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Carry the Dog
Bea Seger has spent a lifetime running from her childhood. The daughter of a famous photographer, she and her brothers were the subjects of an explosive series of images in the 1960s known as the Marx Nudes. Disturbing and provocative, the photographs left a family legacy of grief felt long past the public outcry and media attention.
Now, decades later, both the Museum of Modern Art and Hollywood have come calling, eager to cash in on the enduring interest in these infamous photos. Bea faces a choice: Let the world in—and be financially compensated for the trauma of her childhood—or leave it all locked away in a storage unit forever.
Twice divorced from but still dependent on aging rock star Gary Going, Bea lives in Manhattan with her borrowed dog, Dory, and her sort-of half-sister, Echo. Navigating old resentments and betrayals, Bea stumbles towards her best future, even as the past looms larger than ever before.
Carry the Dog reverberates with rock and roll, and truths about the human condition of a late-blooming feminist. To inhabit this story is to be swept into Bea’s world, to bear witness as the little girl in the photographs and the woman in the mirror meet at the blurry intersection of memory and truth, disappointment and gratitude, vulnerability and connection, and most of all, resilience.
Now, decades later, both the Museum of Modern Art and Hollywood have come calling, eager to cash in on the enduring interest in these infamous photos. Bea faces a choice: Let the world in—and be financially compensated for the trauma of her childhood—or leave it all locked away in a storage unit forever.
Twice divorced from but still dependent on aging rock star Gary Going, Bea lives in Manhattan with her borrowed dog, Dory, and her sort-of half-sister, Echo. Navigating old resentments and betrayals, Bea stumbles towards her best future, even as the past looms larger than ever before.
Carry the Dog reverberates with rock and roll, and truths about the human condition of a late-blooming feminist. To inhabit this story is to be swept into Bea’s world, to bear witness as the little girl in the photographs and the woman in the mirror meet at the blurry intersection of memory and truth, disappointment and gratitude, vulnerability and connection, and most of all, resilience.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published November 2, 2021
44 people are currently reading
6392 people want to read
About the author
Stephanie Gangi
2 books126 followers“I was a late bloomer, but anyone who blooms at all, ever, is very lucky.”
-- Sharon Olds
Stephanie Gangi is a lifelong New Yorker. She lives, works and writes in Manhattan. She was born in Brooklyn, raised on Long Island, attended the State University of New York at Buffalo, and raised her own kids in Tribeca, Rockland County and on the Upper West Side.
Gangi’s first publishing credit, many years ago, was a children’s book, Lumpy: A Baseball Fable, co-written with pitching great (and New York Met) Tug McGraw. She ghostwrote a palimony-fueled tell-all about Liberace in 1984 but left the only copy in a taxicab. She has written jacket copy, pitch letters, business plans, PowerPoint presentations, speeches, mortgage checks, absence excuse notes, menus, and letters to editors, hundreds of poems, dozens of story starts, dating profiles, countless emails and texts and tweets and FB posts, and yes, a couple of really lame sexts. She once chalked a love note on the wall of a Paris alley in the rain.
She is an award-winning poet working on a compiling a chapbook, and is at work on her second novel.
The Next is her debut.
-- Sharon Olds
Stephanie Gangi is a lifelong New Yorker. She lives, works and writes in Manhattan. She was born in Brooklyn, raised on Long Island, attended the State University of New York at Buffalo, and raised her own kids in Tribeca, Rockland County and on the Upper West Side.
Gangi’s first publishing credit, many years ago, was a children’s book, Lumpy: A Baseball Fable, co-written with pitching great (and New York Met) Tug McGraw. She ghostwrote a palimony-fueled tell-all about Liberace in 1984 but left the only copy in a taxicab. She has written jacket copy, pitch letters, business plans, PowerPoint presentations, speeches, mortgage checks, absence excuse notes, menus, and letters to editors, hundreds of poems, dozens of story starts, dating profiles, countless emails and texts and tweets and FB posts, and yes, a couple of really lame sexts. She once chalked a love note on the wall of a Paris alley in the rain.
She is an award-winning poet working on a compiling a chapbook, and is at work on her second novel.
The Next is her debut.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 138 reviews
February 6, 2022
They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. But the words in this book about photography and life touched me more than any photo. Highly recommend this complex, beautiful, and difficult read.
Bea, the central figure of the book, resonated with me immediately. Raised by a famous photographer mother and twice married and divorced to rock legend Gary Going, Bea at first seems to outsiders to have a charmed, bohemian, enjoyable and creative life. But we soon learn that since childhood, Bea has had her own voice silenced by other peoples’ artistic pursuits. It began in her childhood when she and her siblings were forced to pose nude in a series of photographs made famous by her legendary photographer mother Miri. So scandalous were the famous nudes that an FBI investigation resulted, to determine whether Bea and her two brothers were being sexually or otherwise abused by their mother while being captured on film. While the FBI found no abuse and they eventually returned the children to their mother, slowly the book uncovers Bea’s experience with posing for her mother’s art, which was filled with trauma and stress since she was very young. A mystery also surrounds the early death of her seventeen-year-old brother.
Bea’s experiences in posing for her mother’s are are somewhat replicated in her now-defunct marriage to rick legend Gary, who for years used Bea as a muse without giving her proper credit or ownership of her own creative work. Bea in fact wrote Gary’s biggest hit but does not own the rights to the song.
I loved the way the book let us dig deep into Bea’s psyche. This book had so much to say about the way art is sometimes created, the pain that can be involved, and I really enjoyed following Bea in her struggle to own both her own creativity, and ultimately to determine what to do with her now-deceased mother’s creative legacy, which her rocker husband now wants to turn into a biopic — his latest attempt (in my reading) to usurp and exploit Bea’s artistic agency.
This was a lovely and complex character study which at times was hard and painful to read but I enjoyed every sentence. If you are a creative person - be it writing, photography, music, or something else - you will enjoy the ruminations herein on creativity, on art and pain, and in difficult childhoods and adult relationships. I really enjoyed this author and look forward to reading much more by her. Trigger warnings for sexual and other childhood abuse must be mentioned.
Many thanks to Algonquin Books, NetGalley and the author for the deep and stirring literary read. 4.5 stars, highly recommended.
Bea, the central figure of the book, resonated with me immediately. Raised by a famous photographer mother and twice married and divorced to rock legend Gary Going, Bea at first seems to outsiders to have a charmed, bohemian, enjoyable and creative life. But we soon learn that since childhood, Bea has had her own voice silenced by other peoples’ artistic pursuits. It began in her childhood when she and her siblings were forced to pose nude in a series of photographs made famous by her legendary photographer mother Miri. So scandalous were the famous nudes that an FBI investigation resulted, to determine whether Bea and her two brothers were being sexually or otherwise abused by their mother while being captured on film. While the FBI found no abuse and they eventually returned the children to their mother, slowly the book uncovers Bea’s experience with posing for her mother’s art, which was filled with trauma and stress since she was very young. A mystery also surrounds the early death of her seventeen-year-old brother.
Bea’s experiences in posing for her mother’s are are somewhat replicated in her now-defunct marriage to rick legend Gary, who for years used Bea as a muse without giving her proper credit or ownership of her own creative work. Bea in fact wrote Gary’s biggest hit but does not own the rights to the song.
I loved the way the book let us dig deep into Bea’s psyche. This book had so much to say about the way art is sometimes created, the pain that can be involved, and I really enjoyed following Bea in her struggle to own both her own creativity, and ultimately to determine what to do with her now-deceased mother’s creative legacy, which her rocker husband now wants to turn into a biopic — his latest attempt (in my reading) to usurp and exploit Bea’s artistic agency.
This was a lovely and complex character study which at times was hard and painful to read but I enjoyed every sentence. If you are a creative person - be it writing, photography, music, or something else - you will enjoy the ruminations herein on creativity, on art and pain, and in difficult childhoods and adult relationships. I really enjoyed this author and look forward to reading much more by her. Trigger warnings for sexual and other childhood abuse must be mentioned.
Many thanks to Algonquin Books, NetGalley and the author for the deep and stirring literary read. 4.5 stars, highly recommended.
November 1, 2022
Carry the Dog is a brilliant and gripping book about trauma and how it affects one's life, grief, aging, how the past affects our future, self-worth, and relationships. I found it hard to put down and felt for Bea.
Bea and her brothers were the subjects of her mother's infamous photographs dubbed the Marx Nudes. Their mother Miri, a celebrated photographer, took nude photographs of them. Their mother made them pose in uncomfortable poses. Their nudes were famous and garnered a lot of attention. The attention was not favorable and there was outcry and an investigation. The end result was tragic.
Bea went on to marry and divorce rock star Gary Going twice. They have an interesting relationship and Bea relies on him financially and emotionally. She also wrote one of his most famous songs but never received credit or compensation for it. Yet, she keeps coming back.
Readers will see Bea at a crossroads. She is 60 years old and thinking about the rest of her life. What her choices are, what she wants to do, and how to move forward. She has been approached about the photographs and her life - a Hollywood producer wants to tell Bea's story and the Museum of Modern Art wants to show her mother's work again. What a decision to make. Does she make money off the photos and her life's story, or does she keep the photos in the storage unit and go on with her life? What a decision to make!
Bea is forced to confront the past while forging ahead with her future in this captivating book. This book is raw and compelling. Bea has a lot on her plate and has some decisions to make. Often, we just go through life, pushing things to the side, not dealing with issues or our feelings. But Bea is at a crossroads where she must look back, face her past, her feelings, her thoughts, emotions, and relationships.
I found this book to be well written and thought out. I look forward to reading more books by Stephanie Gangi.
Thank you to Algonquin Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com
Bea and her brothers were the subjects of her mother's infamous photographs dubbed the Marx Nudes. Their mother Miri, a celebrated photographer, took nude photographs of them. Their mother made them pose in uncomfortable poses. Their nudes were famous and garnered a lot of attention. The attention was not favorable and there was outcry and an investigation. The end result was tragic.
Bea went on to marry and divorce rock star Gary Going twice. They have an interesting relationship and Bea relies on him financially and emotionally. She also wrote one of his most famous songs but never received credit or compensation for it. Yet, she keeps coming back.
Readers will see Bea at a crossroads. She is 60 years old and thinking about the rest of her life. What her choices are, what she wants to do, and how to move forward. She has been approached about the photographs and her life - a Hollywood producer wants to tell Bea's story and the Museum of Modern Art wants to show her mother's work again. What a decision to make. Does she make money off the photos and her life's story, or does she keep the photos in the storage unit and go on with her life? What a decision to make!
Bea is forced to confront the past while forging ahead with her future in this captivating book. This book is raw and compelling. Bea has a lot on her plate and has some decisions to make. Often, we just go through life, pushing things to the side, not dealing with issues or our feelings. But Bea is at a crossroads where she must look back, face her past, her feelings, her thoughts, emotions, and relationships.
I found this book to be well written and thought out. I look forward to reading more books by Stephanie Gangi.
Thank you to Algonquin Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com
March 10, 2023
Stephanie Gangi you are a great author. I was so intrigued with this book. l loved how much story fit into so few pages (275). Very well developed characters. I was very engaged with Bea as she embarked on her journey throughout the book.
I feel like authors so often feel like longer is better. This story never missed a beat. It was interesting the whole way through. I still feel a connections with the characters. I highly recommend.
I feel like authors so often feel like longer is better. This story never missed a beat. It was interesting the whole way through. I still feel a connections with the characters. I highly recommend.
July 8, 2022
Hmm, hmm, hmm. Reading this novel was a rubbernecking experience with many metaphorical pileups and head-on crashes and sometimes the cars just decide to run inexplicably off the road.
September 3, 2021
3.5 stars. I have read more than a few books about art and artists and many of them struggle to make the fictional vivid and real, especially when you're inventing a cultural icon. But CARRY THE DOG does this very well, you can imagine the artist and the art. More importantly it's about the impact of the art and the attention on it on Bea, who was a child subject in her mother's controversial photographs.
I was fascinated by the story of the photographs and how Bea starts to reexamine their role in her life. The photos are of Bea and her two older brothers, a significant series of them over several years, taken in the nude. Not only that, but Bea examines how her mother pushed them into uncomfortable situations and settings to get the images she wanted. This ended suddenly with the suicide of her brother, followed by the suicide of Bea's mother, and once she was old enough to leave home Bea did and never looked back. But then she attached herself to Gary, another artist (a musician) who dominates Bea and who doesn't properly credit her for her songwriting. This is all long past for our story, but Bea has managed to get through her life without really dealing with any of it, not her mother, not the photos, not her husband. She has almost no contact with the rest of her family. And she would keep ignoring it all if there weren't renewed interest in her mother--a Hollywood producer and a MOMA curator--which means Bea has to go through the storage unit filled with her mother's things and deal with her own trauma.
We also have lots of books about men and aging but very few about women. I enjoyed Bea's frankness about her body and the way the world takes her in, the way she is trying to reorient herself and redefine her identity. This ties into all the other themes in the book, it's really a kind of coming-of-age, just set with a woman pushing 60 instead of pushing 20.
The prose and the actual writing here didn't always work so well for me, and I can't exactly put my finger on why. It was sometimes too coy and then other times hit the nail much too squarely on the head. In some chapters I had trouble getting myself immersed while other times I sped through it. I think I just wanted a little more tonal consistency, but again, I'm not exactly sure.
Content warnings are pretty much just child molestation and suicide, but both are major issues explored in some depth, even if it mostly happens off the page.
I was fascinated by the story of the photographs and how Bea starts to reexamine their role in her life. The photos are of Bea and her two older brothers, a significant series of them over several years, taken in the nude. Not only that, but Bea examines how her mother pushed them into uncomfortable situations and settings to get the images she wanted. This ended suddenly with the suicide of her brother, followed by the suicide of Bea's mother, and once she was old enough to leave home Bea did and never looked back. But then she attached herself to Gary, another artist (a musician) who dominates Bea and who doesn't properly credit her for her songwriting. This is all long past for our story, but Bea has managed to get through her life without really dealing with any of it, not her mother, not the photos, not her husband. She has almost no contact with the rest of her family. And she would keep ignoring it all if there weren't renewed interest in her mother--a Hollywood producer and a MOMA curator--which means Bea has to go through the storage unit filled with her mother's things and deal with her own trauma.
We also have lots of books about men and aging but very few about women. I enjoyed Bea's frankness about her body and the way the world takes her in, the way she is trying to reorient herself and redefine her identity. This ties into all the other themes in the book, it's really a kind of coming-of-age, just set with a woman pushing 60 instead of pushing 20.
The prose and the actual writing here didn't always work so well for me, and I can't exactly put my finger on why. It was sometimes too coy and then other times hit the nail much too squarely on the head. In some chapters I had trouble getting myself immersed while other times I sped through it. I think I just wanted a little more tonal consistency, but again, I'm not exactly sure.
Content warnings are pretty much just child molestation and suicide, but both are major issues explored in some depth, even if it mostly happens off the page.
November 5, 2021
The past is like an optical illusion. The closer I get, the further away it is.
from Carry the Dog by Stephani Gangi
Bea is struggling. She can’t write her memoir. She can’t let go of her ex-husband’s support, emotionally and financially. She can’t accept the woman she sees in the mirror. She has no children and she is estranged from her brother who abandoned her when he left for college. She worries that her breast cancer may return. Now, she is approached by a film director and MOMA about her mother’s iconic photographs, the Marx Nudes, each wanting access to use them.
The photographs were taken by their mother when Bea and her twin brothers were children and young teens. Nude photographs that brought charges of pornography. Photos that caused trauma in her family that Bea can’t get over.
And there are other flitting memories as well, so she is unsure of what really happened.
Bea is a wonderful character, a vibrant and conflicted woman who feels her life is all behind her. She was a teenager when she met rock star Gary Going and ran off with him. She wrote the lyrics to his hit song, but was never properly compensated or credited for it. Gary was the center of his universe, her best friend, and she spent years ignoring his betrayals. Divorced, her companion is a dog that belongs to vacationing neighbors.
At age 59, looking in the mirror, she counts her losses. The creaking joints. How sex requires preparations of all kinds. Knowing she is invisible to young men. Missing her brother Henry.
Aging, it’s an accumulation of small losses and tiny glitches that you don’t notice and then you do and you ignore them at first and then you can’t.
from Carry the Dog by Stephanie Gangi
After her father’s death, she inherits a storage unit filled with her mother’s photography equipment and work. Her half-sister comes to New York City to stay with Bea, and they bond, Echo wearing Bea’s vintage clothes and hoping for a singing career.
Gary pushes Bea to accept the film offer, knowing she needs the money. Meanwhile, MOMA wants an exhibition of Marx photographs, gratis, and hopes Bea can include unseen work that Bea could see for profit. But, going through the archives she encounters memories and disturbing insight into her mother’s life.
Desperate for help in decision making, she tracks down Henry. And what she learns upends her understanding of their past.
Carry the Dog is disturbing, the story of intergenerational trauma, and yet Bea ends freed and finally ready to accept the past and herself.
Bea is ten years younger than I am. It was refreshing to read about the challenges of aging from a female perspective.
I will alert readers that the nature of the trauma is disturbing, but there are no recreated scenes of the abuse.
I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
from Carry the Dog by Stephani Gangi
Bea is struggling. She can’t write her memoir. She can’t let go of her ex-husband’s support, emotionally and financially. She can’t accept the woman she sees in the mirror. She has no children and she is estranged from her brother who abandoned her when he left for college. She worries that her breast cancer may return. Now, she is approached by a film director and MOMA about her mother’s iconic photographs, the Marx Nudes, each wanting access to use them.
The photographs were taken by their mother when Bea and her twin brothers were children and young teens. Nude photographs that brought charges of pornography. Photos that caused trauma in her family that Bea can’t get over.
And there are other flitting memories as well, so she is unsure of what really happened.
Bea is a wonderful character, a vibrant and conflicted woman who feels her life is all behind her. She was a teenager when she met rock star Gary Going and ran off with him. She wrote the lyrics to his hit song, but was never properly compensated or credited for it. Gary was the center of his universe, her best friend, and she spent years ignoring his betrayals. Divorced, her companion is a dog that belongs to vacationing neighbors.
At age 59, looking in the mirror, she counts her losses. The creaking joints. How sex requires preparations of all kinds. Knowing she is invisible to young men. Missing her brother Henry.
Aging, it’s an accumulation of small losses and tiny glitches that you don’t notice and then you do and you ignore them at first and then you can’t.
from Carry the Dog by Stephanie Gangi
After her father’s death, she inherits a storage unit filled with her mother’s photography equipment and work. Her half-sister comes to New York City to stay with Bea, and they bond, Echo wearing Bea’s vintage clothes and hoping for a singing career.
Gary pushes Bea to accept the film offer, knowing she needs the money. Meanwhile, MOMA wants an exhibition of Marx photographs, gratis, and hopes Bea can include unseen work that Bea could see for profit. But, going through the archives she encounters memories and disturbing insight into her mother’s life.
Desperate for help in decision making, she tracks down Henry. And what she learns upends her understanding of their past.
Carry the Dog is disturbing, the story of intergenerational trauma, and yet Bea ends freed and finally ready to accept the past and herself.
Bea is ten years younger than I am. It was refreshing to read about the challenges of aging from a female perspective.
I will alert readers that the nature of the trauma is disturbing, but there are no recreated scenes of the abuse.
I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
November 25, 2021
4.5 stars
Carry the Dog is an emotional, compelling read about what constitutes art, and a look at complicated familial legacies and how they impact our interpersonal relationships.
Miriam Marx was a noted photographer in the 1960s, particularly renowned for her provocative photos. Her most controversial—and, therefore, best-known—work is a series of photos featuring her preteen and teenage children called the Marx Nudes. Public outcry was fierce and it led to a chain of tragedies at the tail end of that decade.
Years later, Miriam’s daughter Bea is nearing 60 and still hasn’t been able to completely put her childhood behind her. She’s twice-divorced from aging rocker Gary Going but they’re still together periodically, and she’s trying to decide what to do with the rest of her life. Should she write a memoir? Sue Gary for money he owes her for writing one of his most iconic songs?
Suddenly, interest in Miriam’s work has grown again, and both the Museum of Modern Art and a Hollywood producer are interested in telling Miriam’s complicated story. Bea must decide whether to let someone have access to the work and her trauma for the sake of money, or whether to keep it under lock and key in a storage unit.
This was a fascinating book that really packed a punch. It’s about coming to terms with the trauma our parents visit upon us, both willingly and unwillingly, and how we let it affect our lives. It’s also about growing older and trying to determine who we want in our lives.
Thanks so much to Algonquin Books for inviting me on the tour and providing me a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review!!
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.
Follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/the.bookishworld.of.yrralh/.
Carry the Dog is an emotional, compelling read about what constitutes art, and a look at complicated familial legacies and how they impact our interpersonal relationships.
Miriam Marx was a noted photographer in the 1960s, particularly renowned for her provocative photos. Her most controversial—and, therefore, best-known—work is a series of photos featuring her preteen and teenage children called the Marx Nudes. Public outcry was fierce and it led to a chain of tragedies at the tail end of that decade.
Years later, Miriam’s daughter Bea is nearing 60 and still hasn’t been able to completely put her childhood behind her. She’s twice-divorced from aging rocker Gary Going but they’re still together periodically, and she’s trying to decide what to do with the rest of her life. Should she write a memoir? Sue Gary for money he owes her for writing one of his most iconic songs?
Suddenly, interest in Miriam’s work has grown again, and both the Museum of Modern Art and a Hollywood producer are interested in telling Miriam’s complicated story. Bea must decide whether to let someone have access to the work and her trauma for the sake of money, or whether to keep it under lock and key in a storage unit.
This was a fascinating book that really packed a punch. It’s about coming to terms with the trauma our parents visit upon us, both willingly and unwillingly, and how we let it affect our lives. It’s also about growing older and trying to determine who we want in our lives.
Thanks so much to Algonquin Books for inviting me on the tour and providing me a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review!!
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.
Follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/the.bookishworld.of.yrralh/.
November 4, 2021
3.5 stars
Beautifully written, evocative and emotionally turbulent... the realities of generational trauma, sense of self, and womanhood collide in this insightful and literary novel.
Writing: ★★★★
Characters: ★★★★
Enjoyment: ★★★
Sometimes, you read a book and you realize that you're just not...there yet. For me, I think Carry the Dog was conveying messages that I was frankly too young to fully appreciate—I'm a mid-20-something woman, not someone looking back on her life in terms of decades. I'm not there yet, where Bea Seger is at in this novel. But I might be someday, and for that reason I found this novel extremely compelling.
In the 1960s, when Bea was a young child, she and her siblings were photographed in a series of provocative and explosive nude photographs taken by their own mother. They were controversial at the time, and they've remained so up until the present day. But now, museums want to showcase them—and they're talking to Bea about it.
Bea has spent a long time not analyzing those images, or her experiences with them. But should she? And even if she's not willing to self-analyze, would it be worth it for the money?
With those questions circling around her, Bea is also dealing with other elements in her life. Like her complicated relationship with her divorced husband, which is filled with toxicity, subtle and overt betrayals, and issues. Bea's not exactly handled that well internally, either.
But the light is starting to shine on Bea's life, and whether she likes it or not, it's time to look at the pieces around her and locate that inner steel at the core of her womanhood.
Complex? Yes. Beautifully rendered? Also yes. An uplifting and joyful read? Not particularly.
Like I mentioned earlier in this review, I think this book provides more poignancy and support to women and individuals with more life experiences under their belt—I'm not calling anyone "old," y'all, but I am calling myself too young to fully appreciate this novel's bittersweet and lingering resilience.
However, I didn't have to fully understand Bea's struggles and emotional palate to appreciate the raw storytelling skills at play here. The author did a fantastic job at rendering Bea and her journey, and I couldn't help but appreciate that.
Thank you to the publisher for my copy in exchange for an honest review.
Blog | Instagram
Beautifully written, evocative and emotionally turbulent... the realities of generational trauma, sense of self, and womanhood collide in this insightful and literary novel.
Writing: ★★★★
Characters: ★★★★
Enjoyment: ★★★
Sometimes, you read a book and you realize that you're just not...there yet. For me, I think Carry the Dog was conveying messages that I was frankly too young to fully appreciate—I'm a mid-20-something woman, not someone looking back on her life in terms of decades. I'm not there yet, where Bea Seger is at in this novel. But I might be someday, and for that reason I found this novel extremely compelling.
In the 1960s, when Bea was a young child, she and her siblings were photographed in a series of provocative and explosive nude photographs taken by their own mother. They were controversial at the time, and they've remained so up until the present day. But now, museums want to showcase them—and they're talking to Bea about it.
Bea has spent a long time not analyzing those images, or her experiences with them. But should she? And even if she's not willing to self-analyze, would it be worth it for the money?
With those questions circling around her, Bea is also dealing with other elements in her life. Like her complicated relationship with her divorced husband, which is filled with toxicity, subtle and overt betrayals, and issues. Bea's not exactly handled that well internally, either.
But the light is starting to shine on Bea's life, and whether she likes it or not, it's time to look at the pieces around her and locate that inner steel at the core of her womanhood.
Complex? Yes. Beautifully rendered? Also yes. An uplifting and joyful read? Not particularly.
Like I mentioned earlier in this review, I think this book provides more poignancy and support to women and individuals with more life experiences under their belt—I'm not calling anyone "old," y'all, but I am calling myself too young to fully appreciate this novel's bittersweet and lingering resilience.
However, I didn't have to fully understand Bea's struggles and emotional palate to appreciate the raw storytelling skills at play here. The author did a fantastic job at rendering Bea and her journey, and I couldn't help but appreciate that.
Thank you to the publisher for my copy in exchange for an honest review.
Blog | Instagram
November 19, 2021
I didn’t love this as much as I thought I would. Middle-aged woman examines her past, undergoes a health scare and relives childhood trauma and survives all three? Take my money! Unfortunately I couldn’t relate to self-absorbed Bea in any way, couldn’t abide repulsive pond scum Gary who dumped her after a cancer scare, and didn’t think we saw nearly enough of Echo who maybe should have been the narrator here. The writing was more than competent, but the ending just wasn’t enough. I truly wished for a better outcome for Bea and also wished I cared more about her. 2 1/2 stars.
November 27, 2021
Algonquin Books wants to make a bit of a big deal about the fact that the author wrote her first novel when she turned 60. This new sophomore effort certainly has plenty to say about having to admit to the aging process, but this is far from the most important thing going on in Carry the Dog. The publisher's blurbs also try to evoke comparisons to Daisy Jones and The Six, but that seems true in only the most superficial of senses. Gangi's coverage of the New York punk scene has the sort of ring of authenticity present in Garth Risk Hallberg's City On Fire, while Daisy Jones seemed to me a very cliched and largely uninteresting story of 1970s arena rock. And once again, rock culture is not the centerpiece of Gangi's book, any more than aging is.
Rather, Gangi riffs on the photographers of the late 1960s and 1970s who used childhood and adolescent nudity as a subject. Many were shunned and even investigated as social mores changed. Of course, we live in a current era of cancel culture where comedians claim they can't get gigs on campuses because there is no sense of humor or irony left. All this may be true, Gangi says, but we should also recognize that some photographers and visual artists of mid-20th-century were very disturbed people, and some probably should have been investigated for possible crimes of abuse and child pornography.
Gangi tells her tale through the eyes of Bea Seger, a woman in her mid-60s who has never come to terms with being a photographic subject for her own mother, who dodged most reconsideration of "the Marx Nudes" by committing suicide before her three children had finished high school. Seger suffered plenty of additional losses before packing it all in and taking off with the founder of Chalk Outline, a downtown band that opened for New York Dolls. Although I'm a rural cis male, I tried to reach several empathy points with the character - we both saw the New York Dolls on the night of our proms, for example. But unlike Bea, I never dumped my date on prom night to opt for a life on the road.
Seger is coming to terms with her childhood and wild adolescence some 45 or 50 years after the events, in part because she married and divorced the lead guitarist for Chalk Outline twice. Her bank accounts are floating close to red zones, she drifts through a variety of employment gigs, and has a hard time knowing how and when to reconcile with other members of her family. As a result, her father and brother consider Bea the one who has abandoned the family, while she sees things the other way around.
What finally brings matters to a head are offers from a movie screenplay writer and from MoMA curators to help them work on a reconsideration 0f her mother's photographic work. They tell Bea that the world is ready for a reconsideration of her mother's work, but she realizes they want to gain access to a storage lockeer in upstate New York with a possible motherlode of additional works. Her doubts as to how she wants to market her mother lead her to further investigations of why mom always wanted to pose her children nude in confrontational tableaus. She begins to wonder if maybe mom was more than a flawed mother -- perhaps she was a profoundly disturbed individual who was just as twisted as her prurient critics of the 1970s described.
Through her visits to her ailing father in a nursing home and her estranged brother who has tried his best to forget his family, Bea tries to assemble fragments of family ties that are worth saving. The toughest thing is to avoid being bitter when confronted with familial truths. A few years ago, a documentary on the music group The Cowsills revealed what a disturbed svengali the kids' father, Bud Cowsill, really was. The 21st-century Cowsills fans have tried to micro-psychoanalyze Bud in order to heap on abuse, but Susan Cowsill (the baby of the family and a fine singer in her own right), is adamant in telling people to love, forgive, and toss the anger to the winds. Seger, like Susan Cowsill, is not trying to cover up or whitewash the past. Instead, the book's protagonist wants to find a way to move on in love and kindness.
In this short but powerful novel, Gangi warns us that it is not easy to transcend when our families are dysfunctional even beyond the typical limits one encounters. An important element of reconciliation is to abandon myths. It is no accident that Miriam Marx gave up photographing nudes in order to make a sojourn to Woodstock in August 1969 to photograph children. She was trying to move back to inniocence, but ran out of time. Her daughter Bea decides that the first step in regaining innocence is to abandon the idea of golden eras, whether hippie dreams of Woodstock or later punk dreams of DIY. Scoundrels and profoundly damaged individuals have populated every decade and century of human existence. When the scoundrels are in your own family, your immediate response may be to throw the family members under the bus. But to preserve a sense of community, you may have to go back and collect the shreds and pieces after the bus has passed.
Rather, Gangi riffs on the photographers of the late 1960s and 1970s who used childhood and adolescent nudity as a subject. Many were shunned and even investigated as social mores changed. Of course, we live in a current era of cancel culture where comedians claim they can't get gigs on campuses because there is no sense of humor or irony left. All this may be true, Gangi says, but we should also recognize that some photographers and visual artists of mid-20th-century were very disturbed people, and some probably should have been investigated for possible crimes of abuse and child pornography.
Gangi tells her tale through the eyes of Bea Seger, a woman in her mid-60s who has never come to terms with being a photographic subject for her own mother, who dodged most reconsideration of "the Marx Nudes" by committing suicide before her three children had finished high school. Seger suffered plenty of additional losses before packing it all in and taking off with the founder of Chalk Outline, a downtown band that opened for New York Dolls. Although I'm a rural cis male, I tried to reach several empathy points with the character - we both saw the New York Dolls on the night of our proms, for example. But unlike Bea, I never dumped my date on prom night to opt for a life on the road.
Seger is coming to terms with her childhood and wild adolescence some 45 or 50 years after the events, in part because she married and divorced the lead guitarist for Chalk Outline twice. Her bank accounts are floating close to red zones, she drifts through a variety of employment gigs, and has a hard time knowing how and when to reconcile with other members of her family. As a result, her father and brother consider Bea the one who has abandoned the family, while she sees things the other way around.
What finally brings matters to a head are offers from a movie screenplay writer and from MoMA curators to help them work on a reconsideration 0f her mother's photographic work. They tell Bea that the world is ready for a reconsideration of her mother's work, but she realizes they want to gain access to a storage lockeer in upstate New York with a possible motherlode of additional works. Her doubts as to how she wants to market her mother lead her to further investigations of why mom always wanted to pose her children nude in confrontational tableaus. She begins to wonder if maybe mom was more than a flawed mother -- perhaps she was a profoundly disturbed individual who was just as twisted as her prurient critics of the 1970s described.
Through her visits to her ailing father in a nursing home and her estranged brother who has tried his best to forget his family, Bea tries to assemble fragments of family ties that are worth saving. The toughest thing is to avoid being bitter when confronted with familial truths. A few years ago, a documentary on the music group The Cowsills revealed what a disturbed svengali the kids' father, Bud Cowsill, really was. The 21st-century Cowsills fans have tried to micro-psychoanalyze Bud in order to heap on abuse, but Susan Cowsill (the baby of the family and a fine singer in her own right), is adamant in telling people to love, forgive, and toss the anger to the winds. Seger, like Susan Cowsill, is not trying to cover up or whitewash the past. Instead, the book's protagonist wants to find a way to move on in love and kindness.
In this short but powerful novel, Gangi warns us that it is not easy to transcend when our families are dysfunctional even beyond the typical limits one encounters. An important element of reconciliation is to abandon myths. It is no accident that Miriam Marx gave up photographing nudes in order to make a sojourn to Woodstock in August 1969 to photograph children. She was trying to move back to inniocence, but ran out of time. Her daughter Bea decides that the first step in regaining innocence is to abandon the idea of golden eras, whether hippie dreams of Woodstock or later punk dreams of DIY. Scoundrels and profoundly damaged individuals have populated every decade and century of human existence. When the scoundrels are in your own family, your immediate response may be to throw the family members under the bus. But to preserve a sense of community, you may have to go back and collect the shreds and pieces after the bus has passed.
June 10, 2023
I could not rate this book any higher because it treats boldly and without filters with the aftermath of childhood sexual abuse. There were times when I had to walk away from it, it was that hard to take.
If you have the slightest thought you might be triggered, arm your heart or don't read it.
The main character is coming to terms with incidents that occurred at the behest and with the knowledge of her famous photographer mother 50 years in the past involving herself and her two brothers. There is a redemption. There is a reason to read through the horror to the end if you can face it. It is fiction, after all. This time.
If you have the slightest thought you might be triggered, arm your heart or don't read it.
The main character is coming to terms with incidents that occurred at the behest and with the knowledge of her famous photographer mother 50 years in the past involving herself and her two brothers. There is a redemption. There is a reason to read through the horror to the end if you can face it. It is fiction, after all. This time.
August 29, 2021
It was an interesting storyline. I wasn’t sure that I would like it, but kept reading it to see if I would change my mind. I can’t say I enjoyed it but I did find the characters complex and interesting. I was glad that I finished reading it.
September 14, 2021
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this title. The concept of the book hooked me, probably because I'm a fan of Sally Mann. The narrator wasn't super likable & not very relatable to me either, but the story had enough intrigue to keep me reading until the end. Though the book centers on family tragedy, it didn't leave me feeling depressed!
November 25, 2021
An excellent book, with some VERY dark themes (you can guess some of the trigger warnings from the description). I really enjoyed the main character, even though she might not have been the best person. She was flawed and uncertain of herself and she seemed real. Maybe I wouldn't like hanging out with her very much in real life, but she served the story (and it served her) very well.
November 2, 2021
With keen observations and adept storytelling, I became so engrossed in this story that I felt as though I was reading a personal memoir.
At nearly sixty-year-olds, Bea Seger looks in the mirror and wonders what the heck happened. Twice married and divorced from her rock and roll savior, Bea is now struggling with aging and losing youth and beauty.
The MoMA and a Hollywood producer come to Bea, both interested in her mother’s work, especially those photographs known as the Marx Nudes, and the past starts to knock around in Bea’s mind.
The Marx Nudes were controversial photos taken by her mother, a famous photographer. Bea and her twin brothers were the subjects, naked and in strange and evocative poses. With the renewed interest in the photos, Bea digs into locked storage boxes, searching for more images. What she discovers are new dark secrets of the dysfunctionality of her childhood and the legacy of trauma in her family’s past.
In 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐨𝐠, Stephanie Gangi takes on family tragedy and questions the blurry lines of art. Bea is such a great character; she doesn’t want to be remembered as just a captured image and surely doesn’t want to fade away.
𝘛𝘞: 𝘴𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦, 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩, 𝘴𝘦𝘹𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘦.
Thank you to @algonquinbooks and @stephaniegangi for an invite to the tour and a gifted copy.
At nearly sixty-year-olds, Bea Seger looks in the mirror and wonders what the heck happened. Twice married and divorced from her rock and roll savior, Bea is now struggling with aging and losing youth and beauty.
The MoMA and a Hollywood producer come to Bea, both interested in her mother’s work, especially those photographs known as the Marx Nudes, and the past starts to knock around in Bea’s mind.
The Marx Nudes were controversial photos taken by her mother, a famous photographer. Bea and her twin brothers were the subjects, naked and in strange and evocative poses. With the renewed interest in the photos, Bea digs into locked storage boxes, searching for more images. What she discovers are new dark secrets of the dysfunctionality of her childhood and the legacy of trauma in her family’s past.
In 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐨𝐠, Stephanie Gangi takes on family tragedy and questions the blurry lines of art. Bea is such a great character; she doesn’t want to be remembered as just a captured image and surely doesn’t want to fade away.
𝘛𝘞: 𝘴𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦, 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩, 𝘴𝘦𝘹𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘦.
Thank you to @algonquinbooks and @stephaniegangi for an invite to the tour and a gifted copy.
July 12, 2023
2.5 stars. Given the premise of this book I was very excited to read, but I feel that to handle such dark and disturbing topics you have to be able to match the depth of that in the story telling. Maybe I just hated the dialogue in this book enough for me to dislike the story as a whole but it also read as a celebrity memoir of a celebrity that hasn’t processed their story and traumas before diving into a surface level retell. Yet still had interesting themes of family trauma and aging, readable but disappointed in the execution.
November 4, 2021
I loved everything about this novel-Bea, her wryly funny inner voice and interactions with those around her, ever conscious of her face and body aging, as well as her bravery in finally opening up the archives of her childhood and exploring the bittersweet truth of her family's past. Highly recommended if you like later-in-life characters who may not be aging so gracefully, art, photography, rock and roll, and stories and imperfect but honest family relationships.
November 4, 2021
I really enjoyed this, and I ended up interviewing Stephanie Gangi for Bloom (bloomsite.wordpress.com/2021/11/02/co...). But there's also a little backstory about my picking up the book, which is that I was scrolling through the list of e-galleys and saw this title and immediately flashed on the months at the end of 2019/beginning of 2020, when I was carrying my dear 60-pound hound dog Dorrie up and down our back steps in her last days. I'm generally a sucker for dogs in titles so of course I was going to read that one. And there on the first page, the dog in the book (which isn't the dog being carried in the title but never mind) is named Dory. So that was kismet for sure, and then the publicist cold-emailed Bloom to see if anyone wanted to interview the author and I was 100% all in.
It's a good book, too. It starts out feeling like it might be one of those NYC comedies of manners, which I like anyway, but then it gets really interesting and a little dark-while-still-being-fun about a lot of big subjects, among them aging and sexuality, agency and consent, and who gets to say what, exactly, gets to happen in the name of art. Gangi does a very good job of navigating all of that without giving it short shrift, and at the same time offering a really engaging, fun read. Recommended to anyone who thinks sounds like a good time, and absolutely if you identify as an aging hipster.
It's a good book, too. It starts out feeling like it might be one of those NYC comedies of manners, which I like anyway, but then it gets really interesting and a little dark-while-still-being-fun about a lot of big subjects, among them aging and sexuality, agency and consent, and who gets to say what, exactly, gets to happen in the name of art. Gangi does a very good job of navigating all of that without giving it short shrift, and at the same time offering a really engaging, fun read. Recommended to anyone who thinks sounds like a good time, and absolutely if you identify as an aging hipster.
January 26, 2022
I really enjoyed this book. Very well developed characters. I was very engaged with Bea as she embarked on her journey throughout the book. I felt like the premise was different than anything I have read.
I loved how much story fit into so few pages (275!). I feel like authors so often feel like longer is better. This story never missed a beat. It was interesting the whole way through. And now, a week after finishing it, I am still thinking about the characters.
As an aside, there was one moment that I was looking on the internet for "Carry the Dog," the photograph. It's fiction. There is no such photo (duh, me).
I loved how much story fit into so few pages (275!). I feel like authors so often feel like longer is better. This story never missed a beat. It was interesting the whole way through. And now, a week after finishing it, I am still thinking about the characters.
As an aside, there was one moment that I was looking on the internet for "Carry the Dog," the photograph. It's fiction. There is no such photo (duh, me).
November 6, 2021
Thank you @algonquinbooks for the ARC of Carry The Dog by Stephanie Gangi. This just came out on Tuesday, 11/2 and it really pulled me in.
I wasn't sure what to expect, but I found that I couldn't stop reading once I started, and that it was really interesting and frankly refreshing to have a protagonist who was a 59 year-old woman.
I cared a lot about the main character, and her journey into her past, facing trauma and repressed memories, which led to her coming to terms with a lot of things in her life at the age of 59, was very well written. The subject matter of the book made me a little uneasy with the was it/ was it not child pornography question about her childhood experience, but I thought it was dealt with respectfully and not used just to sell the book. The book does address child abuse and child sex abuse but mostly off page.
Bea is quite a character and I really liked her, and worried about her, got mad at her when she let people walk all over her, and when she jumped to conclusions about her little sister, overall she was realistic and she was going through a lot! I also loved Echo, the sister.
This was a quick and compelling read about family secrets, and it even had a little bit of mystery to it as well.
I wasn't sure what to expect, but I found that I couldn't stop reading once I started, and that it was really interesting and frankly refreshing to have a protagonist who was a 59 year-old woman.
I cared a lot about the main character, and her journey into her past, facing trauma and repressed memories, which led to her coming to terms with a lot of things in her life at the age of 59, was very well written. The subject matter of the book made me a little uneasy with the was it/ was it not child pornography question about her childhood experience, but I thought it was dealt with respectfully and not used just to sell the book. The book does address child abuse and child sex abuse but mostly off page.
Bea is quite a character and I really liked her, and worried about her, got mad at her when she let people walk all over her, and when she jumped to conclusions about her little sister, overall she was realistic and she was going through a lot! I also loved Echo, the sister.
This was a quick and compelling read about family secrets, and it even had a little bit of mystery to it as well.
July 18, 2021
*Thank you to #netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review
Approaching her 60th birthday, Berenice Seger reflects on her life; particularly her childhood, where she and her brothers were the subjects of a controversial set of photographs shot by her mother. Berenice is estranged from her family, divorced, and aimless. When both a movie director and a museum are interested in displaying Berenice’s mother’s work, Berenice must choose between confronting her past head on, or keeping it locked away forever.
I am a big fan of Stephanie Gangi’s debut novel “The Next” and eagerly anticipated her next book. I read a book not that long ago with similar subject matter (regarding children of a controversial artist) and while that book came highly reviewed by me, I find this one to be the superior work. This one focuses less on the artist and more about the effects of childhood trauma from the subjects themselves. It’s also a testament about resilience and that’s it’s never too late to find or define yourself.
I read so many books featuring protagonists my age or a little younger or older, and it was refreshing to read from the POV of a more mature woman. Berenice feels like someone you know, and I enjoyed her little musings about beauty and fashion. Other books might have added in the story from the perspective of Berenice’s brothers, but Berenice is such an excellent storyteller that I felt it would have been too much. Besides, this is HER truth that needed to be told. And she tells it well.
Approaching her 60th birthday, Berenice Seger reflects on her life; particularly her childhood, where she and her brothers were the subjects of a controversial set of photographs shot by her mother. Berenice is estranged from her family, divorced, and aimless. When both a movie director and a museum are interested in displaying Berenice’s mother’s work, Berenice must choose between confronting her past head on, or keeping it locked away forever.
I am a big fan of Stephanie Gangi’s debut novel “The Next” and eagerly anticipated her next book. I read a book not that long ago with similar subject matter (regarding children of a controversial artist) and while that book came highly reviewed by me, I find this one to be the superior work. This one focuses less on the artist and more about the effects of childhood trauma from the subjects themselves. It’s also a testament about resilience and that’s it’s never too late to find or define yourself.
I read so many books featuring protagonists my age or a little younger or older, and it was refreshing to read from the POV of a more mature woman. Berenice feels like someone you know, and I enjoyed her little musings about beauty and fashion. Other books might have added in the story from the perspective of Berenice’s brothers, but Berenice is such an excellent storyteller that I felt it would have been too much. Besides, this is HER truth that needed to be told. And she tells it well.
November 6, 2022
Hmmmmm....I'm not exactly sure what I was expecting with this story, but it definitely hit differently that I initially thought. It was a story that had a more disturbing background and history, but it also made me feel hopeful for a different future for the family. A story of past trauma that can ultimately affect any sort of future one may have.
Bea and her brothers were the subjects of her mother's portraits when they were children. They were known as the Marx Nudes. The fact that their mother who was a celebrated photographer put them in disturbing photos as siblings was at the forefront of an investigation that did not end well. Now the Marx children are in their 50's and 60's and Hollywood and MoMA have come calling about these photographs and other pieces of their mother's past. Bea takes us on a journey of seeking out her siblings and seeing what they want to do with their mother's 'legacy'.
I am always fascinated with artists, the way they create and how it ultimately affects their family. Seeing Bea navigate all these things after the death of a parent head on was done quite well. What didn't quite work for me was some of the writing. At times it seemed very stunted and not detailed enough for a story about art and life. At other times, it was almost too perfect. I'm not even sure if that makes sense.
Overall, this was a story that could've been beyond disturbing, but the way Gangi thoughtfully navigated Carry the Dog into Bea's journey of finding herself and connecting with family while finding closure was done with care and a preciseness that worked. I only wish that soem of the writing connected with me more. It was definitely more of a me thing.
Bea and her brothers were the subjects of her mother's portraits when they were children. They were known as the Marx Nudes. The fact that their mother who was a celebrated photographer put them in disturbing photos as siblings was at the forefront of an investigation that did not end well. Now the Marx children are in their 50's and 60's and Hollywood and MoMA have come calling about these photographs and other pieces of their mother's past. Bea takes us on a journey of seeking out her siblings and seeing what they want to do with their mother's 'legacy'.
I am always fascinated with artists, the way they create and how it ultimately affects their family. Seeing Bea navigate all these things after the death of a parent head on was done quite well. What didn't quite work for me was some of the writing. At times it seemed very stunted and not detailed enough for a story about art and life. At other times, it was almost too perfect. I'm not even sure if that makes sense.
Overall, this was a story that could've been beyond disturbing, but the way Gangi thoughtfully navigated Carry the Dog into Bea's journey of finding herself and connecting with family while finding closure was done with care and a preciseness that worked. I only wish that soem of the writing connected with me more. It was definitely more of a me thing.
November 3, 2022
Many thanks to NetGalley and Algonquin Books for gifting me both a physical and digital ARC of this wonderful book by Stephanie Gangi and allowing me to participate in the blog tour - 5 stars!
Bea is nearing 60, still relying both for financial and emotional support on her ex-husband, Gary, an aged rock star who isn't able to reciprocate well. Bea's childhood was fraught with trauma. Her mother, Miri, was a photographer who exploited her children to get those perfect shots, in a series dubbed The Marx Nudes. It all ended in tragedy and Bea has been mostly estranged from her remaining family ever since. Decades later, both Hollywood and the Museum of Modern Art are courting her for projects involving her mother's photos, which have been kept in a storage space.
I adored this book, even though the subject matter of childhood trauma and exploitation is a serious one. Bea had to come to terms with her past before she could move into a new future, and she realizes that she had one memory of her past that was different from reality. As we age, I think we are all forced to face our pasts and become comfortable with our face in the mirror in more ways than just looks. I loved these characters, flaws and all. This is a coming-of-age story for grownups and gave me so much to think about. I also loved the author's note, so be sure to read that. Can't wait to read more from this author!
Bea is nearing 60, still relying both for financial and emotional support on her ex-husband, Gary, an aged rock star who isn't able to reciprocate well. Bea's childhood was fraught with trauma. Her mother, Miri, was a photographer who exploited her children to get those perfect shots, in a series dubbed The Marx Nudes. It all ended in tragedy and Bea has been mostly estranged from her remaining family ever since. Decades later, both Hollywood and the Museum of Modern Art are courting her for projects involving her mother's photos, which have been kept in a storage space.
I adored this book, even though the subject matter of childhood trauma and exploitation is a serious one. Bea had to come to terms with her past before she could move into a new future, and she realizes that she had one memory of her past that was different from reality. As we age, I think we are all forced to face our pasts and become comfortable with our face in the mirror in more ways than just looks. I loved these characters, flaws and all. This is a coming-of-age story for grownups and gave me so much to think about. I also loved the author's note, so be sure to read that. Can't wait to read more from this author!
September 13, 2022
"My skin is lined from living in it, from laughing, from squinting and crying, from surprise, from thinking hard, from figuring things out or being unable to do so". A line from this novel that really resonated with my life. One reason I liked this book is that the main character is my age, 60, but still drinks and smokes and is trying to overcome horrible trauma, though her trauma is much deeper than mine. "I had to be brave...and I'll have to be brave again. It's the job description at sixty". And so it is. A woman trying to get over incredible childhood trauma (something, thank God, I never had to worry about, since my childhood was idyllic) and learn to either deal with it, or leave it in the past. Well written and nice to see a novel centered around a sixty year old main character who still feels young and ready for whatever the future may bring. 3.5 stars.
December 26, 2021
Bea (the main character) is almost a 60 year old Peter Pan. She was in the arts/music scene in NYC in the 70's and never grew up. Ms. Gangi represents that era very well (I was there). The family relationships or lack there of are very murky and dark. Bea is the daughter and subject along with her brothers of an avant garde photographer of that time who was her mother. Her most famous work was controversial. In present day it is considered collectible. These two eras in Bea's life collide. Bea looks back at her life with fresh eyes. Some will find the subject matter disturbing. I became totally engrossed in the work and it was a page turner for me.
July 8, 2022
2 1/2 stars.
A lot of dysfunction, apathy, and at times cruelty. I think this family drama had potential but it wasn’t enjoyable and was only mildly interesting. I probably woundn’t have finished if it had been a longer book.
I’d already gotten past the halfway point and because it was a fairly quick read, I decided to stick with it. A few things get resolved but it wasn’t a very satisfying use of my time. Can’t say I would recommend this one.
A lot of dysfunction, apathy, and at times cruelty. I think this family drama had potential but it wasn’t enjoyable and was only mildly interesting. I probably woundn’t have finished if it had been a longer book.
I’d already gotten past the halfway point and because it was a fairly quick read, I decided to stick with it. A few things get resolved but it wasn’t a very satisfying use of my time. Can’t say I would recommend this one.
November 10, 2021
I really enjoyed this book. The strongest areas of Gangi’s writing are revealing the twists and drama in a well paced way and the main character’s flaws match her past. Writers sometimes have their characters do things simply to add drama without a connection to the source of their decision making. The story of Bea’s past unfolds as we watch her crumble, and everything feels related. Once I got to the middle of the book, I read straight through to the end, staying up until midnight to finish it.
Read
November 23, 2021A long weekend, and no page-turner in sight. Luckily, Carry The Dog by Stephanie Gangi arrived in my mailbox. Gangi’s debut novel, The Next, was fiercely funny; while this one’s not a comedy, it is every bit as fierce.
Guest Post by Carla Sarett.
Guest Post by Carla Sarett.
December 8, 2021
5 звезди за стила, 2 - за историята, която разказва. Очаквах различен сюжет с акцент върху снимките от детството. Нещо ме подведе резюмето на книгата. Реалността беше доста различна през по-голямата част от книгата - предимно описва прехода на главната героиня и свикването с одеята за остаряването. Въпреки това много ми хареса.
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