I Thought You Were Dead

Josh Clark portrays the dog Stella with enthusiasm contrasted with a bit of aloofness, a blend that makes her character the most successful in his narration. The rest of his performance isn't as compelling. Clark has a slightly raspy voice that can work well but sounds misplaced for the story's main character, Paul Gustavson, a soppy, out-of-shape writer who's trying to turn around his life after his father has a debilitating stroke. Filled with insecurity and uncertainty, Paul blusters his way through his work, love life, and dealings with his family until he crumbles and begins communicating with his barely functioning father--who provides an obvious but pat solution to Paul's problems. Clark's voice simply isn't whiny enough for Paul's character. L.E. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

December 7, 2009
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.