I Thought You Were Dead

December 7, 2009
The smartest character in Nelson's latest is, unfortunately, Stella, a dog who speaks to her master, the sad, divorced, and listless writer Paul, often commenting on his lack of drive and the hours he logs at the local dive (“Do you realize you're only slightly less routinized than a cat?”). But when Paul's dad, a former Minneapolis teacher of the year, has a stroke, Paul heads home to deal with his family and his demons, leaving behind the elderly Stella and his noncommittal girlfriend, Tamsen. Paul's two worlds never meet, though his overachieving brother, Carl, and married-with-children sister, Bits, inflict their share of damage. Everything changes, though, when Paul's father begins using an instant messaging program to communicate, and after Paul unloads to his dad about his problems, his dad (literally) spells out the answer: quit drinking. Paul takes the advice, and his sobriety ends up being a cure-all. This unfortunately pat twist undermines the work Nelson put into the earlier parts of the book, and what's supposed to be a feel-good ending comes across as cheap. The characters—Stella especially—deserve better.

June 1, 2010
"I thought you were dead" is what Paul Gustavson's elderly dog, Stella, tells him every time he returns home. Since dogs have such an out-of-sight, out-of-mind approach to life, she is honestly surprised when he turns up again. Paul is a divorced writer whose life has been in a holding pattern for a while now. A steady job writing for the "For Morons" book series, nightly trips to his local watering hole, a long-distance romance, and his loyal companion make up the compass points of Paul's life. A romantic ultimatum and family complications combine with the love of his best friend, Stella, to force Paul to make some hard choices and seriously confront the issues of adulthood for perhaps the first time. VERDICT Nelson ("Left for Dead") captures the importance of a relationship between a man and his dog, especially in how it can foster and strengthen other relationships. Readers who enjoyed Spencer Quinn's "Dog on It" and Garth Stein's "The Art of Racing in the Rain" may want to check this title out.

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