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193rd out of 370 books
—
148 voters
The Dogs of March
"His life had come to this: save a few deer from the jaws of dogs. He was a small man sent to perform a small task."
Howard Elman is a man whose internal landscape is as disordered as his front yard, where native New Hampshire birches mingle with a bullet-riddled washer, abandoned bathroom fixtures, and several junk cars. Howard, anti-hero of this first novel in Ernest Heb...more
Howard Elman is a man whose internal landscape is as disordered as his front yard, where native New Hampshire birches mingle with a bullet-riddled washer, abandoned bathroom fixtures, and several junk cars. Howard, anti-hero of this first novel in Ernest Heb...more
Paperback, 272 pages
Published
February 1st 1995
by University Press of New England
(first published 1979)
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I read this in my senior year in high school and loved it! The second time around was even better. Ernest Hebert is to New Hampshire as what William Faulkner was to Yoknapatawpha County. His characters come alive and he can humanize the worst of the worst, the down and out and bring out the best in them.
The story follows Howard Elman who loses his job, his relationship to his son because he went off to college and Elman didn't, loses his land, can't pay his bills and struggles to make it as an...more
I read this a long time ago (it wasn't even in my Goodreads "read" shelf). I'm going to see the author, Ernest Hebert, interviewed this weekend and thought it would more worthwhile if I skimmed it again.
I'm not skimming, I don't remember any of it and it is excellent. Small town life in rural New Hampshire. That's where I live. Great!
I'm not skimming, I don't remember any of it and it is excellent. Small town life in rural New Hampshire. That's where I live. Great!
I generally enjoyed the book, although it took me about 100 pages to begin to get into it. Howard Elman, the main character, can be summed up by Hebert's description: "[a]ll his life he had misunderstood the phrase 'bull in a china shop' to be a compliment." As the reader progresses through the book, she is left with the feeling that Howard is hurtling toward a specific fate. Fortunately, a few twists and turns prevent the book from ending with what might have easily been a pat conclusion.
Enjoyable read, but not a favorite. I felt a little too much effort was putting into writing an "accurate" depiction of what it is like to be an uneducated man. Set in Keen, NH, with a bit of rich New Yorker vs. local resident conflict.
I checked this book out from the library in June- and finished it 5 months later! The library will hate me but it was worth it.
Mar 17, 2008
Deborah
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
self-important city councilmen in small towns and elitists in general
Read this one a long time ago, but the memories of the character's junk of a front yard in rural New England are still vivid. His string of bad luck begins right in the first pages when he looses his finger in a textile machine in a factory, and then it just goes downhill. His lower class background as he fights against the upper class establishment is symbolized by the dogs of March who run in packs to chase the winter-weakened deer. A real look at poverty and how folk gang up to kick a man whe...more
New Hampshire
Very descriptive tale that paints a realistic picture of lower-class/lower-middle-class life in the rural cranies of New Englad. I can't remember much about it but it was pretty good. Check it totally out.
one of my favorite books. there is some languege in it but i feel as though the book would sound fake without it.
The first in the Darby series. I enjoyed the books because I live in the town upon which the books are based.
Mar 14, 2010
Alyssa
added it
This book was recommended to me after I mentioned that I had been getting into New England fiction. So far I like it, very honest about New Englanders.
I am still unsure about the ending, it really made me think, still trying to unravel it
I am still unsure about the ending, it really made me think, still trying to unravel it
Apr 19, 2013
Henryfrank
marked it as to-read
Apr 10, 2013
Philip Stib
marked it as to-read
Apr 05, 2013
Laurie
marked it as to-read
Mar 12, 2013
Lisa
marked it as to-read
Jan 07, 2013
Jenna
marked it as to-read
Jan 04, 2013
Neil
marked it as to-read
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