3 out of 4 stars
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In the "About the Author" section of her book The Dog Thief and Other Stories, Jill Kearney writes that she is "interested in the lives of people who feel like they don't matter to anyone". In this collection of a novella and 11 short stories, she conveys her interest in depth. Some of the pieces are set in the fictitious peninsula of Musquamish County off the coast of Oregon. It is composed of a high-priced resort coastline surrounding a poverty-stricken, fenced off interior. Some of the characters live on a reservation or just on the fringe of one, in an environment of poverty, drugs, alcohol and apathy. Other stories are set in rural Iowa and Wyoming.
"The Dog Thief" is a novella about down and out people caring for down and out animals. Ms. Kearney paints a picture of a segment of society that has little to give aside from the love they show local abused and neglected pets. The heavily tattooed, constantly high Blacksnake is the last person one would expect to welcome stray cats. The usually mean one-eyed woman has a soft spot for a stray mother dog. The Animal Control officer appears ambiguous about unacceptable conditions to which he is alerted by Elizabeth. Ms. Kearney weaves all of these characters into a story with a surprise ending.
One of my favorite stories in the collection is "Beer Money", about the dog left behind as fallout of a failed marriage. "Circles" is another touching account. It is a series of vignettes in a woman's life, first as a young girl fishing with her father, then as a newlywed hiking with her groom and finally as an older woman appreciating the beauty of the outdoors.
Readers who enjoy animal tales will appreciate this collection. Some of the pieces involve animal rescues while others explore the human-animal connection in other ways. Most of the tales involve dogs but cats, rats and fish are also featured. Ms. Kearney's approach to the shorts included in The Dog Thief and Other Stories is to focus on relationships. She draws back the curtain on how people interact with each other and with the animals around them. Many of the characters in the compilation are eccentric but relatable. Readers can appreciate them. Ms. Kearney's perspective has a melancholy hope, if there is such a thing.
I rate The Dog Thief and Other Stories 3 out of 4 stars. It is an enjoyable, quick read that explores the human condition as it relates to the animals in our lives. What keeps me from scoring it higher is the need of further editing due to several small errors. These are mostly typos. "Thorough" is used instead of "through", "too" instead of "to", and "pored" instead of "poured", for example. While the grammatical errors in the work are not glaring, they are distracting. I look forward to more writing from Ms. Kearney. Her voice is authentic, her characters are realistic and her love of animals shines through each piece.
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The Dog Thief and Other Stories
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