hikemogan's review against another edition
4.0
I have never read a book of short stories like Dogwalker. It is in a class completely of its own: full of mutants, strange slacker characters, kidnappings, and lots of dogs and a few dog-human hybrids. It's science/literary/stoner fiction. Bradford writes from a point of view and in a style that calmly navigates the bizarre, scary, and sometimes gravely immoral people populating this book. It is anchored in a certain time and place that fit the themes: Austin, TX and surrounding areas in the 90s (there's even a Richard Linkletter quote as a preamble).
sherferguson's review against another edition
2.0
This book of short stories was very strange. Each story left me with an uneasy feeling. While some books just seem to string weird events together (and this book was like that), these stories left me almost disconcerted.
powerlibrarian's review against another edition
3.0
Dogwalker is an off-beat collection of short stories that share a similar tone and style. While some of the stories are realistic and others are outright outlandish, they feel like they could all be set in the same world—one that mirrors our own, but is a little warped, like we’re looking through a funhouse mirror and something isn’t quite right. Some of the stories are ridiculous (dogs giving birth to babies?!), which makes for an entertaining read.
I appreciated the absolute strangeness of each story. I never knew where the stories were going. However, some stories end abruptly, with seemingly no resolution or purpose to them. I both enjoyed this, since it added to the quirky nature of the book, and I didn’t like it, because I wanted to know what would happen next!
I do have a few criticisms of the collection. The main character is given a different name and backstory in every story, but it seems like he's essentially always the same person. While this can provide consistency for an anthology, it isn’t necessary. The tone can be the same across stories with a little variety in the narrators. All the main characters seem to be men in their early twenties who are almost comically apathetic towards life. The tone could have been maintained had the main character been an eighty-year-old who was once optimistic and how sees the glass as half empty. Also, women can be apathetic, too.
I enjoyed the twistedness of some of the stories, but I was never quite sure if “unsettling” the reader was what Arthur Bradford was aiming for. The stories weren’t just ridiculous, some of them were quite violent and/or twisted, and this coupled with the main character’s apathetic nature made for an entertaining read. But Did Bradford intend for his quirky literary creation to be perverse? Did he want us to be weirded out? After skimming through other reviews of the book, I didn’t really see any comments on the subject matter being “twisted”. As a fan of horror, I thought that some of the stories, like “Chainsaw Apple” may have belonged in one of those horror or suspense anthology where characters do disturbing things, utterly unaware of how eccentric or psychotic they’re behaving.
Some of the stories are more entertaining than others, and I think it would be hard to find someone who loved each story equally. I suppose that’s the nature of short story collections. Some are gems and others are duds. I’d say that this book is about 60% semi-precious stones and 30% ridiculousness, and 10% WTF did I just read?
I recommend this book if you’re in the mood for the strange and unexplained. If you’re looking for a quick read that somehow manages to be both light and dark, this is the book for you.
*I received a copy of this book from the author's publicist.*
crzdpeeling's review against another edition
3.0
As a fan of short stories, I respect the more shallow details/ development within them. However, these stories just seemed repetitive and emotionless, with what I felt a lack of a moral code towards animals. It was not explicit but what maybe some may find humorous in ways I felt a negativity.
katemilty's review against another edition
4.0
Finally done. One of the more bizarre books I've ever read. Bradford's style is so non-chalant, he makes every story work.
ysaac's review against another edition
4.0
Awesome collection of short stories that will all inevitably leave you thinking "What the hell am I reading?" The common theme that strings them all together invariably shocks the reader into desensitization, and suddenly you find yourself relating with the narrator more than you would like. "This is insane...but let's move on." Insanity becomes the new normal, and that's just fun.
kathijo63's review against another edition
dark
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
1.0
This was a bizarre book that I thought would be stories about dogs. While some of the tales had dogs in them, the dogs were usually abused or killed or some other gross, weirdness was going on with them.
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