Heroic Measures

Dorothy the Dachshund, aka Dottie, is the aging and beloved companion of seventy-ish couple Alex and Ruth. Life reaches a crisis for all three on the day that they schedule an open house for their New York walk-up apartment, a terrorist wrecks a (bomb laden?) truck in a nearby tunnel, and Dorothy's wakes up paralyzed.

Ciment is a master of human (and canine) understanding: growing old is even more difficult than we expect, loving means potential loss and heartbreak, and within the human and canine heart lies the ability to cope.

Alex, Ruth, and Dottie face adversity and they triumph, much to this reader's delight.

"Heroic Measures" is a short novel spanning a busy weekend (Friday evening to Monday morning) during which the aging Alex and Ruth try to sell their apartment, while looking to buy another apartment, while coping with the medical emergency of their aging dachshund, Dorothy. And if that's not enough, a truck has wrecked in and blocked a major bridge thoroughfare, and everyone is wondering if it's a terrorist attack.

A fast read, and more fun that it sounds like, although truth be told, anything to do with dachshunds is going to grab a bit of my attention. I'm glad this one did, because I enjoyed reading it a lot, and not only because of Dorothy. Alex and Ruth are wonderful, well-drawn characters. My only complaint with the book is that show more it surprised me with an abrupt ending that left a couple of issues unresolved. I won't go into particulars, so as not to spoil anything for other readers, but I was a bit disappointed that author, Jill Ciment, chose not to tie up those loose ends when I think she could have easily done so... highly recommended nonetheless! show less

I love Jill Ciment. She creates a picture right from start and gradually expands upon it. Here, septugenarians Alex and Ruth realize that the time has come to give up their East Village walk up and move to a building with an elevator. On the night before the open house, the beloved dachshund, Dorothy, collapses in the kitchen. At the same time, their is panic in the Midtown tunnel where a gas tanker has been abandoned. They rush the dog to the hospital, fighting the chaos in NYC and return to face the unknowns of selling their apartment and finding a new place to go. Ciment hones in details that bring characters to life, such as Ruth's glasses and dress. Alex' latest creations - illuminating their FBI file and the Dorothy's observations show more about being in the dog hospital. Another recurring character was the women in tall boots who appeared at all the open houses. The weakest part was the end - it just happened. show less

What a lovely gentle story. An old couple's dear daschund is suddenly paralysed, and they need to help their dog while at the same time deal with the practical details of selling their New York City apartment, all in the midst of a possible terrorist attack. The real estate dealing is funny, the dog point of view is cute but kept minimal, and the author nicely weaves in Chekhov's famous short story of "The Woman With the Pet Dog" . The city of New York is as much a character as Alex and Ruth and their dog Dorothy. It's about an old couple enjoying the winter of their lives, and their love for each other, their dog, and their city.

On the eve of the open house to sell the five floor walk up in the East Village in which they've lived for 45 years, elderly couple Alex and Ruth Cohen discover that their beloved, and equally elderly, dachshund Dorothy's back legs are paralyzed. As they begin the trip 50 blocks uptown to the emergency veterinary hospital they learn that the city is also paralyzed, by a possible terrorist threat: a truck driver has intentionally jack-knifed his tractor trailer full of gasoline in the Midtown Tunnel and is nowhere to be found.

Alex and Ruth consider and reject bids, they bid on a new apartment themselves, they worry desperately about their baby, they remember their beginnings and the life they built together, they follow the breaking show more news, which stretches out over an entire weekend. In under 200 crystalline pages Jill Ciment gives us a lifetime. show less

What a lovely gentle story. An old couple's dear daschund is suddenly paralysed, and they need to help their dog while at the same time deal with the practical details of selling their New York City apartment, all in the midst of a possible terrorist attack. The real estate dealing is funny, the dog point of view is cute but kept minimal, and the author nicely weaves in Chekhov's famous short story of "The Woman With the Pet Dog" . The city of New York is as much a character as Alex and Ruth and their dog Dorothy. It's about an old couple enjoying the winter of their lives, and their love for each other, their dog, and their city.

This is a short book and a fast read, that is well-written and entertaining. Poignant is the word that springs to mind. But she gives us some excellent images and characters, and the televised "crisis" that activates the plot is a wry yet pointed comment on our times.

Docked a half-star for the chapters written from an animal's point of view.