud radio-DJ boyfriend Paxton dumps her. Though other dogs can also suddenly communicate with Dawn (including Johnny Depp, a friend's dog), Chuck remains the leading pooch as he plies his master with sage advice and astute observations—"He seemed humpy," Chuck opines about one suitor; "Who doesn't like puppies? That's psychotic," he muses about Paxton—as she negotiates the standard fare of chick lit (losing her job, getting mixed up with wacky beaus, aiding her friends through their respective crises, finding a place to live). Until, that is, Chuck runs away, forcing Dawn to realize her true love may not be a biped. Off-beat enough to stand out of the pack. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* When her latest boyfriend leaves her for another woman, twice-divorced Angeleno Dawn Tarnauer buries her face in the fur of her mixed-breed canine, Chuck, and cries. The dog, it seems, sensed trouble all along. "I should have said something before," he laments in a gravelly voice. "Couldn't you smell her on his pants?" Has Dawn gone nuts, or is her dog actually talking to her? This latest offering from multiple Emmy winner and one-time David Letterman head writer Markoe (It's My F***ing Birthday, 2002) may be her best yet, delivering the drama, dark humor, and dysfunctional characters that have become the author's cachet. There's Halley, Dawn's dim, cell phone-addicted sister, determined to succeed in her new career as a Life Coach (thanks to the encouragement of her friend, convicted-killer Scott Peterson); their woefully nonmaternal mother, Joyce, inventor of the hokey but potentially very profitable Every Holiday Tree; and Dawn herself, a tall, blonde California beauty who feels more comfortable sharing confidences with mongrels than men. Markoe's fans will delight in her hilarious doggy dialogue, as when Chuck enlightens his owner on the topic of urination: "There's two kinds of peeing," he says. "There's regular peeing, because you have to pee. And then there's auxiliary competitive peeing. For acquiring an empire. I'm all about the real estate." Allison Block
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Villard (August 28, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812975464
• ISBN-13: 978-0812975468
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.6 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (92 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #105,245 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Merrill Markoe graduated from UC Berkeley with a masters degree in art, then went on to use her degree in the most pragmatic way possible by becoming a writer of comedy for assorted venues, including television, movies and magazines,(when there still were magazines.) Along the way she won five Emmys for Late Night with David Letterman and a Writer's Guild Award for HBO's Not Necessarily the News.These days she is STILL writing books and making short films. To learn more than you probably need to know about her, visit Merrillmarkoe.com. And when I say "her", I mean "me." As far as I can tell, I'm the only one writing this.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Paxton hates me - he's just pretending, October 27, 2006

By 

Aslen "aslenpaige" (Independence KY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Walking in Circles Before Lying Down: A Novel (Hardcover)

I read this hilarious book in one sitting, laughing out loud and even snorting at times.
If you ever loved a dog, and talked to it, and wondered what all the whines meant, and what on earth they were doing, here's a highly entertaining book, especially from someone who always watched her own dog's reaction every time a new guy came into her life.
I recommend it to anyone and everyone.

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thoroughly Enjoyable, September 6, 2006

By 

Molly - See all my reviews

This review is from: Walking in Circles Before Lying Down: A Novel (Hardcover)

Markoe's writing is lovely, and so easy to tangle yourself up in. It flows nicely, and keeps you interested at all times.

Her characters are well developed... each one showing their quirky imperfections at just the right moment.

The dogs are fabulous. I can't even count the number of times I caught myself thinking that my own dog would absolutely say some gof the things Markoe wrote about if she could only talk. Fortunately, my dog cannot talk, which made reading about a woman who converses with her dog that much more entertaining.

I highly recommend this book, and fully intend to run out and buy another of Markoe's works as soon as possible.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Grrrr....woof !!!, January 4, 2008

By 

Neil Glasser (Monroe, NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Walking in Circles Before Lying Down: A Novel (Paperback)

amusing, with a decent story line. the dogs have some good insights. would have preferred to hear more from them and less from the humans in the story.