Sight Hound: A Novel
by Pam Houston
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Read in October, 2007
I wanted to read this book because I noticed it had been on the Green Apple staff picks list. I also thought maybe it would be good for me because one of the main characters was a dog, and I just got a dog. But unfortunately for me, I wanted to put the thing down after the first 20 pages. Somehow I managed to slog my way through the rest until the end (I always do this, I always hold out the hope that something might get better, but usually, as I was in this case, I am wrong). The book had i...more
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Read in June, 2008
I picked this up because I like Houston's short stories, and the premise intrigued me. But it didn't work for me for three main reasons. First, there isn't enough story here to absorb me. Rae finds a boyfriend and presumably a life, through the careful prodding of her dog Dante who is dying of cancer, but - what I suppose is intended to be the climax is just sort of laughable. There's no clear temptation, no feeling that maybe Rae would go in a different way than she ultimately...more
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Read in May, 2008
recommended to Cayr Ariel by:
dogster dog-eared reading club
This was a truly enjoyable book by Pam Houston. I liked her writing style, where each chapter was told by a different character in the story, thus offering multiple perspectives on the action and plot.
It's a rather sad story about an Irish Wolfhound with osteosarcoma, and his owner, a playwrite from Colorado, who must deal with the dog's illness. It's not all doom and gloom though...there are some very funny parts. Ultimately, however, the book is about faith. Faith in love, faith in relati...more
It's a rather sad story about an Irish Wolfhound with osteosarcoma, and his owner, a playwrite from Colorado, who must deal with the dog's illness. It's not all doom and gloom though...there are some very funny parts. Ultimately, however, the book is about faith. Faith in love, faith in relati...more
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Read in September, 2007
recommends it for:
anyone who has loved and been loved by a pet.
Best summed up by Dante, the Irish Wolfhound - "I wanted her to see that sometime, no matter what we do, the good thing happens anyway....I wanted her to see that the only life worth living is a life full of love; that loss is always part of the equation; that love and loss conjoined are the best opportunity we ever get to live fully, to be our strongest, our most compassionate, our most graceful selves. After all, aren't we all just trying to learn the same things here, about sharing the ...more
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Cheesy as it may be, when I describe this I think of the title to another book: "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius." An author with novels and short stories for every girl who took off out west from Indiana or whatever state she might be "taking off" from, I have always felt like Pam Houston was my tourguide. She gets me, western living, men in the West and the guys who want to be like them, and most importantly, she gets dogs and all they entail. Lucy is my Dante...more
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Read in March, 2006
recommends it for:
dog loving Buddhists.
Each chapter is told by a different character in this story, including the dogs and cats of the family. The main character, playwright Rae, hasn't had much luck with men, but her love for her dog Dante is pure and uncomplicated. Dante is diagnosed with cancer, and Rae puts all of her energies into prolonging his life, volunteering him for experimental surgery. The ups and downs of the three years he spends in remission are narrated from the perspective of each individual featured in the novel. ...more
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Read in June, 2008
The first part of the book, I cried. I stayed focused and calm through the middle. During the end of the book, I sobbed! Having spent nearly 14yrs with my own dog, keeping in mind I'm not yet 26, and having spent thousands of dollars on various treatments and surgeries she's had (thankfully none of which are cancer)...I felt insanely connected to this book. After later learning that I'd spent nearly a year serving the author, Pam, coffee at her favorite place "Peet's" which is even...more
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I love Pam Houston.
She has a personal relationship with dogs that I don't really get. Well, I mean, I get it, but it's not that deep for me. But I dig HER so much and I dig her writing style and I like her cowgirlness, so I recommend sight hound.
Especially if you are into dogs.
I gave this book to Carolyn (Jacob's mother) when we broke up, along with chocolates and a very very valuable amber necklace that carried the exodus of Somalia in the early 90s.
This book is written about a...more
She has a personal relationship with dogs that I don't really get. Well, I mean, I get it, but it's not that deep for me. But I dig HER so much and I dig her writing style and I like her cowgirlness, so I recommend sight hound.
Especially if you are into dogs.
I gave this book to Carolyn (Jacob's mother) when we broke up, along with chocolates and a very very valuable amber necklace that carried the exodus of Somalia in the early 90s.
This book is written about a...more
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Read in May, 2008
This is my third Pam Houston book. I loved Cowboys are my Weakness and have read it many many time (haven't we all?).
I love that this story is written from different characters' perspectives. However, some of the characters I could do without. Like the self-absorbed male friend who is clearly a space cadet, and the lesbian who is obsessed with Rae. I don't find that these characters add anything to the story. Frankly, I find them detracting; I'd rather read about Dante/Rae and the mai...more
I love that this story is written from different characters' perspectives. However, some of the characters I could do without. Like the self-absorbed male friend who is clearly a space cadet, and the lesbian who is obsessed with Rae. I don't find that these characters add anything to the story. Frankly, I find them detracting; I'd rather read about Dante/Rae and the mai...more
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Read in February, 2006
recommends it for:
dog lovers
I fell instantly in love with Dante. Its a story that anyone who deeply loves their dog can relate to. It told of a woman who had to decide on the life or death of her wolfhound. I love how it is not just one person narrating the story. Its everyone important, including the dogs, telling of how they look at the situations going on. I feel Houston did a great job of reflecting what a dog is thinking in their mind. Thats not an easy task. Only animal lovers will understand her passion and fri...more
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Read in July, 2008
OK, I can't believe I liked this book as much as I did. I mean, it's about a Buddhist-like dying dog. And a lot more. But was I crying on the plane as I finished the book? Yes, yes, I was. Was I feeling all warm and fuzzy inside about how hard life is and how pets and other humans can help us through it? Yes. Did I leave the book on the SFO Airtrain so someone else can enjoy it EVEN WHILE RESISTING and sniffling? Yep.
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I'm listening to it on tape -- it's read by a cast of people, instead of having just one reader as is usually the case. It holds my interest, which is saying a lot these days! Each chapter is written in the voice of a different character (with repeats as you get farther into the book, of course) so you get the story from various perspectives. Even the two Irish wolfhounds (hence the title) and the cat have their own chapters -- it's funny hearing the readers interpret the animal characters, a...more
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I enjoy Pam Houston's stories for the adventurous, independent characters. This book is not one of my favorites, but I still gave it four stars because I like her writing so much. I do not have a dog (or any pets for that matter), and I didn't get into the whole psychic/emotionally connected canine thing. So, for the pages upon pages of dog stuff, I tuned out (probably NOT what the author intended). I liked the story of how the main character found happiness, and just Houston's style in gener...more
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Read in June, 2006
recommends it for:
anyone
I was charmed by Sight Hound in the first few pages, when the protagonist's dog quoted the Buddha. Sight Hound is all about the important purposes of pets, told from a variety of perspectives, including several dogs.
I thought, from the title, that this would be about a seeing-eye dog, but it's actually about a woman who is unlucky in love, except when it comes to her dog, Dante, who is dying of cancer. But there's plenty of humor in this book, and healing. I loved it.
I thought, from the title, that this would be about a seeing-eye dog, but it's actually about a woman who is unlucky in love, except when it comes to her dog, Dante, who is dying of cancer. But there's plenty of humor in this book, and healing. I loved it.
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I love Pam Houston's writing--I am from Montana and am a major dog lover. I fell in love with Dante the Irish Wolfhound - a once in a lifetime dog much like my own beloved Charlie who was in his last chapter of life as I read this book. I cried many times while I read this book and longed for more time with Dante and my Charlie. Pam Houston writes beautifully of what its like to live on a ranch in the West and the bond that happens when special dogs find their way to us.
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Read in January, 2006
recommends it for:
pet lovers
Now, I don't have a pet. My husband won't let me have one. :(
But I'm not a huge "pet person". However, I became more of a pet person after reading this book.
Pam Houston is a great writer...I'm a big fan. This is the story of finding and losing her dog, Dante.
The book can be a bit confusing, because it is told from many viewpoints, including the dogs and cat. However, it is a beautiful lesson about how every pet is sent to you to teach you something about life.
But I'm not a huge "pet person". However, I became more of a pet person after reading this book.
Pam Houston is a great writer...I'm a big fan. This is the story of finding and losing her dog, Dante.
The book can be a bit confusing, because it is told from many viewpoints, including the dogs and cat. However, it is a beautiful lesson about how every pet is sent to you to teach you something about life.
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Read in March, 2007
Sight Hound is another great book by Pam Houston. The story is told by several different points of view including Dante the Irish Wolfhound striken by bone cancer as well as several other household pets and friends of the main character, Rae. An interesting theme that runs through the book is the idea that each animal Rae has taken in, has its own lesson to teach her about life - love, trust, play and forgiveness are just a few of these lessons.
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Read in December, 2007
This is a touching story of two dogs and all the human lives they touched. I especially loved how the author wrote it so that all of the main characters could "speak" in the first person, kinda like diary entries. Of course, that made it a little difficult to follow, but it's worth a re-read at some point anyway. It also provided some very nice quotes.
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Read in July, 2005
recommends it for:
dog lovers (probably the female variety)
Pam Houston is one of my all time favorites and this book, her first work of "fiction," stole a little piece of my heart. I read it in one sitting and think I started crying around page 10 and didn't stop until I was done. Perhaps not so much for the men folk but female dog lovers/outdoor enthusiasts should grab a copy immediately if not sooner.
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Read in February, 2008
Actually 3.5 stars. Although I cried and cried at the end, which usually means I love the book, I had a hard time keeping track of who was speaking in the first person in each chapter. The voices the author gives to all the characters in this book are full of personality, but I had to keep flipping back to figure out who was who.
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