Julie Klam, author of Love at First Bark: How Saving a Dog Can Sometimes Help You Save Yourself
In any case, while it’s not great literature, this book is a fun read. The book starts with Klam and her husband spending a significant amount of time on a street corner trying to figure what to do with Morris the pit bull, who appears to have been abandoned. Klam is clearly committed to saving dogs, and I was interested in finding out to what lengths she would go.
To great lengths, it turns out. After dealing with poor Morris, Klam gives shelter to a sweet-sounding dog who is unfortunately somewhat incontinent. (Uh, is there another word for it when it comes out the other end too?) Anyway… Clementine sounded like a perfectly lovely dog, and I’m glad there are people like Klam willing to give dogs like her a home.
The third story in the book finds Klam in post-Katrina New Orleans helping a group that rescues dogs. The book jacket boldly claims she dove under a train to save an injured stray, though I found the actual event to be more evocative of Incrediboy than Mr. Incredible. But still, valiant dedication to saving a dog with a pickle jar on its head.
My main complaint with the book is that Klam’s writing appears to be totally free-form. She narrates the events as if the reader were simply along for the ride, sharing her every thought and including jokes that don’t come across terribly well in writing. She includes sidebar stories that, while interesting, don’t relate to the main plot and could easily have been set aside in favour of additional reflection about how the experiences with the dogs affected her personally. Early in the book Klam describes her family’s apartment in New York – which, admittedly, I wouldn’t want to live in either – but I really didn’t get the impression that she needed “saving.” She’s just a dog lover with a soft spot for undesirable dogs, and the love that comes through in her storytelling is enough to make this a nice, feel-good book. As long as you’re not totally fussy about grammar and sentence structure, that is.
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I was compensated for this BlogHer Book Club review but all opinions expressed are my own. I’m picky about writing but I do really like dogs. Oh, and this post contains affiliate links. Just so you know.
