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BOOK
ILLUMINATIONS
From Merrimon Book Reviews
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Following Atticus
Forty-Eight High Peaks, One Little Dog, and an
Extraordinary Friendship
by Tom Ryan
Tom Ryan leads an active intellectual life in Newburyport as
editor of the town newspaper, The
Undertoad. He breathed in and thrived on the town's
politics and divisions without hesitation to tell the truth and take
people to task. Then one day, his life changed, when he got roped
into caring for a dog no one else would take. The time he spent
with this dog, Max, leads to that special dog, miniature schnauzer
Atticus M. Finch.
FOLLOWING ATTICUS is the story about a friendship between a man and his
dog, a friendship that leads the man to follow his dog, hiking the high
peaks of the White Mountains. The author gives readers a vibrant
sense of place as he
describes his town and its people. Overweight and living a life
of the mind, Atticus leads him to a more active lifestyle into the
natural world outside the town. At one point, Atticus's breeder
exhorts Ryan to follow
the dog --- and he does. Ryan does not follow
the typical owner as alpha dog of the pack. Instead, Atticus
takes the lead. Atticus
leads Ryan into more places than just the physical mountains before
them. He leads Ryan into a rich inner space. FOLLOWING ATTICUS is
at once
a book about the richness of friendship between man and dog, and yet,
the story also moves outward to others. FOLLOWING ATTICUS
explores the relationship between father and son, the author's changing
relationship to the town and even his participation in charity work
that affects those much farther away. As the author increasingly
moves into a space of solitude between man, dog and mountain, in a
perhaps unexpected way, his life connects more and more with others.
FOLLOWING ATTICUS is the perfect choice for anyone who loves dogs and
also for sons and fathers (and even daughters and fathers for women
readers like myself). FOLLOWING ATTICUS has a spiritual element that
emerges from the story and experience itself, a gentle spirituality
that is not heavy or overdone. FOLLOWING ATTICUS touches both the
heart and intellect. This book makes for
wonderful nighttime reading and a terrific gift for friends
and family especially since it is not one of those overly cute dog
books. FOLLOWING ATTICUS grows on you with each page.
Although the title and blurbs clearly give readers a hint about the
contents, FOLLOWING ATTICUS is much, much more than I initially
expected. As soon as I finished the book, my husband picked it up
and had much the same reaction. FOLLOWING ATTICUS is a keeper,
one of those memorable books that will stand out to me years from now
after having read it.
Publisher: William
Morrow
(September 20, 2011)
Reviewed by Merrimon,
Merrimon Book Reviews
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