The Last Days of Dogtown by Anita Diamant is the type of book that draws you in slowly and that you quietly savor. The story takes place in New England in the 1800's. Diamant introduces you to a cast of characters; loners, prostitutes, former slaves, and others and makes them completely human and sympathetic. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that Diamant is a master of creating characters you can love no matter how lowly or misguided they may seem.

If you are into discovering characters slowly, by their actions less than by their words, you'll love this story. The story shows different snippets of each characters life and ties them together through vignettes where they interact. The most compelling of these vignettes is an unrequited love between an older woman and an African American man. This story provides most of the suspense that carries you through the novel.

>On the other hand, this is not fast-paced or shocking in any way. It's not hard to put it down and pick it up at will. For me, that didn't lessen my enjoyment or my respect for the author's writing. But if you are looking for the "oh wow!" type of book, I'd steer clear. This was more warm, soothing, gentle - - like a cup of warm hot chocolate on a rainy day. In fact, I'd have loved to curl up with it on exactly such a day snuggled in a nice cozy quilt. Perhaps a little dozing between chapters. Perfect!

Tension/Engaging: 3 stars
Language: 4 stars
Emotion: 3 stars
Character Development: 5 stars
Dialogue: 3 stars
Worth the Effort: 3 stars
Social commentary/theme: 3 stars
Originality: 3 stars ( )

When an author writes a wonderful book, you tend to always hope that the next book of hers you read will equal or exceed it. Diamant has never been able to live up to the standard she set in [b:The Red Tent|4989|The Red Tent|Anita Diamant|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1405739117s/4989.jpg|1041558]. Perhaps if I had not approached this book with so much hope, I would have liked it better.

With a cast of unique and interesting characters, Dogtown has great potential. At the outset, I think Diamant bounces from one character to another too often and arbitrarily, so that just when I thought I might become involved with them, she moved on to someone new. In the end, however, I did feel somewhat invested in Judy Rhines, who emerges as perhaps the "main" character. I found it quite interesting when I learned that most of these characters actually existed and that the fate of Dogtown is accurately depicted. Perhaps truth is indeed stranger than fiction.

I wanted to love this book. I felt bits and pieces of empathy and understanding for the inhabitants of Dogtown. I felt for the bleakness of life for these last people resigned to live in this area that carried with it so much stigma. I liked the parallel between the people and the dogs themselves, who had given the area its name so many years before. I would not discourage anyone who said they were planning to read this book, but I would also not tell anyone it was a book not to be missed.

If this review sounds equivocal, it is because I can feel myself with one foot on either side of the fence. If this were my first Diamant, I would not hesitate to read her again, but on the heels of The Red Tent, it cannot help disappointing a bit. ( )

sad village near Glouster declines to collection of misfits and gradually last die or leave

This was different. Interesting and varied characters. I'm glad it wasn't any longer than the 260 pages it was. ( )

The only way I can describe this book is that it was a beautiful read. It is a story but a story about the people. People with all human frailties and human kindness and caring. When I read one review I didn't understand quite what they meant about knowing the people personally but when I finished I knew the characters and cared for them.

This is a simple story straight forward but to truly enjoy it had to go back several times to really learn and connect with the people who were so wonderfully developed. Anyone who wants to read a story about real people should read this and forget about the story and embrace the characters. ( )