The Last Days of Dogtown by Anita Diamant

"Studying the dogs, she had learned how to live within herself entirely:  to sit without expectation, to rest, eyes half-closed, and panting through the stifling heat, sniffing subtle changes in the air, succumbing to sleep when it came. The dogs were neither noisy nor silent, neither idle nor busy. They snored and sighed, coughed, scratched, and snapped at buzzing passersby. They stood and stretched, ambled to the bushes to lift a leg, or crouch, returned to shade or tall grass to circle and settle again. They smelled one another lazily, chewed on the grass, lifted their chins to follow the motion of a bird or a scent on the wind. Ruth passed whole days among them, floating through time like it was warm water."
                         -from the novel

This book didn't do much for me. Had it not been a book club selection, I'm not sure I would have finished it. I had read The Red Tent by this author some time ago and it was much better. I'm only rating this one a 2.

Though the setting was 1814 Massachusetts I didn't get much "flavor" of that period other than the mention of witches and lack of modern conveniences. There were so many characters I had trouble keeping up with the relationships between them let alone becoming involved with any. One could say that Judy Rhimes was the main character and I did develop some empathy for her. Easter Carter was an admirable woman, as well, so positive and compassionate. Most characters had so much emotional baggage that the story couldn't help but drag the reader down---ill-treated orphans, drunks, prostitutes, lonely spinsters, star-crossed lovers.

The frequent appearance of dogs and descriptions of them probably had some significance that I didn't quite get, in fact the beginning quote may hint at it.
I hope our group discussion will shed some light on this hodge podge of a novel and show me some redeeeming qualities.

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Our group rating is a 3 for The Last Days of Dogtown; in fact the majority voted a 3. At least two people of our eleven really liked the book, seemingly because several of the characters were resilient and managed to rise above their unfortunate circumstances. Some descriptions of the mood of the novel were: grim, bleak, dreary, depressing. Perhaps we should have expected that from a book with such a title. Most of us thought the ending was plausible and satisfactory. A couple of members agreed with me that Easter was one of the more consistent and likeable characters and added that she was a central, connecting figure in the story.

When someone mentioned the part where Stanwood's "angelic visitation" took place, we all had a good laugh remembering one of the lighter events of the plot.

Four or five of us had read The Red Tent by this author and enjoyed it. If you've read nothing by Diamant, I would start with that one!