EBOOK
About
OFF THE LEASH is a group portrait of dog people, specifically the strange, wonderful, neurotic, and eccentric dog people who gather at Amory Park, overlooking Boston near Fenway Park. And it's about author Matthew Gilbert's transformation, after much fear and loathing of dogs and social groups, into one of those dog people with fur on their jackets, squeaky toys in their hands, and biscuits in their pockets.
Gilbert, longtime TV critic at The Boston Globe, describes his reluctant trip into the dog park subculture, as the first-time owner of a stubbornly social Yellow Lab puppy named Toby. Like many Americans, he was happily accustomed to the safe distance of TV viewing and cell-phone web surfing, tethered to the digital leash. But, the headstrong, play-obsessed Toby pulls him to Amory, and Amory becomes an exhilarating dose of presence for him. The joyous chaos of wrestling dogs and the park's cast of offbeat dog owners, the "pack of freaks", gradually draw him into the here and now. At the dog park, the dog owners go off the leash, too.
Dog-park life can be tense. When dogs fight, their owners, such as the reckless Charlotte, bare their teeth at each other, too. Amid the rollicking dog play, feelings tend to surface faster, unedited. But, Gilbert shows how Amory is an idyllic microcosm, too, the home of enduring friendships and, as the droll but vulnerable Hayley knows, romantic crushes. Meeting daily, a gathering of dog owners can be like group therapy, or The Office, or a standup concert.
As a TV critic, Matthew Gilbert is well-known by his readership for his humorous and wry writing style. A charming narrative that will appeal to anyone who has ever enjoyed watching a puppy scamper through a park, OFF THE LEASH is a paean to dog lovers and their pets everywhere, perfect for fans of Marley & Me and Merle's Door.
Gilbert, longtime TV critic at The Boston Globe, describes his reluctant trip into the dog park subculture, as the first-time owner of a stubbornly social Yellow Lab puppy named Toby. Like many Americans, he was happily accustomed to the safe distance of TV viewing and cell-phone web surfing, tethered to the digital leash. But, the headstrong, play-obsessed Toby pulls him to Amory, and Amory becomes an exhilarating dose of presence for him. The joyous chaos of wrestling dogs and the park's cast of offbeat dog owners, the "pack of freaks", gradually draw him into the here and now. At the dog park, the dog owners go off the leash, too.
Dog-park life can be tense. When dogs fight, their owners, such as the reckless Charlotte, bare their teeth at each other, too. Amid the rollicking dog play, feelings tend to surface faster, unedited. But, Gilbert shows how Amory is an idyllic microcosm, too, the home of enduring friendships and, as the droll but vulnerable Hayley knows, romantic crushes. Meeting daily, a gathering of dog owners can be like group therapy, or The Office, or a standup concert.
As a TV critic, Matthew Gilbert is well-known by his readership for his humorous and wry writing style. A charming narrative that will appeal to anyone who has ever enjoyed watching a puppy scamper through a park, OFF THE LEASH is a paean to dog lovers and their pets everywhere, perfect for fans of Marley & Me and Merle's Door.
Related Subjects
Reviews
"An admitted curmudgeon just a few steps away from Cruella de Vil, Gilbert sees his life change when he falls in love with a dog person and then falls in love with dogs… Gilbert captures with great humor the world within the dog park… Beyond the individual quirks, Gilbert finds community and the ability to empathize among people who on the surface have little in common."
Los Angeles Times
"In Off The Leash Gilbert chronicles a year at the dog park (Brookline's Amory Park), observing the characters he and [his dog] Toby meet there... Gilbert's book is witty, sweet, and affirming."
The Boston Globe
"A wonderful, engaging, surprising book. It's what I've walked past all the time without having noticed until now, since my dog is from Hammacher-Schlemmer. It's also any dog's dream of how to be written about, and a real squeak toy love fest of a memoir by displacement, in which social form, social interaction, and the vicissitudes of the social order are convincingly examined and explained via the presence of a wet snout."
Ann Beattie