This book far and away exceeded my expectations. Jennifer Boylan’s writing is truly enjoyable to read. Not just clear and eloquent, enjoyable! Her humor and wit are wonderfully woven into the prose and snuck up on me. Boylan is a master at incorporating pithy quips and flippant cultural references into the midst of musings on her past.
The premise of this book was extremely unique. I know that Boylan has other memoirs, but this is the first I had read of her. The setup for this particular book included outlining her life through a timeline composed of the dogs she’s had. You might think that by dog seven, it would be repetitive to hear another set of canine descriptors, but each dog was such a unique character, that this was not the case.
Boylan creates a web of relationships to each dog. They are more than just timeline benchmarks, they are parts of her family -- however her family may be defined at any given time. Mother, father, sister, wife, each have a different relationship to, and take on, each dog. It shocked me how many strange and extremely disobedient dogs Boylan’s experienced over the years.
Beyond the canine aspect of this book, there is, of course, Boylan’s life story. Boylan wonderfully details a childhood as a boy, reacting and interacting with his sister and parents, and the fear surrounding transitioning to being female. Boylan narrated in a very straightforward manner, all of her experiences, and the real, raw, emotional reactions around her. It was especially interesting hearing about her reaction to finding out that her son had also decided to transition. The scenes towards the end of the book with Boylan and her wife spending time with their children and friends were so incredibly well written. The scenes were infused with painful emotion, but the outward actions reflected a joyful, supportive family.
I definitely recommend this book. If Boylan has not been on your radar before, she should be now!
The premise of this book was extremely unique. I know that Boylan has other memoirs, but this is the first I had read of her. The setup for this particular book included outlining her life through a timeline composed of the dogs she’s had. You might think that by dog seven, it would be repetitive to hear another set of canine descriptors, but each dog was such a unique character, that this was not the case.
Boylan creates a web of relationships to each dog. They are more than just timeline benchmarks, they are parts of her family -- however her family may be defined at any given time. Mother, father, sister, wife, each have a different relationship to, and take on, each dog. It shocked me how many strange and extremely disobedient dogs Boylan’s experienced over the years.
Beyond the canine aspect of this book, there is, of course, Boylan’s life story. Boylan wonderfully details a childhood as a boy, reacting and interacting with his sister and parents, and the fear surrounding transitioning to being female. Boylan narrated in a very straightforward manner, all of her experiences, and the real, raw, emotional reactions around her. It was especially interesting hearing about her reaction to finding out that her son had also decided to transition. The scenes towards the end of the book with Boylan and her wife spending time with their children and friends were so incredibly well written. The scenes were infused with painful emotion, but the outward actions reflected a joyful, supportive family.
I definitely recommend this book. If Boylan has not been on your radar before, she should be now!