THE DOG STARS

by Peter Heller

One of the joys of reading a good book by an author new to me, is going back and reading previous books by that author.  Not long ago I read The River by Peter Heller (reviewed in January 21, 2021 L&L) and loved everything about the book:  the poetic writing style, the vivid descriptions of nature, the relationship between the book’s main characters.  I then read an earlier book by Heller, The Painter.  Again, I loved Heller’s writing and his ability to make me feel like I was right there with the main characters.  The Painter is a darker story, for sure, but still one I recommend that you read.

Next, I decided to read The Dog Stars by Heller, an even earlier, even darker book.  The storyline of The Dog Stars is so overwhelmingly bleak, that I honestly don’t remember if I liked the writing.  A post-apocalyptic nightmare set in Colorado after a pandemic has killed off most everyone, the main character has created a life for himself along with another survivor who is crazy about guns. Heller does develop a love interest for the main character, but even that didn’t help to pull me out of the depths of despair I felt while reading this novel.  Maybe it just wasn’t the right book for me in these times, as we struggle to come out of our own real-life pandemic. This novel was most definitely not my cup of tea. (Liz)