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Jul 06, 2018milirick rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Why this book has only three stars is beyond me. It is an excellent true account, a memoir by Mark Doty of his two dogs Arden and Beau. The cover depicts them both walking together in New England. Both dogs come alive for the readers as Doty intertwines their lives and the social and personal events of the mid-1990's to 9-11. Dog Years is a tome to not only Arden and Beau but his partner's death from HIV and how this and the events of 9-11 culminated to push him into a deep depression. Doty's narrative is at times ironically funny and tragic when he recounts how he was so paranoid in the 1990's trying to hide that he had two dogs when he tried to rent a house when people had more of an issue of him having a male partner. One can picture potential rent ads stating no dogs or gays allowed in the description. Some of the observations made by Doty are so sadly true as he summarizes that dog's having such shorter lives than humans we are forced to see our loved ones from their infancy to death in a matter of a decade. This is a sad book, but one that is true and filled with so much emotion. Doty is also an excellent writer and his prose makes this an easily accessible book.