One Dog Happy

by Molly McNett

In this award-winning debut collection, Molly McNett couples laugh-out-loud dialogue and wry observation reminiscent of Flannery O’Connor with disquieting strains of dashed hope, troubled sexuality, and disillusionment.

The adults in these stories can seem as hapless and helpless as the younger characters. Two neglected daughters use the language of clothes to cope with their parents’ divorce and their father’s mail-order bride. A young girl’s bizarre sexual fantasies help her gain control over the chaos of her family life. A gang of teenagers accuse a farmer of bestiality. A divorced father tries to create a pony-filled world that might appeal to his daughters. In the title story, Mr. Bob, the minister’s housesitter, loses a dog but finds someone to believe in. And in “Helping,” the darkest story in this amazing collection, Ruthie’s anger conquers her religious faith when she takes care of a severely disabled child.

We meet McNett’s endearing, often foolish characters at a point when their minds are open to manipulation by the people and events around them, and the conclusions they draw are heartbreaking: I am not allowed weakness; life treats people unequally; perhaps there is no God. Yet throughout they find quiet moments of possibility, courage, and a return to faith and comfort.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction

132 pages, Paperback

First published October 15, 2008

Reviews

[Samantha Hoffman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why isn't Molly McNett a household name? She's a fantastic writer. Her writing is eloquent and her stories are riveting. This short story collection won the Iowa Short Fiction award and deservedly so. The stories explore the lives of everyday people doing everyday things, and her observations on life are at once surprising and ordinary. I love the way Molly sees the world and I didn't want the collection to end. More, please.

[robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The cover of this book is absolutely ridiculous/awful/cheesy. However, the short stories are some of the best I've read in YEARS.

[Erika · Rating 5 out of 5]

some great short stories--loved bactine, catalog sales, and ozzie the burro.

[Donald Hardy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant writing. Every story is a polished gem. I've read the collection twice thus far and still not fully realized the depth of human love and heartache explored here. The sentences shine with insight.

[Monte · Rating 3 out of 5]

Winner of the John Simmons Short Fiction Award, McNett's neat, chipper collection of seven stories uncovers surprising, tender moments in the lives of Midwestern farm dwellers. Gordon, the recently divorced, forlorn and none-too-clean bachelor protagonist of Wishbone, has let himself and his old farm deteriorate to such a point that the goth girls on the school bus have started a wicked rumor about him and his ponies. Catalog Sales finds two middle school–age sisters of divorced parents trying to navigate their painful adolescence while at the same time having to make the appalling acquaintance of their father's pretty, much-too-young-for-him Philippine fiancée. McNett's enormously appealing title story pursues an elderly member of the church, Mr. Bob, as he botches the care of the minister's beloved, incontinent beagle while the minister and his family are away on vacation. Bob doesn't like or share the minister's sense of blessed entitlement, and he even concludes he is helping the minister's overburdened wife a favor when he loses the dog. There is graceful movement and candor to McNett's work, and a palpable sense of possibilities.

[Rebecca Holland · Rating 4 out of 5]

In One Dog Happy,the book which I got from the University of Iowa Press this past week, Molly McNett appears to be quilting a mosaic patterned bedding which provides not only comfort and warmth, but a challenge to those looking at it(reading it) to find anything negative about the stories.

Each character brings a different meaning to an ideal or memory of how it is to be a girl growing up.

McNett continues weaving in and out with her 'needle' and 'yarn' as she prods her stories along. Though at times, the pace in which the plot moves is almost as if there are a bunch of turtles moving through a puddle of peanut butter, in the end, the result is quite satisfying.

And makes you wonder even more - was that how I grew up? Did I think those things?

Give McNett some happy claps for her debut short story collection.

[Karmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The short stories were interesting but a little sad.

[Tiff · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love dog books, but I was disappointed by this one. One story was about a preacher (by his characteristics he should have been working on his own walk with God in my opinion). Their caretaker let the dog loose while they were gone on accident. The wife begged him to show he was dead b/c she couldn't stand the dog. He did fake the grave but guess who showed up when they got home? These were a bunch of short stories. I did like the one titled "Catalog Sales". It was about a couple who divorced. the kids suffered for it and the dad got a mail order bride. It was kind of funny.

[Natasha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not at all what I expected from a book called "One Dog Happy" with a friendly little Beagle on the front (and a jacket description of "laugh-out-loud" dialogue). More accurately, this was "One Depressing Book". The short stories are well-written, but each is filled with darkness and tragedy. Quality literature, but definitely *not* a feel-good book. This is one in which the stories will, for better or worse, haunt you long after you finish reading.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a GREAT book of short stories. It's not, as the cover might lead you to think, a book about dog stories. I found McNett's writing compelling, engaging, and sometimes heartbreaking. You can tell why she won the Iowa Short Fiction Award. Each story was different but each one really was "wow."

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can tell this came from an MFA program. The stories are well written, and the characters are engaging and quite funny at times. This is a light and refreshing book, and the stories are the perfect length. My only critique is that they can be almost too cute at times. Worth checking out, especially as a beach read.

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not a short story fan but these were just weird enough to make me continue reading them. The subject matter of most of the stories was dark and sometimes creepy--certainly not what I expected when I saw the picture of the cute little puppy on the cover.

[Lori]

Daily Candy end-of-year roundup

[Janeene · Rating 2 out of 5]

A friend suggested I read some short stories for a change and of course this one caught my eye because of the dog on the cover....it was just ok for me

[Tyler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good stories, all well-crafted but lacking that essential zing of greatness. The cover is fucking horrendous, though.

[Natalia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short story collection doesn't have a single off-note. Language is lyrical but not showy, and the characters, especially the children, are almost painfully real.

[Nicole Davol · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book is full of a bunch of well written but bizzare short stories