15 novels featuring dogs Archives

The Accidental Tourist

by Anne Tyler

If my memory is correct, this book—Tyler’s tenth—was my introduction to her work. I’ve come to learn that the combination of ordinary and absurd on display here is typical of her work. Case in point: her protagonist Macon Leary, a travel writer who despises travel. We meet him as he’s in the midst of a divorce; he and his wife are separating a year after their 12-year-old son died tragically. When he falls and breaks a leg, he and his naughty dog Edward move back into the family home with his adult siblings. When dog trainer Muriel sweeps into the picture, Macon is hopeful she’ll help Edward behave … but she ends up turning Macon’s entire life upside down. And to his great surprise, that turns out not to be entirely unwelcome.

Fairy Tale

by Stephen King

I don’t read much horror but I’m so glad I listened to readers who described this as “a good story, well told.” Seventeen-year-old Charlie Reade has had a tough life: his mother was killed in an accident when he was young and his father retreated into alcoholism before finding a path to recovery. He ends up befriending a lonely old man named Mr. Bowditch and his dog Radar. When Mr. Bowditch is hospitalized, he pays Charlie to watch his dog and tend to the property. And when Mr. Bowditch dies, Charlie is shocked to learn that he’s inherited the house, a heap of gold, and a cassette tape telling an unbelievable story. Charlie now has access to a portal to a fantastical world and piles of gold. But Charlie’s not the only one who knows about either, which puts him in grave danger. Readers can trust that Radar will stick faithfully by his side through it all. (There are a handful of horror elements but this is not pure horror and it worked just fine for this scaredy cat.)

The Late Bloomers’ Club

by Louise Miller

From the author of The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living. Pastry chef and author Miller takes her readers back to Guthrie, Vermont in her feel-good novel about following your dreams … after finally figuring out what it is you actually want. Nora Huckleberry (that name!) has lived in the same small town all her life, where she raised her baby sister and ran the family diner alongside her dad. When Peggy the cake maker unexpectedly dies, Nora and her sister inherit a house, land, and a host of complications——including the handsome man who wants to buy Peggy’s property to build a big-box store. Everyone in town has an opinion about what Nora should do. If you like the sound of two headstrong sisters, small town vibes, and plenty of food, this may be your perfect summer novel.

Pardon My Frenchie

by Farrah Rochon

Rochon kicks off her Doggone Delightful series with this enemies-to-lovers romance between Ashanti, the owner of a dog boarding business and bake shop, and Thaddeus, a customer’s grandson and the man who wants to turn the building next to Barkingham Palace into a sports bar for veterans. Ashanti would be all for supporting this worthy cause if she hadn’t already been eying the building to expand her doggie empire. But when Thaddeus is called upon to take care of his grandmother’s Standard Poodle, Puddin’, that mischievous pup quickly becomes friendly with Ashanti’s French Bulldog Puddin’. Their doggie romance becomes a viral sensation, and forces Ashanti and Thaddeus to see each other in a new light. I so enjoyed my conversation with Farrah in WSIRN #419: Romance is my entire personality; we got to talk romance, dogs, and the book’s broader New Orleans (and briefly, New York) setting.

The Dog Stars

by Peter Heller

Hig is the lone survivor of a flu pandemic, save for his dog and a gun-toting loner. Or so he thinks. When he receives a random transmission on the radio, he begins to dream of what might exist beyond life on the hangar. Heller’s post-apocalyptic novel is reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy's THE ROAD but you don’t have to have read that in order to appreciate the way Heller examines the landscape between hope and despair.

Back After This

by Linda Holmes

Podcast producer Cecily can’t stop thinking about photographer Will after she helped him chase down runaway dog Buddy. But she can’t afford the distraction: her boss finally gave her the chance to host a podcast and more than her career is on the line. Even if she’d rather not be part of a project focused on her own dating life, much less be guided by relationship coach/influencer Eliza Cassidy. I consistently enjoy the sweet, feel-good vibes that pervade Linda Holmes novels, even as her characters work through tough stuff—and the hugely enjoyable wild card element of Buddy the Great Dane wreaking havoc throughout didn’t hurt a bit.

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

by David Wroblewski

An atmospheric Midwestern version of Hamlet makes perfect fall reading. Edgar Sawtelle lives with his parents on a farm in northern Wisconsin. Born mute, he communicates via sign language and helps his family raise and train “Sawtelle dogs,” a fictional breed. Edgar’s peaceful world is disrupted when his uncle Claude returns to the farm. When his father dies unexpectedly, and Claude romances Edgar’s mother, Edgar tries to prove his uncle played a role in his father’s death, but flees to the wilderness when his plan fails. After coming of age in the north woods, Edgar turns toward home.

The Happy Ever After Playlist

by Abby Jimenez

In this delightful follow-up to The Friend Zone, bestie Sloan gets her own story. After an adorable (and extended) meet-cute involving a stray pup, Sloan strikes up a flirty text thread with the dog’s owner, who’s out of the country for work. These texts turn into emails, and then hours-long phone calls; the two haven’t met in person but the connection is undeniable. It’s the first time Sloan has felt excited about anything since her fiancé died two year ago. But can a touring musician make a relationship work—and does Sloan even want it to? You’ll have more context if you read The Friend Zone first, but this novel absolutely stands on its own. Heads up: there’s a steamy open-door scene or two here.

Chirp

Lessons in Chemistry

by Bonnie Garmus

A life-affirming tale of a chemist ahead of her time, a life-changing love affair, a dog with a huge vocabulary, and the combustible combination of chemistry, cooking, and afternoon television. Elizabeth Zott only ever wanted to be a scientist—but because she’s a woman in the 1960s, she has to go begging for beakers despite being the smartest researcher in the building. After Elizabeth is ostensibly fired for being unwed and pregnant (but really for being smarter than her boss and dating a rival scientist he loathes), she can’t make ends meet. Out of desperation she accepts a job hosting a tv show called Supper at 6. She loves to cook, because cooking, after all, is chemistry. The producers want her to smile and look pretty, but Elizabeth is much more interested in teaching housewives not just how to make dinner, but how to change their lives. Lively and life-affirming, with an unforgettable protagonist.

Lark Ascending

by Silas House

This dystopian novel with echoes of The Dog Stars and The Road is set in the not-too-distant future, where fires have ravaged the globe and religious extremists have seized control of governments. Lark, a teenage refugee, fled Maine with his family hoping to find sanctuary in Ireland, the last country rumored to be accepting refugees—only to discover upon arrival that the borders have closed and his perilous journey has only just begun. Dejected, starving, and alone, he sets out for Glendalough, the "thin place" his mother told him about before she died. Along the way he befriends Seamus, a trustworthy beagle who somehow managed to survive even after dogs were eradicated, and encounters others who wish to both help and harm him. This is a departure for House; those who have enjoyed his past work may especially appreciate the wistful prose and LGBTQ love story.

Kamila Knows Best

by Farah Heron

Kamila Hussain throws weekly Bollywood movie parties, looks after her dad’s health, runs a successful #dogstagram account featuring her bichon frise named Darcy on top of working as an accountant, and she plays matchmaker for her friends. Where would they be without her? That includes Rohan, a longtime family friend, whom Kamila is suddenly seeing in a brand-new light…and it has nothing to do with her secret nemesis reappearing in town. Nothing at all! Heron frames Kamila as a people-pleaser, making for an interesting take in this Emma retelling. (Closed door.)

When the Cranes Fly South

by Lisa Ridzén

This is the story of an elderly man named Bo, living out the final months of his life in his small village in rural Sweden. Bo is narrating his days and his thoughts about them to his wife Fredrika, though she's not there to here him—she's living in a care home nearby, because of her advanced dementia. In the opening lines, we learn that Bo's son Hans thinks that Bo can no longer care for his beloved dog Sixten, which prompts a reckoning of sorts for Bo—about the reality of his declining physical capabilities and his relationships with his loved ones, particularly his imperfect relationship with Hans and his heartbreaking relationship with his abusive father. Most of the book is from Bo's perspective, but the intercut care log notes from Hans and members of Bo's elder care team made the book for me. Translated from the Swedish by Alice Menzies; I listened to the audio narrated by Ifan Huw Dafydd.

Land

by Maggie O'Farrell

In 1865, not long after The Great Hunger ravaged the land and its people, skilled laborer Tomás and his son Liam traverse a remote part of Ireland, mapping the land for the British colonizers. But their work is thrown off course when Tomás stumbles into an enchanted copse—and comes out a changed man. In myriad inventive points of view (an unborn baby, the family dog, a skylark, a house), O’Farrell tracks the impacts as they tumble down through decades and across continents, changing the lives and fates of Tomás and his family. I relished the enchanting details: the intricacies of travel, the love of music, the maps. This is a stunner.

Lily and the Octopus

by Steven Rowley

This debut autobiographical fiction from screenwriter Rowley is at once poignant and kooky. This is the lightly fictionalized tale of the author's last 6 months with his beloved dachshund and the brain tumor ("octopus" that ended her life. This little book provided me with one of my more bizarre reading experiences, because the great similarity between Lily and my own beloved lab were uncanny (even if Harriet and I never played board games or compared the two Ryans, Gosling and Reynolds), so much so that when I described the book to my husband right after finishing it (with tears streaming down my face) we both collapsed in helpless laughter. Definitely a strange book, but a sweet and strangely powerful one for anyone who's loved a dog.

Country People

by Daniel Mason

What a snarky, delightful romp! Mason says his intention was to write a “serious” novel about Chekhov, but ended up with this: a sharply comic novel about the absurdities of city people packing up their lives and moving to the country. When the Krzelewski-Petrosian family travels from California to Vermont for Kate’s visiting professorship, they’re excited to embark on a year-long adventure—and they have no idea what they’re getting into. The story holds more than a whiff of the absurd, with its small town scandals, conspiracy theories, family dog with a turbocharged sense of smell, and a ski instructor so handsome he’ll scramble your senses. A smartly written, but also silly, escape into the country, plus a serious midlife reckoning. For fans of Mason’s North Woods and Andrew Sean Greer’s Less.

15 novels featuring dogs

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