To Dance with the White Dog by Terry Kay
Fiction
1990 Washington Square Press
Finished on December 24, 2018
Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)
Publisher's Blurb:
Sam Peek's children are worried. Since that "saddest day" when Cora, his beloved wife of fifty-seven good years, died, no one knows how he will survive. How can this elderly man live alone on his farm? How can he keep driving his dilapidated truck down to the fields to care for his few rows of pecan trees? And when Sam begins telling his children about a dog as white as the pure driven snow -- that seems invisible to everyone but him -- his children think that grief and old age have finally taken their toll.
But whether the dog is real or not, Sam Peek -- "one of the smartest men in the South when it comes to trees" -- outsmarts them all. Sam and the White Dog will dance from the pages of this bittersweet novel and into your heart, as they share the mystery of life, and begin together a warm and moving final rite of passage.
This book has languished on my shelf for many years, but I finally decided to give it a try and was pleasantly surprised, not wanting to put it down, reading late into the night. I can't remember who recommended it to me, but I have a feeling it was someone from my online book group over a decade (or two!) ago. In any event, I enjoyed this quiet, gentle story, which is based on the lives of the author's parents. Not a lot happens, so it should appeal to those who enjoy character-driven novels, particularly those who like tender stories about families and aging parents. Somehow, I didn't mark any passages, but the lyrical prose is proof of Kay's Southern roots. Now to watch the Hallmark production, which is based on the book and stars Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn.
I like great characters but want plot to propel them along but think I would like this since it's about aging parents.
ReplyDeleteKathy, after almost one month, I find I'm still thinking about the main character. Hope you get a chance to read this one.
DeleteI like character-driven novels (usually), so I might give it a try. And don't you love getting to those books that have been sitting on the shelves forever?
ReplyDeleteCandace, there really is something wonderful about finally pulling a book from one of my shelves, knowing that it's been there for years, if not decades. Every month, I try to find one of the oldest unread books to add to my stack on my nightstand.
DeleteI read this book many years ago and remember it as a gentle little book. I'd like to reread it now after reading your review. I think it's a book I would understand and appreciate differently at this stage of my life.
ReplyDeleteGentle is the perfect way to describe this novel. I sent you an email to see if you want my copy.
DeleteTo Dance with the White Dog was an unexpected treasure for me, too. A lovely book.
ReplyDeleteDebbie, I really enjoyed it. I did get a little annoyed with the way in which the adult children (particularly the daughters) were portrayed, but that is my only quibble. I'm eager to see the movie!
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