Dog on Fire

by Terese Svoboda

Out of a Shakespearean-wild Midwest dust storm, a man rises. “Just a glimpse of him,” says his sister; “every inch of him,” says his guilt-filled lover. “Close your eyes,” says his nephew. “What about it?” asks his father. The cupboard is filled with lime Jell-O, and there are aliens, deadly kissing, and a restless, alcoholic mother who carries a gun. “Every family is this normal,” insists the narrator. “Whoever noticed my brother, with a family as normal as this?” the beleaguered sister asks. Against the smoky prairie horizon and despite his seizures, a brother builds a life. Imbued with melancholy cheer, Dog on Fire unfolds around a family’s turmoil, past loves, and a mysterious death.

Genres: Fiction, Novels

204 pages, Paperback

Published March 7, 2023

About the author

Terese Svoboda has published 19 books of fiction, poetry, memoir and biography. Svoboda's writing has been featured in the New Yorker, the New York Times, the Atlantic, Slate, BOMB, Columbia, Yale Review, and the Paris Review. She lives in New York.

Reviews

[♑︎♑︎♑︎ ♑︎♑︎♑︎ · Rating 5 out of 5]

What remarkable writing. This novel slides past the literal and hits straight in the middle of visceral sense experience. I wasn't always sure what was going on--the writing is like a furious fever dream of sense impression--but I was led forward by a faith that any writer who can craft words this close to the bone, this free of artifice or expectation, is a writer worth following.

In terms of content Dogs on Fire has nothing whatsoever to do with the book it reminded me of most--that would be Malina by Ingeborg Bachman. I'm not sure if that comparison is defensible, the two are so different in tone and intent. But each of these books worked in a way where the primary reading experience was one of intense emotion, of being alive, of feeling one moment spearheading itself violently into the next one as I read along. The experience of reading this novel left me feeling exhausted and befuddled and abused and exalted and purified and joyful. Full disclosure: my impressions may be partly due to last night's insomnia that had me staying up to read this novel. But so it goes. A book comes to us where we are in that moment and speaks to us in that moment. Writing, and reading, can include so many experiences beyond the superficial meanings of words on a page. I enjoyed the plunge. I read it straight through and now I'm going to read it again. As in, right now, here I go.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can we start with how lovely this book cover is? I was immediately drawn to it. The colors and the font are just so friggen pretty.

Ok, first thing you need to know is that Dog on Fire is going to make you work for it, but I promise you, it's worth the read. If the opening scene isn't enough to draw you in, I don't know what would. In it, our unnamed narrator is driving through a dust storm and sees her dead brother on the side of the road, standing near a hole with a shovel. In life, he dug holes for a living. After a sudden and somewhat mysterious death, he seems to be haunting her but she can't manage to grasp the message he's trying to convey, if there even is one.

The chapters begin to alternate between our narrator, who has recently returned home post divorce as a single mother, and her dead brother's crazy ass pseudo girlfriend Aphra, who appears to be stalking her and her son. Both women are trying to understand and come to terms with their brother/lover's passing, and are, in their unique ways, also working through some family trauma drama dysfunction stuff.

It's quite beautifully written, though I am fully aware that I might be in the minority here - I've seen it referred to as experimental but it's really not. Svoboda writes without the use of quotes to identify when someone is speaking (a la Cormac Mccarthy and Jose Saramago - two of my favorite authors, btw). The story is quite lush and layered. It's chewy... you're going to spend some time playing with it before digesting it.

And everyone is pretty unlikable and jerky to one another, yet it doesn't detract or distract from anything. In fact, I think it does the opposite. I think it helps the reader home in on what's driving the behaviors. And can sometimes be a mirror. I mean, people are sometimes ugly to each other and feel justified in their reasons for it, right? I mean, hell. Let's start to normalize ugly lit. haha.

And yeah, in case you were wondering, there IS a dog who is briefly, partially, on fire. Does the dog die? Reader, we just don't know. But I promise you it's a very small piece of the book, though the title would have you believe otherwise.

If you decide to take the plunge, I'd love to know what you think!!

[Nicole (Nerdish.Maddog) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dog on fire is like watching one of those abstract, day in the life type indie films that end by cutting to black in the middle of a scene. It leaves you with the same raw sense of realism that can only come from capturing something so emotional yet so mundane. The prose is arid and reflects the landscape around which the whole story centers. The narrator is a divorced single mother who has moved back home after fleeing her abusive relationship with her husband. She has returned to an emotionally detached father, an alcoholic mother who believes her children ruined her life, and a brother who has just recently passed away. She spends most of the book coming to terms with her relationship to her brother prior to his passing while hunting for clues as to why he died. The second less involved narrator is Aphra, the brother's obese girlfriend, who is also trying to come to terms with her loss in increasingly strange ways. The sister comes off as rude and self centered; while the girlfriend comes across as broken and overflowing with the emotion the town seems to lack. And yes, there is a dog on fire in this book. Overall this book captures the mourning process of individuals in a small farming town with honesty that borders on absurd. The book is not a light fluffy read but I can tell that those who are attracted to this book will get the sense of walking in someone else's shoes, even if the shoes are on a temporarily dark path.

[Clifford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Please see my review at Southern Review of Books
https://southernreviewofbooks.com/202...

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dog on Fire is a claustrophobic murder mystery that centers on the death of a cruel but charismatic keeper of secrets. A mordant mediation on grief, dysfunctional families, and life in a small town that is slowly kicking the shit out of itself.

[Vivian Eyre · Rating 5 out of 5]

A powerful, haunting elegy. I can’t stop thinking about Dog on Fire. Set in a
small Midwest farm town, a sister is driven to discover how her epileptic brother died.
This mystery is filled with unforgettable characters. It raises provocative questions about grieving, “normal” family life, those who live labeled as “Other”, raising sons in a bully culture, and the nature of compassion.

Svoboda is imaginative, insightful, a keen observer of human nature. Her prose sings. I kept making connections beyond the novel to Shakespeare, current events, my own family history. I’m still thinking about how jealousy and competition (who is loved more?) are part of the grieving process.

The characters are complex and engaging. I like and trust this the narrator who is smart, quirky, funny, a bit critical, compassionate, a care giver to all but herself. Her brother’s lover, Aphra (the Hebrew meaning of her name is dust) is obese, troubled, loving and holds the key to the mysterious death. The relationship between the women is charged. They are repulsed by each other and drawn to each other. Eventually we learn, they were both victims of trauma/abuse.
The father of the narrator is someone who doesn’t want to delve into others affairs even his children’s. This may be Midwestern reserve or as the narrator asks: “How much hands off is caring?”

There’s a scene where the narrator’s son is trying to disclose something painful.
By reading both the narrator’s thoughts and the dialog, I see this mother’s struggle and love
in letting her son reveal at his own pace. Such tenderness.

I highly recommend this book. You won’t be able to stop turning the pages.

[Sharon Dene · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like how the author was writing and then he'd go in the past tense with a different style of fart. This book had a lot of different angles and themes for a small town everybody seemed to have a problem. Father it was just to eat which day home and he was getting really old and his son was taking care of everything. His son was living with them and the father because he got divorced. His mother An alcoholic and she like to just take off and leave for rehab and she had problems. His older brother dies in the book and he had a really interesting history too. He had epileptic and everything he did and life just seemed not to work out for him. He died by location. His brother found all these interesting things after he died like he went to Vegas he was in the military he didn't never knew any of this. His son was always picked on by the wealthy children in this town. You've one of these boys because they had a car on fire I was trying to blame him. The girlfriend APHRA was another whole different category too she would just ride around town in her car called spots she had a very desponsional family life as well. She loved his brother apparently they have problems and she could not get over his depth. She started to harass his son everywhere she went so the cops had to get involved. They had a thing about green jello and they talked about this at length because they tried to eat it his brother had tons of it in his house. The father eventually had to get lawyers because they were trying to frame him for the fires in the car because he thought he saw a dog. There is a lot of interesting phenomenas in this book how it all tied together in the end and it was pretty amazing

[endrju · Rating 2 out of 5]

A strange novel. The first part is marvelously stylish, but then in the second and the third the gears shift and the prose turns quite mundane and given that the story itself isn't much I got rather disappointed. It would've been four stars had it stayed as it begun. And I have to wonder why the author chose to so radically change the style from one part to the next as the narrative would only gain from the estrangement as performed in the first part. Oh well...

[Shawna Carlson · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF - I tried to push myself to try to continue to read this. I am 20% through and I just can't continue. The story isn't there to keep me wanting to read it. It is very abstract. I also feel like there are side stories that are thrown in that are unnecessary. Just not for me.

[Bonnye Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a complimentary electronic ARC of this incredible novel from Netgalley, Author Terese Svoboda, and publisher, the University of Nebraska Press. I have read Dog on Fire of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. I am pleased to add her to my favorite authors and recommend Terese Svoboda to friends and family. She writes an intense tale - I had to take breaks - that will keep you enthralled.

WOW. What a ride.
pub date March 7, 2023
Reviewed at Goodreads and Netgalley on February 27, 2023. Reviewed on AmazonSmile on March 7, 2023. Not available for review on B&N or BookBub.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm going to start this off with a big, fat TRIGGER WARNING. That title is not a metaphor. A dog is actually set on fire in this book. It's not even a big part of the plot, just a passing scene that is then kind of forgotten, which is somehow even worse.

But even without that dog part, I was having trouble with this one.

I will begin by saying it gets three stars (or more like a 2.5) because the writing is lush and vivid. I get that it is well done. I get that some people will really enjoy it. But, for me personally, this was a very tough read.

The whole book is a bit like a fever dream that starts to feel a little repetitive after awhile. The mystery of the dead brother is revisited time and time again, with little insight gained. His sister wanders lost, but never seems to find herself. Trauma is revisited over and over.

These patterns were not helped by the fact that the author doesn't use quotation marks and changes perspective between the lead character and a woman named Aphra (more on her in a moment). Segues between the two are super vague and after awhile (for me) it all kind of runs together, (Lots of "I" and "she" references.) Even though I read it in a short time, I kept losing track of who was who and what they were doing, which made the reading feel like work.

Also, I get it. Aphra is fat. (And she acts inappropriately because of her past sexual abuse and the grief from losing her lover.) But the way she is described here just makes her seem like some sort of grotesque monster, with her "copious sweat," car full of trash, drug problem and armpit sniffing. She seemed more like a cartoon than a real person, one can (and should) have empathy for.

Ultimately, not a good match for me personally, but I thank the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dog on Fire
By Terese Svoboda

This is a weird story about the dynamics of relationships. The narrator is a forty-ish divorced woman who has moved back home to her parents' small farm with her teenaged son. Her brother – eleven months her junior – is dead.

The tale revolves around her relationship with her brother. He suffered from seizures since early childhood, and is therefore shunned by his peers – and is a source of embarrassment to his older sister. So she has always turned her back on him.

There is one person – a woman named Aphra who weights close to 300 pounds – who formed a bond with the brother over the years and who became his lover. Now that he is dead, she has transferred her attentions to his family, most notably to his nephew who closely resembles him.

There is some question as to the brother's cause of death, and both the sister and the lover are seeking answers. Their interactions throughout the book revolve around what happened to the brother and the sister's mixed feelings about her treatment of him. The chapters alternate between the sister's first person narrative and Aphra's.

Two things stand out to me in this book. First is the fact that most of the characters – except for Aphra - are never named. Second is exactly what is the author conveying in the episode of the "Dog on Fire"?

The book held my interest enough to finish it – although I am really not sure what point the author was trying to make.

[Emi Yoshida · Rating 2 out of 5]

The jello and aliens-obsessed Beck family lives in Nebraska. The narrator is a single mom mourning the loss of the epileptic brother she feels guilty for neglecting while he was alive. Not that she was alone in that act, her parents acknowledge their participation as well. The only person who actively cared for the brother (and coincidentally also the only main character who gets a name in this book) is his girlfriend Aphra.

Svoboda the author is also a poet, and she switches narrating women within each chapter, without pattern or direction as far as I could work out; I liked that, it kept me alert. In my Kindle version there was an unconventional lack of capitalization, I'm not sure if that serves some kind of literary purpose. I liked that the narrator's 15-yr old son resembles his uncle and how that affects Aphra, the parallel between Aphra and aphrodisiacs, and I liked it when Aphra's obesity and other sensitive subjects were handled delicately or seen positively; but I have to say I really hated the scene that this title refers to. While I get that everyone involved in this story suffers in their own way, and The Human Condition, and people are cruel and go out of their minds on drugs and senselessness, still I just don't see the point in chronicling that degree of animal cruelty.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dog on Fire is a quirky, beautifully written novel. Warning to those sensitive to animal cruelty - the dog in the title actually is on fire, a vivd and disturbing image that is difficult to forget. The book suffers from a lack of editing - there are some places where the pace gets bogged down with too much meandering, and the lack of quotation marks, or any indication that the narrator/speaker has changed is both annoying and jarring, when the reader has to adjust to a new point of view being thrust upon them, sometimes in the middle of a paragraph. There are big themes here, and there is a story hidden inside the trying-too-hard oddness of the writing. The author would have been better served letting the two main characters tell their own stories, in their own voices, in a way that allowed the quirkiness to enhance the story, not overwhelm it - but, the weird images of aliens and a kitchen stuffed with packages of green Jell-O, a dark night made dream-like by lingering smoke, two women digging up a grave - are dream-like, strange, and haunting enough to make a real impression on the reader. This one is hard to categorize and hard to critique - the writing is lush and inventive and much of this story stays with you long after the last page is turned.

[Jeremy Garber · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sometimes experimental writers try too hard. That’s the case with Teresa Svoboda’s Dog on Fire. I wanted to like it, I really did. To be honest, though, if I wasn’t reviewing it online, I would have put it down without finishing. Svoboda writes the story of a loner woman whose epileptic brother has just died under mysterious circumstances, and the intertwined life of her brother’s abused and overweight ex-pseudo-girlfriend. The literacy choice that was most confusing was Svoboda’s decision to eschew quotation marks. It’s a literary conceit I’ve never understood, and as usual, it muddies the waters between whose voice is being heard at any given time. Intentional or not, it does both character’s stories a disservice. Given the book’s frequent references to Shakespeare, there may be a Shakespearean plot underneath there somewhere (Hamlet maybe, given all the dysfunctional family dynamics and the grave-digging scene). The best parts of the novel are when the author stops trying to be tricky and just lets the characters tell their stories in their own voices. This would be a lovely and insightful book with some quotation marks and a firm editor. But as it stands, I’d give it a pass.

[Barbra · Rating 4 out of 5]

4+* since I savored the writing, but I could upgrade or downgrade my score depending on how my thoughts settle. Another first person narrative (well, actually two first person narratives since almost alternating, but much shorter, chapters are told by Aphra) where you never know the newly divorced 40-ish narrator's name. In fact, Aphra's name is the only name you learn, but it never seems too weird or experimental to me. I am used to books with no quotation marks, which can be a challenge to follow at times, but that didn't bother me. I liked the verisimilitude of the dusty, midwestern setting filled with quirky small town characters - bullies, odd balls, farmers and the like - the dysfunctional families that grapple with alcoholism, grief and abuse, while trying to figure out to live their lives. I agree with another reviewer that it did seem like an indie film, but for me this was a good thing.

[Stefani · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started this one thinking it would be a quick read, only 200 pages, the description sounded interesting. Unfortunately I had a really hard time following this one.

I got the main storyline, but I don’t know if it was the ARC, but there were very few paragraph breaks, like no chapters, a lot of run ons, tangents, it was hard to keep track of what was going on. I had a hard time focusing because things seem to trail off.

I sort of got the feeling this is one of those novels they’d make into an indie film that would get nominated for a bunch of Oscars, like maybe I just didn’t understand something that was actually really profound.

This book just wasn’t for me, but if you’re looking for something short that’s a little different, this could be the read for you!

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I struggled with this book at first, it felt very abstract. But as it went on I found I couldn't put it down and needed to keep reading to see what would happen. It is short, but felt dense. The perspective shifts were a bit jarring, without any indication of who was telling the story. Luckily there were only 2 perspectives. I did get used to it though and I think it emphasized the point that both characters were grieving and struggling, and more similar than they realized or wanted to admit. Not my favorite book, but I'm glad I finished it.

[Kris · Rating 1 out of 5]

Honestly, I had a difficult time getting past the first sentence much less the entire book!.

The story starts out with what is possibly the longest run on sentence in the history of run on sentences.

It goes downhill from there.

The sentence structure is convoluted, the plot difficult to discern at best…

Perhaps this book was simply not to my taste, but I confess I wound up not finishing.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a lot going on in this book.  There's a bit of a mystery, two dysfunctional families, two point of view,, an alcoholic, a child abuse victim, teenage vandals, corrupt cops and an ambiguous ending. Oh yeah, and the dog.

In the end, this really is an exploration of guilt.  A sister trying to come to grips with the feeling her brother died because she didn't do enough and a girlfriend who thinks she did too much.

[Cassandra]

This book is too sad. Probably because I could relate to so much in it. How much do we really know about our sibling’s real lives? Why is it so hard to look straight on at the damage our parents inadvertently do to us? Who’s in charge of spreading small town information? What is the formula for raising strong, independent sons who aren’t bullies and small time criminals? Finally, when will stop thinking about this book I didn’t even like?

[Julie]

I can see that this book will find an audience. It's beautifully written as to word choice and arrangement. But, I just couldn't get very fast into it. I'll rate it higher than I liked simply because I can see it's potential. It's about a strange little family. A single mom, her son, her brother who she finds suddenly dead, and his seemingly mentally unstable girlfriend. And a dog who evidently does get set on fire. Just didn't get that far.

[Kendra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow, this is a tour de force of stream-of-consciousness writing in multiple voices, all full of idiosyncrasies and ideas and personas. It's a bit of a wild ride, honestly, and while I didn't really enjoy reading it, it does offer a unique take on poverty and desperation and sexuality and life in small and sad places.

[Teresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I tried. I really tried, but ultimately couldn't finish. The mid-paragraph no-warning perspective shifts were too abrupt, too jarring, and the narrative wasn't interesting enough to keep going.

My thanks to NetGalley and University of Nebraska Press for the ARC.

[Terese Svoboda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cather channeling Saunders

[PamM · Rating 4 out of 5]

4-

[Jenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was weird and hard to understand. It made no sense to me at all.

[Tim Scritchfield · Rating 2 out of 5]

*2.5