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Overview
For Paul Gustavson, a hack writer for the wildly popular For Morons series, life is a succession of obstacles. His wife has left him, his father has suffered a debilitating stroke, his girlfriend is dating another man, he has impotency issues, and his overachieving brother invested his parents' money in stocks that tanked. Still, Paul has his friends at Bay State bar, a steady line of cocktails, and a new pair of running shoes (he’s promised himself to get in shape). And then there’s Stella, the one constant in his life, who gives him sage advice, doesn’t judge him, and gives him unconditional love. However, Stella won’t accompany Paul into his favorite dive bar. "I'll roll on dead carp, I'll even eat cat turds, but that place grosses me out." Stella, you see, is Paul's aging Lab-shepherd mix, and she knows Paul better than he knows himself.In I Thought You Were Dead, author Pete Nelson delivers a novel that is all at once heartwarming, heartbreaking, and heart-wrenchingly funny. Most of all, it’s a story that proves that when a good dog is by your side—especially one with whom you can have an engaging conversation—life can be full of surprises.
Synopsis
For Paul Gustavson, a hack writer for the wildly popular For Morons series, life is a succession of obstacles. His wife has left him, his father has suffered a debilitating stroke, his girlfriend is dating another man, he has impotency issues, and his overachieving brother invested his parents' money in stocks that tanked. Still, Paul has his friends at Bay State bar, a steady line of cocktails, and a new pair of running shoes (he’s promised himself to get in shape). And then there’s Stella, the one constant in his life, who gives him sage advice, doesn’t judge him, and gives him unconditional love. However, Stella won’t accompany Paul into his favorite dive bar. "I'll roll on dead carp, I'll even eat cat turds, but that place grosses me out." Stella, you see, is Paul's aging Lab-shepherd mix, and she knows Paul better than he knows himself.
In I Thought You Were Dead, author Pete Nelson delivers a novel that is all at once heartwarming, heartbreaking, and heart-wrenchingly funny. Most of all, it’s a story that proves that when a good dog is by your side—especially one with whom you can have an engaging conversation—life can be full of surprises.
Publishers Weekly
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. (Apr.)
Editorials
Publishers Weekly
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. (Apr.)Kirkus Reviews
In singer-songwriter Nelson's latest (The Christmas List, 2004, etc.), a Massachusetts freelance writer works through a raft of crises with the help of his unlikely confidante, an aging dog named Stella. Paul Gustavson doesn't lack for woes. He's newly divorced, and half a continent away his father has suffered a stroke that will require him to relearn every basic skill. Paul's long-distance girlfriend, Tamsen, splits her time and affections between him and another man, one whose job may move him (and Tamsen?) across the country. Paul's rivalry with his superachiever brother seems to be taking a bad turn. His manuscript for the big-selling For Morons series, Nature for Morons, is overdue. He drinks too much. Perhaps worst of all, his loyal companion, Stella, now 15, is half-lame and incontinent, and the end draws near. What's unusual here is that the confiding goes both directions. Paul doesn't talk at his dog; he talks with her, and she talks back, imparting doggy wisdom, providing calm and grounded advice and love without condition. (She also conforms to type-the title is her line every time Paul comes home.) As Paul tries to reassert control of his life after even further heartache, the book takes a detour into the cliches of addiction (drink is the BAD dog, it turns out) and of relationship-speak (there are painfully earnest e-mails and IMs between Tamsen and Paul), yet its sweetness and low-key comic charm keep it from falling into schlock. Like a big, friendly mutt-a bit too eager to please, but sweet-souled and companionable.The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
“Pete Nelson has spun a beautiful ballad out of the humblest elements: an old dog, a drinking problem, a Minnesota family and a woman torn between two lovers. He’s also written a truly outstanding talking-dog story. With exquisite tone control, Nelson has given us a story that’s sweet and loving but never sentimental. This could easily be the book the smarter people in Lake Wobegon might be reading on the couch on a Sunday afternoon, when football’s not in season.”—The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Booklist
“Paul’s thoughts are read simply and in a straightforward fashion that seems just right for the character’s many interior monologues. Clark is especially good as the calming voice of Stella [Paul’s faithful dog], who has her master pretty well pegged yet loves him, warts and all.”—Booklist