The Way of the Dog

"Sam Savage creates] some of the most original, unforgettable characters in contemporary fiction. . . . Readers are left with a voice so strong that Savage is able to derive significance from these events by sheer literary force."--Kevin Larimer, Poets & Writers

"Savage's skill is in creating complex first-person characters using nothing but their own voice."--Carolyn Kellogg, Los Angeles Times

" Savage] creates one of the most intriguing stories--and one of the most vivid characters--that this reader has encountered this year."--The Writer

Sam Savage's most intimate, tender novel yet follows Harold Nivenson, a decrepit, aging man who was once a painter and arts patron. The death of Peter Meinenger, his friend turned romantic and intellectual rival, prompts him to ruminate on his own career as a minor artist and collector and make sense of a lifetime of gnawing doubt.

Over time, his bitterness toward his family, his gentrifying neighborhood, and the decline of intelligent artistic discourse gives way to a kind of peace within himself, as he emerges from the shadow of the past and finds a reason to live, every day, in "the now."

Sam Savage is the best-selling author of Firmin: Adventures of a Metropolitan Lowlife, The Cry of the Sloth, and Glass. A native of South Carolina, Savage holds a PhD in philosophy from Yale University. He resides in Madison, Wisconsin.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Coffee House Press
Published: 01/08/2013
ISBN: 9781566893121
Pages: 153
Weight: 0.35lbs
Size: 7.70h x 4.90w x 0.60d

Review Citations: Publishers Weekly 10/22/2012
Kirkus Reviews 11/01/2012
Booklist 12/01/2012 pg. 25
Shelf Awareness 01/11/2013
Foreword 02/26/2013
Booklist Editors Choice/Adult 01/01/2014 pg. 11