Review:
Spending time in "Dog Park," a book by David Agar Jaicks
Reviewed by Clifford Gately
I have enjoyed all of David Jaicks' works, but "Dog Park" is my favorite. Jaicks has a style all his own, and he writes beautiful poetry and prose. I tend to gravitate to his prose and character development, and in this, his third book, he has truly defined his storytelling and voice. Observations and sharp insights flow together effortlessly,and are punctuated with sentences that cut to the quick, Hemingway-style.
From the basic perspective of getting to know the regulars of a dog park(among other locations), Jaicks focuses in on the characters--their differences and interactions that bring them together, beyond exercising their dogs(although dogs are characters in the storyline as well).
The book draws you in as Jaicks covers the fertile ground of human personalities. There is Claire, a guileless young woman who is at the point of her life where her choices will put her on very different paths. There is the likeable and clever Pete, who makes you think there is more going on than meets the eye. There are other characters and their situations.
You can read the book in a single sitting, as I did recently on a 4-hour flight, but don't read it too fast, because there are parts that are better savored thoughtfully. And, as with his other books, it happened again, I came away with a fresh perspective. After all, isn't that what good books do --take us out of our lives and make us look at and think about the world a little differently?
