lethargicFinished two audiobooks on the trek to and from Laredo.
There is a truth in children's literature especially about dogs on the cover of a book. Generally, speaking, they are not long for this world. However, since the back of the audio states bluntly that Enzo in a dog in his last days, I thought at least it was being up front about the whole thing. First, this is an adult book. Second, it was one of the best adult books about a guy and his dog I think I have ever read (or listened to). Enzo is our narrator. I love his sardonic manner. His observations are sometimes hysterically funny and most of the time, spot on. He knows humans better than most humans know themselves. Enzo has had a mostly terrific life with his master Denny. He has seen Denny through marriage and separation and the birth of his child and so much more. Now, Enzo longs for the next life, the one in which he will be reborn as a human. I laughed; I cried (of course); I scrabbled for a pen to jot down a few lines and aphorisms. I railed against injustice and cruelty. In other words, I RESPONDED to the story on all kinds of levels. I hated to see this one end. However, next up was this one...
I had read this novel before it won a Newbery Honor, so this was like visiting an old friend. However, there is something about listening to a book already read that is different from a plain old re-reading. I cannot explain it. It is something I have been brewing about since spending most of last year tethered to headphones as I did my Odyssey listening. There are some distinctive experiences between reading a book and then listening to it; listening to it before any other reading; or simply listening and/or reading it. Eventually, I will puzzle it all out, but it truly does not matter much in terms of enjoyment. I loved being back with this family, one for whom HOPE is essential for survival. Woodson's words sing in audio as they do off the page as I read.
I began listening to THE DEAD AND THE GONE and suspect I wil finish that one off later this week with trips to and from campus.