What do you think?
Rate this book
Dog People
The #1
New York Times
bestselling author of
Big Summer
masterfully combines Stephen King with Donna Tartt, plus a twist of Shirley Jackson, in this timely tale of a man, his new partner, and his old dog.
When he was a boy, it was just him and his mother, and when he was an adult, it was just him, alone. Michael Corcoran thought it would always be that way.
Then he’d met Tina, who didn’t know that he’d never had friends, or what kinds of “experiments” he liked to do in his lab in the garage as a boy. Instead of being alone, Michael had a wife, and children and, eventually, a dog.
Michael had promised himself he wasn’t going to be one of those people who pushed their dogs in carriages and called them “fur babies.” “Just wait,” Tina said—and soon enough, Lady was enjoying premium kibble and wearing a tiny Eagles jersey, plus special booties for the snow. He and Tina even developed a voice for Lady, a a low, gruff, cigarettes-and whiskey tone that went with the tragic backstory they gave her.
Then Tina found a lump in her breast. And then she was gone. And then small, determined Suzanne Nelson dropped by Michael’s newly empty apartment with some homemade lasagna and never left. The transition would’ve gone smoothly if not for Lady—and the lisping, babyish falsetto Suzanne used when she “talked” as the dog.
Michael asked her to stop. And Suzanne did her best. But some things people can’t change, no matter how they try, like how they sound, and who they love—and who they are, in the wee small hours, when it’s dark and no one’s watching.
When he was a boy, it was just him and his mother, and when he was an adult, it was just him, alone. Michael Corcoran thought it would always be that way.
Then he’d met Tina, who didn’t know that he’d never had friends, or what kinds of “experiments” he liked to do in his lab in the garage as a boy. Instead of being alone, Michael had a wife, and children and, eventually, a dog.
Michael had promised himself he wasn’t going to be one of those people who pushed their dogs in carriages and called them “fur babies.” “Just wait,” Tina said—and soon enough, Lady was enjoying premium kibble and wearing a tiny Eagles jersey, plus special booties for the snow. He and Tina even developed a voice for Lady, a a low, gruff, cigarettes-and whiskey tone that went with the tragic backstory they gave her.
Then Tina found a lump in her breast. And then she was gone. And then small, determined Suzanne Nelson dropped by Michael’s newly empty apartment with some homemade lasagna and never left. The transition would’ve gone smoothly if not for Lady—and the lisping, babyish falsetto Suzanne used when she “talked” as the dog.
Michael asked her to stop. And Suzanne did her best. But some things people can’t change, no matter how they try, like how they sound, and who they love—and who they are, in the wee small hours, when it’s dark and no one’s watching.
Kindle Edition
Published October 12, 2020
168 people are currently reading
1128 people want to read
About the author
Jennifer Weiner
69 books24.9k followersJennifer Weiner is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of eighteen books, including Good in Bed, In Her Shoes, and, most recently, That Summer. A graduate of Princeton University, she lives with her family in Philadelphia. Visit her online at JenniferWeiner.com.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 168 reviews
October 17, 2020
Hated the ending to this! This is clearly NOT for dog people.
October 25, 2020
Um, Not a Dog Person should be the title. Don't read it if you love dogs. I wouldn't have read it if someone would have told me that.
October 18, 2020
It was entertaining overall, but I was not pleased with the ending.
November 16, 2020
This is not a helpful review. This is just me explaining why I gave it the review I did. I hate how this ended so much that I wish I'd never read it.
December 31, 2020
If you’re a dog person, don’t read this worthless story.
A man driven to madness? I don’t think so.
Back story childhood details set up MC to be a serial killer, but he turns out to be a dog killer instead. There was no point to this story, except to upset dog people. What a cheap publishing play. I won’t be reading Jennifer Weiner again.
A man driven to madness? I don’t think so.
Back story childhood details set up MC to be a serial killer, but he turns out to be a dog killer instead. There was no point to this story, except to upset dog people. What a cheap publishing play. I won’t be reading Jennifer Weiner again.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 19, 2020
No, no, no.
January 4, 2023
A quirky man destined to be single forever - stumbles upon a wonderful woman who likes him for who he is (a weirdo) and together they create a wonderful life, having 2 children together. In his retirement he decides to surprise his wife Tina with a dog, something she has wanted for years, but he has been reluctant to get because he's sure that dogs are not for him. Lo and behold their little rescue, Lady, wins him over and he becomes an instant dog person. She gets special kibble, long walks, doggie outfits, and all the treats she could ever want. He and Tina even create an elaborate backstory for Lady and give her a ridiculous voice. When Tina dies, what will happen to Lady? The ending is like something out of a Stephen King novel. Not unexpected, but extremely messed up.
October 15, 2020
I love Jennifer Weiner so much. The writing in this is maybe a shade under her usual standards, but that's not the real problem. It pains me to give anything Jennifer Weiner his written less than four stars, let alone only two, but... I just can't get past that ending. Maybe if it weren't a short story, or as short of one, it would have made a difference. But you don't really have time to deeply know any of the characters, and what you do know doesn't help make sense of the ending.
I'm trying to read into it more, see the irony of what happens to Michael. But right now I just want my 99 cents back.
I'm trying to read into it more, see the irony of what happens to Michael. But right now I just want my 99 cents back.
October 19, 2020
Horrible ending.
October 25, 2020
Odd story. Hated the end.
August 22, 2021
If you are an animal lover DO NOT READ THIS. WTAF 🙀
April 26, 2023
An entertaining story with a twist I didn't see coming!
October 14, 2020
Creepy but fun quick read !
Quick creepy read with a surprising twist at the end - nice spooky October fun ! Great short story- thank you Jennifer Weiner.
Quick creepy read with a surprising twist at the end - nice spooky October fun ! Great short story- thank you Jennifer Weiner.
October 17, 2020
2.5 stars
I'm just not a dog person, and there was a lot of description of their dog, so I just wasn't that interested. The ending did shock me, though, even though I thought I knew what was coming!
Edit: After reading the few reviews there are on goodreads, I'm confused. One person found the ending funny, and the other is confused about what happened to Michael?? Neither of those make sense to the ending I read, unless I completely misunderstood it. Now I'm confused.
I'm just not a dog person, and there was a lot of description of their dog, so I just wasn't that interested. The ending did shock me, though, even though I thought I knew what was coming!
Edit: After reading the few reviews there are on goodreads, I'm confused. One person found the ending funny, and the other is confused about what happened to Michael?? Neither of those make sense to the ending I read, unless I completely misunderstood it. Now I'm confused.
Read
April 11, 2022This one was listed under "Paw Enforcement" in Libby together with a bunch of cozy mysteries, but make no mistake, this is not a cozy mystery! It is a short story, not a mystery, and more along the lines of an Alfred Hitchcock or Stephen King short. I was not happy with the ending. Well-written, but read at your own risk!
October 21, 2020
This isn’t a 5 star short story, but it’s rating is far too low on Goodreads so I’m doing my part to bump it up. It’s supposed to be a messed up story about dog people and it delivered. It was worth the 25 minutes of my time it took me to read it.
October 17, 2020
Terrible....should not have read this, especially now....after just losing a doggo.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 31, 2020
The ending. Grrrrrrr!
Updated and took a star away after thinking about the ending...bothered me way too much! Love JW but this one, I just can’t.
Updated and took a star away after thinking about the ending...bothered me way too much! Love JW but this one, I just can’t.
October 31, 2020
Wow! That is 15 minutes I will never get back!
I love Jennifer Weiner normally, but I hated the ending of this one so, so much!!
I love Jennifer Weiner normally, but I hated the ending of this one so, so much!!
December 27, 2021
Disturbing. Lol but in a way you want a short story to be disturbing. Of course there wasn’t a ton of time to develop the characters or get inside their thought process but that’s the point. It’s short, (not so) sweet, and to the point. It’s so funny bc this did give me similar vibes to the NYT essay “cat person”. I read this bc I enjoyed “big summer” by the same author. The audio book narration was phenomenal.
August 26, 2021
Wtf was that. I related to so much of this story. The frustration of having someone talk for your dog when you have a whole persona for them in your head and all. But wtf was that ending. This could have been a 4 or 5 star book but the ending ruined it. I’m only giving it 2 because of how relatable the frustration was for the bulk of it.
April 29, 2022
The. Ending. Ruined. The. Whole. Thing.
January 1, 2024
I listened to this for a second time and I am changing my rating from 3.5 ⭐️ to 4⭐️ maybe even 4.5. It’s a dark comedy and I think I wasn’t in a proper headspace when I first engaged with it. Dog People, we are our own breed, aren’t we?!
March 20, 2022
Cute. But I feel attacked by the description of dog people. 🤣
November 2, 2020
Do not read this book if you just lost a dog!
November 2, 2020
I did not like that ending!!
October 31, 2020
Sad ending
If you are a dog lover DO NOT read this book. I have read other books by this author and liked them, but not this one.
If you are a dog lover DO NOT read this book. I have read other books by this author and liked them, but not this one.
October 22, 2020
Extremely disappointing and sad
This story was a cruel trick. I absolutely do not recommend it. For me as a dog lover, it was a horrible cruel story. I can not get the ending out of my mind. #notYourTypicalRomCom!
This story was a cruel trick. I absolutely do not recommend it. For me as a dog lover, it was a horrible cruel story. I can not get the ending out of my mind. #notYourTypicalRomCom!
November 26, 2020
For those who pick up this book and start reading without knowing anything about it (like me), please note that this is a short story. It sounds like an almost perfect story of a perfect marriage...until the end. A bit disturbing and because it is a short story it is hard to really like and/or understand the characters.
October 26, 2020
OMG, I’m a little bit speechless with this one. Last year I read and loved Jennifer Weiner’s Halloween-ish e-short story so I couldn’t wait to download her latest. I’m not sure what happened this year - but add it to the list of reading disasters. Lucky for me this a short story so it was over quickly. A creepy kid (think budding serial killer) with a sad, lonely probably crazy mother changes his life by leaving home to go to college and meets a lovely normal woman who saves him from himself. They live a normal boring life until he becomes obsessed with their dog. I can’t say much more without completely spoiling it. I’d like to say it’s not you, its me but I can’t imagine anyone liking this - and I generally enjoy halloween stories!!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 168 reviews