SOLVED!: Novel that begins with house building [s]

[Lisa]

Hi everyone,

What a helpful group!

I am trying to remember the title of a novel that begins with the narrator's curmudgeonly feelings about his neighbor's noisy building of a large house, possibly near a marsh. The narrator's dog is also featured in the first several pages. I think it was published in the last couple of years or so.

Thanks for any help!
Lisa

[Roberta]

"Bang bang bang bang bang. I start to flip out of bed, forgetting that Hector is beside me. I roll over on top of him. He bites my ear. I attempt to bite his. Another perfect summer day begins in the Hamptons. 'Goddammit it, Hector!' I slap on a bandage, grab my clothes, and head outside. 'Taketh not the Lord's name in vain,' he says, then flattens himself, tail and all, and returns to sleep."

(Page 1 of "Lapham Rising," by Roger Rosenblatt)

Very funny book!

[Lisa]

That's it--thank you!!