Heroic Measures

Ruth and Alex Cohen have lived in the same New York apartment for over 40 years and as they near their 80’s navigating the five flights of stairs is becoming a slog. They discover their property could be worth up to a million dollars and decide selling is a great idea as moving will mean an elevator. As they prepare for the sale, their beloved dog Dorothy suffers a medical episode and is taken to the vets. It is not clear given Dorothy’s age as to whether she will survive. To further complicate matters a fuel truck has been abandoned in a Midtown Tunnel, the city goes into lockdown as officials try to decide if this is a terrorist attack or something else.
This wonderful novel packs so much emotion into 200 pages. I have never been show more on such a roller coaster, will they sell the apartment, will the secure a new apartment, will Dorothy be okay? I was wrung out and in the best possible way. Ciment makes you ever so gradually care for Ruth, Alex and Dorothy. Her writing style is ever so fluent with lovely dialogue. There are moments of tenderness between Alex and Ruth which are deftly handled. You cannot help but become fully encapsulated into their world. You become completely enraged when the open house occurs and how some of the potential buyers treat the couple.
The book is an absolute master class in writing and a joy to read. show less

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.

"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

This is a short book but the 8 reviews written earlier suggest that it packs a lot into these few pages. And that there are many themes to reflect upon: the challenging but rewarding life in New York city for all and for the elderly, the impact of 9-11, aging, the life long romance of a couple, the love between humans and dogs from both points of view, and the impact of money upon personal ethics.

I picked this book up thinking that it might be a dog-centric novel that I could give to my dog-loving friends. The reviews on the back cover quickly disabused me of this notion: "A highly original suspense novel...a heart-seizing narrative...Breathtaking - not a word is out of place." - San Francisco Chronicle; "Elegant, powerful, and, show more ultimately, tragic...Stunning." - Newsday. This last note, "tragic", left me expecting death of the dog or the couple or their failure to sell their fifth story walk up apartment which would soon be too much for them to handle at their age. I don't want to spoil the story but I will say that neither the dog Dorothy nor the couple die. And that I am still thinking over the word "tragic" in the Newsday review.

Not a light-hearted, this book is thought-provoking, filled with love and with at least a dozen well-drawn characterizations. I will be looking at Jill Ciment's other books. show less

This is a wonderful short novel about an elderly couple and the old dachshund they love. Other reviewers have described the storyline, so I'll just say the story drew me in within a page, and I felt I knew all the characters (including Dorothy, the dog) immediately. Even the secondary characters, such as the neighborhood falafel stand owner, were familiar from just a few words and thoughts. This is a writer to watch, and I'm off to see if I can find a copy of her Tattoo Artist.

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.

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