The Dogs of March (Paperback)

by Ernest Hebert (Author) "Teeth, straight teeth. The thought surfaced, but he pushed it back into the depths, for this was early morning, when the mind could do such..." (more)
Key Phrases: lint puffs, full awakeness, road meat, Ollie Jordan, Howard Elman, Ronald Thorpe (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"The book rises or falls on the strength of Howard Elman, and this man could hold up a house. By turns tormented, funny, poignant and appalling, he lodges in the memory - and successfully launches the career of Ernest Hebert." --New York Times Book Review

Product Description
The first novel in Hebert's acclaimed Darby series.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 260 pages
• Publisher: UPNE (February 15, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0874517192
• ISBN-13: 978-0874517194
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #276,250 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hebert Knows Yankee Hicks, May 20, 1999

By A Customer

I was sorry I waited to read it. I am from New Hampshire, a strange place but home. I have been in Seattle for several years. This book gave me flashbacks of growing up. I didn't realize then some of the odd behavior of those around me as well as myself. If you are from the sticks of N.E. you will love this book. It is hilarious, smart, and tight. If you are not and you like to read non-industry writers, writers with imagination. Pick up this book. It is great. I was truly blown away. I grew up with a TV but we had no channels but for PBS (Durham NH) and cable was not yet in the hinterlands. I read many books in New Hampshire and about New Hampshire, this is the very best. Hebert nailed this story. Trust me if you like original, new, fresh, material read "The Dogs of March."

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Better than "Beans", February 24, 2001

By	michael c. white "mwhite1023" (wilbraham, ma United States) - See all my reviews

I read Hebert's novel many years ago and was surprised when it went out of print. It is a wonderful novel, much better and more profound I think than "The Beans of Egypt, Maine" in honestly protraying rural poverty in New England. Hebert's characters are beautifully rendered and unlike with Chute's, the author does not condescend to them nor does he make them larger or smaller than life, though he does portray them with empathy and with heart. His characters have their own pettiness and desires and dignity, and he allows them to follow their own paths without making them cartoon-like puppets or grotesques. They are poor but they are not made to argue for some political point of view (though of course one can hardly not be moved when the main character talks about "teeth"--when referring to the lack of dental care for the poor). As with all great art, this novel makes its politcal statement by fashioning characters we do identify with. This is a profoundly moving novel that deserves to be rediscovered and applauded as the gritty and realistic novel it is.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extraordinary, August 29, 2005

By	M. Furlong "PrairieFire" (Chicago) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I was born and raised in New Hampshire and, to echo a previous reviewer from the Granite State, this is spot on.

I love Russo's books, but "Dogs of March" is far more gritty and, at a dirt level, far more realistic. The town I grew up in had trash men that were constantly building "additions" to their tin, aluminum foil and tar paper shack out by the railroad tracks. They were clones of the Ollie Jordan family in Hebert's novel.

Besides the characters, there is a powerful story of what drives men to do extraordinary and bizarre things.

This is among a handful of novels I've read twice.