Un cane di nome Ivy

by Helen Humphreys, Chiara Messina (Translator)

«Presto avrò un nuovo cane. Nell'isolamento della mia vita di scrittrice si piazzerà accanto alla mia sedia, si sdraierà sul divano o mi costringerà a uscire per una passeggiata, e all'improvviso, pur nella mia solitudine, avrò un compagno.» Comincia così l'affascinante viaggio di Helen Humphreys tra passato e presente, tra memoria e riflessione, volto a svelare il rapporto del cane con l'essere umano (e in particolare con quel bizzarro essere umano che è lo scrittore). Creature domestiche, ma con memoria della vita selvatica, i cani sono, agli occhi di Humphreys, innanzitutto individui, con caratteristiche proprie, idiosincrasie, anomalie, gusti e disgusti: nessun cane è uguale a un altro. Spesso esigenti, a volte comprensivi, si adattano a noi e ci costringono ad adattarci a loro. Calmi o irrequieti, violenti o pacifici, i cani hanno soprattutto il merito di vivere il presente, di vivere il momento, senza pentimenti o recriminazioni, senza dubbi o incertezze, il solo modo, a detta di Humphreys, per superare il dolore e i traumi. Hazel, Violet, Charlotte e Ivy, le compagne canine della vita di Humphreys, sono protagoniste assolute di queste pagine acute e commoventi, ma accanto a loro troviamo anche gustosissimi ritratti dei cani degli scrittori del passato, dalla terrier meticcia di Virginia Woolf, la celebre Grizzle, all'indisciplinato fox terrier di Thomas Hardy, dai regali levrieri di Karen Blixen a Carlo, il terranova di Emily Dickinson. Un omaggio sincero a cani che ci accompagnano alle nostre vite e a quel che portano con sé - gioia, dolore, caos, divertimento. Un libro, infine, sul valore dell'amicizia, dell'arte, sulla creatività e sul potere rigenerante della natura.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Animals, Dogs, Writing, Canada, Biography Memoir

208 pages, Paperback

Published October 28, 2022

About the author

Helen Humphreys is the author of five books of poetry, eleven novels, and three works of non-fiction. She was born in Kingston-on-Thames, England, and now lives in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.

Her first novel, Leaving Earth (1997), won the 1998 City of Toronto Book Award and was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. Her second novel, Afterimage (2000), won the 2000 Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, was nominated for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize, and was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. Her third novel, The Lost Garden (2002), was a 2003 Canada Reads selection, a national bestseller, and was also a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. Wild Dogs (2004) won the 2005 Lambda Prize for fiction, has been optioned for film, and was produced as a stage play at CanStage in Toronto in the fall of 2008. Coventry (2008) was a #1 national bestseller, was chosen as one of the top 100 books of the year by the Globe & Mail, and was chosen one of the top ten books of the year by both the Ottawa Citizen and NOW Magazine.

Humphreys's work of creative non-fiction, The Frozen Thames (2007), was a #1 national bestseller. Her collections of poetry include Gods and Other Mortals (1986); Nuns Looking Anxious, Listening to Radios (1990); and, The Perils of Geography (1995). Her latest collection, Anthem (1999), won the 2000 Canadian Authors Association Award for Poetry.

Helen Humphreys's fiction is published in Canada by HarperCollins, and in the U.S. by W.W. Norton. The Frozen Thames was published by McClelland & Stewart in Canada, and by Bantam in the U.S. Her work has been translated into many languages.

Reviews

[Fran · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Into my writer's isolation will come a dog, to sit beside my chair or to lie on the couch while I work, to force me outside for a walk...although still lonely, this writer will have a companion."
-Helen Humphreys

Helen shares a blueprint for her writing process, a method enhanced by the presence of a canine companion. "Writing all day was hard, although not as hard as the loneliness that attended it." "At the beginning of my writing, and my life journey, there was a dog."

When Helen's beloved Vizsla, "Charlotte" crossed the Rainbow Bridge, she purchased a new puppy she named "Fig". Helen kept a journal of the ups and downs of training after having had "Charlotte", the dog of a lifetime. Walking with "Fig" through a big field that months before she walked with "Charlotte", "...it wasn't so much a memory as an intersection-the two events came together in the same place and touched one another...".

Helen's words echoed my experience as a dog owner. My fourteen year old Springer Spaniel, "Whiz", was playfully anointed with the nickname "Franklin". What followed was the naming of our newbie, a rescue puppy, "Franklin", to channel our beloved dog. The two "Franklin's" were best buds, the puppy ever so gentle with her frail companion and namesake.

Helen describes a method of writing that works well for her...a structured style. "I read Virginia Woolf...I followed Woolf's example of how to live a writing day...Life for Woolf was a morning of writing and an afternoon of walking with a dog, a routine she maintained for most of her life." According to Helen, "Structure is a novel, and in life, is the perfect balance of order and chaos...the structure of a day could be...four dog walks...creative freedom...in this mix of the expected and the unexpected make for the best writing."

"And a Dog Called Fig: Solitude, Connection, the Writing Life" by Helen Humphreys is enhanced by black and white photos of dogs that complemented the lives of some famous authors. Emily Bronte's dog "Keeper", accompanied her on walks across "the bleak Yorkshire moors." Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas had three white standard poodles in succession, each one called "Basket". Helen Humphrey's new puppy, "Fig", entered into a continuum of twenty-two years of Vizsla ownership for Helen. As "Fig" matured, would he develop any quirky behaviors? "There is often incongruity in character...sometimes...the most interesting part of someone...an anomaly...a wild card." Dogs live in the moment, perhaps a life lesson to be learned by us humans! A highly recommended read for writers and dog lovers.

Thank you Farrar, Straus and Giroux and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Elyse Walters · Rating 4 out of 5]

“There is something always alive in the memory of a dog”.

In Helen Humphreys new memoir, Canadian poet and novelist we are invited to witness a blossoming loyalty between Helen and Fig, her new puppy… 🐾
And…..
…. the loss and grief for her previous Vizsla: Charolette….

Lovely transcending thoughts and reflections on writing, feelings of isolation, solitary feelings, family history:
[parents, siblings, grandmother, a great aunt], friendships, reading, book chat, insights …other authors and their relationship with their dogs and writing,
growing up, personal tales, travel (from England to Canada - and a trip to Finland), nature, insights, Fig’s personality and behaviors, and much inspiration makes this a wonderful beloved book.

Journal style writing ✍️….
sweet human & animal connections!

🐾 Paw love 💕
…….welcome *Fig*….
Helen’s Vizsla.
….[ Vizsla’s have high energy, come by their snobbery naturally, need lots of off-leash exercise, can become bored easily, form intense, close bonds with their people]


“Writing is not simply about learning skills. Each new novel requires everything be learned all over again, because no two books are alike, and there are different sets of problems requiring different solutions when creating each one”.
“But at the beginning, there is no way to know this. And at the beginning of my writing, and my life journey, there was a dog”. 🐕

Love the book cover of Fig!
….several great photos included…of other authors and their dogs.

[Diane S ☔ · Rating 5 out of 5]

A definite win, win of a book. I love books about dogs and enjoy this author. Telling the story of her writing life, juxtaposed with the dogs she has owned and the new puppy she bought home. In her late fifties she decides to aquire a new puppy, she names Fig. Her preferred breed are Vizslas, a breed of which I had ever heard, but which, I of course, searched on Google. Beautiful animals.

Fig is a challenge in the beginning and she tells of her beginning struggles with this very active puppy. She thinks back to her last dog, Charlotte, and the easy comfort, relationship they had. Of course, Fig progresses and they bond. She uses stages of a dog's life with the stages of writing a novel. She also tells of other famous authors and their relationships with dogs they owned. Photographs included. Helen finds, in her writing life, that a dog is a necessity, for breaks, long walks and of course companionship.

A wonderful book if one loves dogs. Very clever too, I feel, the way this was written. Loved following Figs growth as her personality develops.

[Diane Barnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was an interesting read because I'm raising a puppy right now too. I totally identified with forgetting how hard it is to be training a puppy and dealing 24/7 with it's energy in your sixties. At least I didn't have to deal with cold weather and snow.
This made me want to look for some of her fiction.

5/20. I have to add this because it was such a coincidental thing happening the day after I finished this book. I took my own puppy to the local dog park where she was alone for about 5 minutes, when what should come along but a very pretty little Viszla, the breed that was written about in this book. It was a beautiful little dog, friendly and active, and the two dogs played and ran together while her owner and I discussed the breed. I left appreciating the breed of dog, and he made note of the book title so he could read it himself. Connections everywhere we turn.

[Krista · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have forgotten much about living with a puppy, but I do have a dim recollection that it is all-consuming, and that a quiet, contemplative writing life is almost impossible to balance with the chaotic energy of a young dog. So, I am thinking that while my life is upended by the puppy, it might be a good opportunity to write about that experience — to think about my writing life in relation to the dogs I have lived with, and to explore other writers’ relationships with their dogs. What does a dog bring to the writing life? My writing life has mostly included dogs, but I have never spent time thinking about what this has meant to my creative journey.

After losing her last dog Charlotte suddenly (Charlotte being that one “perfect dog” the author has known in a lifetime of good dogs), Helen Humphreys decided to get another vizsla puppy and record her experience. The result, And a Dog Called Fig, serves as a “highlights-reel” type of memoir for Humphreys (she gives an overview of her upbringing and adult life, touches briefly on each of the books she has written, and describes what dogs she knew along the way; never getting too personal), and along with a day-by-day account of her and the puppy Fig getting to know one another and live together over the first couple of months, Humphreys shares brief stories of other famous authors and their canine companions, drawing some insightful conclusions about how having a dog complements the writer’s life. This wasn’t a deep or complicated read, but it was easy and enjoyable to this dog lover and I very much appreciated learning what Humphreys chose to share with me. (Note: I read an ARC through NetGalley and passages quoted may not be in their final forms.)

Just as a dog has no trouble moving from one scent trail to another, twisting easily from the path she is on with no backwards glance, so a writer needs to be able to take off on another trail of ideas without worrying that they are heading in the wrong direction. To a dog, there is no wrong direction. There is just this moment and these interesting smells and sights, and then this next moment with more fascinating experiences. A dog is constantly in process, and I have learned much from their approach.

At nearly sixty, Humphreys decided to waste no time in getting another dog in the wake of her beloved Charlotte’s passing, but between the puppy Fig’s uncontrolled emotions, constantly nipping needle-like teeth, and the deep freeze of a Canadian winter that forced them into close quarters, it’s no wonder that Humphreys initially feared that she had made a terrible mistake. But between getting to understand this new companion’s personality (as novelists must do with each new character) and learning how best to pace and structure their days together (as, again, novelists must decide with every plot), Humphreys soon realised that Fig was not Charlotte and she was then able to approach her new adventure as an unwritten page full of new possibilities. And just as Humphreys has always delighted in taking her dogs out to nature for walks as part of her writing process — to clear the mind and work over phrases and possibilities away from her keyboard — so too does she share stories of other authors and how their dogs fit into their routines: of Thomas Hardy and his territorial fox terrier Wessex; Emily Brontë’s giant mastiff/bulldog, Keeper, who kept her company on walks upon the moors; apparently, one can rub the bronze noses of Brom and Khina, the dachshunds that yet stand guard outside the former Moscow home of Anton Chekhov. And I was interested in all of it; read in a few pleasant hours as my own dog settled against my body and the snow fell outside.

When you know a dog well, and they know you, much is understood between you. It’s not telepathy but something else, some deep understanding that is perhaps the place that human language is always aimed towards but never really arrives at.

I don’t know if I really learned anything earth-shattering or essential with this read, but it was a pleasurable experience — combining two of my favourite interests, dogs and bookish things — and three stars shouldn’t be taken to mean that I didn’t like this very, very much.

[Literary Redhead · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely memoir on writing and the author's many dogs, including her beloved Fig seen on the cover. I really connected with Helen as she describes the impact her dogs have had on her life, and on an assortment of writers whose dogs meant much to them, including Emily Brontë, Agatha Christie, Maurice Sendak, and others. A delightful read for dog lovers, writers, and those who seek a comforting book on an inclement day.

Thanks to the author, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, and NetGalley for the ARC; opinions are mine.

#andadogcalledfig #helenhumphreys #FarrarStrausGiroux #netgalley

[Alan (on December semi-hiatus) Teder · Rating 5 out of 5]

... And a Writer Named Helen
Review of the HarperCollins Publishers hardcover edition (March 8, 2022)

I started Early - Took my Dog -
- Emily Dickinson - epigram used for And a Dog Called Fig

I remember an elderly friend of mine telling me with great authority that when you are young, you like the bright lights and excitement of a city, but when you get older, the excitement at the bird feeder is more than enough. I laughed at the time, but I can see that the dog walk might devolve into a similar kind of contentment for me. - pg. 151 excerpt from And a Dog Called Fig

I very much enjoyed Helen Humphreys' non-fiction/fiction mashup Machine Without Horses (2018) a few years ago. So when I saw her latest non-fiction/memoir And a Dog Called Fig I snapped it up immediately. Reading it, I discovered that I had somehow missed the historical fiction Rabbit Foot Bill (2020) in the interim, so will have to catch that up.

In And a Dog Called Fig Humphreys describes her first few months with a new Vizsla puppy, especially the 'teething' pains i.e. biting. All her adult life, Humphreys has had a Vizsla as her canine companion and as she raises Fig, she also reminisces about previous dogs, esp. her favourite Charlotte. Interspersed throughout the book are anecdotes about famous writers and their dogs, usually accompanied by a black & white photograph.


Photograph of Helen Humphrey's previous dog Charlotte circa 2012. Image sourced from Chatelaine.

The book is structured in sections (titled Beginnings, Character, Structure, Process, Setting, Pacing, Endings) which describe the early life and the gradual bonding of the puppy with its human. Each of these sections also allows Humphreys to draw parallels between how she raises the dog with how she writes a book. These are often very interesting and practical tips on writing, which I think many would-be-writers would enjoy and from which they would perhaps even gain a few insider tips. Such as:

Another example of the way a dog tells us what to do with them, and if we’re paying attention and not fixated on having our way, by listening to what they’re trying to communicate, we could get along with them better. This is not dissimilar to writing, where it is more effective to listen to intuition instead of trying to force your will upon a piece of work. - excerpt from pgs. 183-184 about SETTING from And a Dog Called Fig

Pacing in a book is what moves the story along. In poetry, I learned that a line will carry the rhythm of the body and will break where the poet takes a breath. Prose doesn’t have the same parameters as poetry, but I believe that its lines also echo the rhythm of the writer and that the metre of the prose holds within it the breath and heartbeat of the writer. That becomes the natural pacing of a story, and sometimes that is adequate, just to go with how a narrative moves organically. Sometimes, though, it is necessary to manipulate the prose, to alter the pacing. If a story is without much action or drama, a writer can speed up the pacing to give the narrative more tension and urgency, to literally make it go faster. This is done by shortening the sentences, chopping things up, rushing the rhythm along. This can also be done by cutting out some of the linkages. A writer once told me to delete every third sentence, as this will remove some of the natural transitions and enliven the language. Though it seems an odd thing to do, it actually works surprisingly well. - pg. 200 excerpt about PACING from And a Dog Called Fig

I enjoyed And a Dog Called Fig immensely and I think fans of books and writers and dogs will also have the same reaction.

Other Reviews
Pick of the Litter by Michael Strizic, Literary Review of Canada, June 2022.

Trivia
I don't know if this list covers all of the writers and dogs mentioned, but based mostly on the photographs alone they were: Virginia Woolf and Grizzle, Thomas Hardy and Wessex, E.B. White and Minnie, James Thurber and Muggs, Gertrude Stein and Basket, Maurice Sendak and Herman, Emily Bronte and Keeper, Zora Neale Hurston and Shag & Spot, Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Flush, Emily Dickinson and Carlo, Mary Oliver and Percy, Anton Chekhov and Khina, Alexander Pope and Bounce, Margaret Wise Brown* and Crispin's Crispian, Agatha Christie and Peter, J.R. Ackerley and Queenie, Alice Walker and Miles.

* It was rather wonderful to read that: "Also interesting is the fact that she wrote her most popular book, Goodnight Moon, as a homage to her literary hero, Gertrude Stein, using some of the experimental writer's rhyme schemes. Her last book, Mister Dog: The Dog Who Belonged to Himself, was inspired by her pet terrier, Crispin's Crispian."

[Stephen Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like talking about dogs, so reading about peoples thoughts on their dogs is interesting to me. I also believe that all of us prolific readers want to be writers, so conversations on writing is also interesting to me. Since the book is all about those two things, I liked the book.

The authors previous Vizsla died so she got a puppy and decided to write a book on the experience. In this passage she describes why she likes the breed:

'My first vizsla was my first dog as an adult. After much debating, my partner at the time and I decided on this breed because they had many traits that we considered highly desirable. Vizslas are not big droolers—the memory of Lisa’s constant drooling has remained fresh in my mind for decades now—nor are they excessive barkers, like Timmy had proven himself to be. They don’t require much, if any, grooming, aside from nail clipping, and they are the only dogs without an odour. They are athletic and extremely bonded to their humans. Vizslas are intelligent and adapt well to new situations and places. Also, they are exceedingly good-looking and have been called the super models of the dog world. Not that this should matter, but as Keats so aptly put it, “[a] thing of beauty is a joy forever.”'

What is not mentioned in that passage is that apparently Vizsla puppies like to bite. A lot. This was one of the most entertaining aspects of the book. Here is some bits about that:

'Worst biting incident so far today: Her little needle teeth hooked into one of my nostrils and ripped a section of skin and cartilage. Lots and lots of blood. She also bit my mother, who is on blood thinners for her heart, and things have looked a bit like a murder scene in the house today.'

'During the night, she has two modes—biting and sleeping—and she swings between them every couple of hours. When morning comes and I know my neighbours are awake, I throw her in the crate for half an hour while I go to the bathroom and make coffee and tend to my wounds.'

'The biting frenzy of the baby vizsla is so common to the breed that owners have given the attacks a term: sharkies.'

In addition to talking about biting, the author shares her thoughts on dogs. I think she was just spent time thinking about what thoughts she could make about dogs in general and her dog and of course dogs in relation to writing. I will share some of them in this review. I think maybe there isn't that much new under the sun we can think of about dogs, but it is still interesting to read the different ways people have to say it. Sometimes I am not sure I agree with what she is saying but still enjoyed thinking of it. So here is some of her thoughts on dogs which hopefully still stand on their own without the additional context:

'It is through our dogs that we remember who we are to one another—that we still somehow belong together.

'It is easy to bring back the dead by thinking of their dogs. There is something always alive in the memory of a dog.'

'|T IS THOUGHT that the bond between humans and dogs is especially strong because a dog is both mother and child to its person. The connection goes in both directions—being looked after by the dog in a maternal way, and looking after the dog in a way similar to how we care for our children.'

And as I mentioned earlier, and the title alludes to, there is a lot on writing. Here is some quotes I liked relating to that:

'Character, in dogs, often comes in challenging form. But is there something in the chaos of a difficult character that stirs the imagination of a writer, that freshens it? Can a bad dog help to make a good writer?'

'Dogs live very firmly in their bodies, Writing is very much about the life of the mind. So, having to cross we from one state to another, while jarring at first, actually opened up the writing process for me. If I just sat at my desk until my pen ran dry, it would have been harder to keep going. But by taking frequent breaks to go outside and exercise my body while walking the dog, I came back to my task of the book refreshed.'

One thing the author does to fill the book is bring in stories of famous authors and their dogs. She comments her thoughts on them in this paragraph:

'I have been thinking a lot about writers and their dogs as I have been collecting the little stories to include in this book. What is interesting in the photos I have been finding of writers with their canine friends is how the people look antique, old-fashioned because of their clothes and hairstyles. But the dogs always look contemporary, because a dog is a dog is a dog, no matter the time and place. The dogs bridge the distance between worlds, and they look the same now as they did then. Ancient dogs could be modern dogs.'

I had not thought of that, but I agree with her. The pictures of the famous authors and their dogs were a nice addition to the book. The authors and their dogs that are discussed in the book and have a photograph are:
Virginia Woolf and Grizzle
Thomas Hardy and Wessex
E.B. White and Minnie
Muggs, James Thurber's dog
Gertrude Stein and Basket
Zora Neale Hurston and one of her dogs
Mary Oliver and Percy
Anton Chekhov and Khina
Karen Blixen and her deerhounds
Alexander Pope and Bounce
Margaret Wise Brown and Crispin's Crispian
Agatha Christie and Peter
J.R. Ackerley and Queenie
Alice Walker and Miles

So liked the conversation on dogs, the writing, and famous authors and their dogs. I was thinking it was mostly on her new puppy she named Fig, but there was also a lot talked about on her previous Vizsla 'Charlotte.' I think in the course of the book she still hadn't come up to the affection for Fig as she had with Charlotte. I was thinking, for those who want to know, does the dog die in the end? that with a puppy you wouldn't have that, but there is enough details on Charlette's death to make up for the continued health of Fig. (Charlette's death is not too painfully detailed, and I still think people need to get over accepting having dogs die in the end of the book.)

'In the park, I met someone who had known Charlotte and she commented on how hard it must be to get another dog after I had loved Charlotte so much. I didn’t say it but I thought what a strange comment that was, really. If you have loved someone or something, why wouldn’t you want to love again? To not have another dog to love would feel like the difficult thing.'

'The weird thing about the puppy is that we are strangers, and yet we are locked in an intimate relationship right from the beginning. There is no gradual getting to know each other, and unlike caring for a human baby, there is no genetic link to the infant, never mind being from the same species and thus knowing a little of what that infant needs and feels. So, it’s a bond by necessity but does not feel easy. People keep saying to me, “You must be so in love with the puppy.” But I’m not. I don’t know the puppy, nor the dog she will be, and she doesn’t know me either. She would rather be back with her littermates and mother, and I would rather be with a dog that I do know well. I would rather be back with Charlotte.'

Very glad to have read the book. I would be interesting in hearing from anyone who had a Vizsla puppy if they had the same experience with sharkies.

[Mighty Aphrodite · Rating 5 out of 5]

Come entrare nella vita di uno scrittore? Come superare le spesse mura delle loro case, i loro schemi e ritmi così rigidi e, allo stesso tempo, incomprensibili, così lontani dalla vita di tutti i giorni? Ci vuole una chiave, una crepa attraverso la quale penetrare in queste vite così eclettiche e apparentemente irraggiungibili.

Helen Humphreys ci svela il suo modo di scrivere, il suo processo creativo, attraverso il suo rapporto decennale con i cani, che sono stati una presenza costante nella vita della sua famiglia, sin da quando era molto piccola.

All’età di sessanta anni la scrittrice canadese si ritrova da sola per la prima volta dopo molto tempo: il suo cane, Charlotte, è venuto a mancare dopo dieci anni di dolce e meravigliosa convivenza ed è stato, per lei, il cane della sua vita, la compagna in grado di salvarla da un dolore profondo e insuperabile, quale la perdita del fratello.

Solo la presenza di Charlotte è riuscita a risollevarla dalla voragine scura del dolore, riempiendo la sua esistenza di rituali consolidati e della frenesia che solo un cucciolo può portare nella vita del suo proprietario.

Continua a leggere qui: https://parlaredilibri.wordpress.com/...

[Catherine Marcotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book delivers exactly what it promises and more: insight into life with dogs and life as a working writer. Humphreys expertly weaves famous writers and their own connections to their dogs into her account of her own writing, dog-accompanied life. It is a valuable book for any writer (whether or not they have or want a dog) and a joy for anyone interested in stories about change, aging, nature, and of course, dogs .

[Tracie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author Helen Humphreys has crafted a warm-hearted book about the dogs in her sixty-year life and how they have affected her writing. She has lived with vizslas for over 22 years and has found that though writing can be lonely, just getting out to walk with the dog clears her mind and structures her writing day. Ms. Humphreys also tells of other well-known authors and their dogs and focuses on her most recent puppy, called Fig. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Florence · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the first third-ish of this book, I wasn't sure this type of genre was really for me, life stories and such (I bought this book for the cover) but then I started reading it in the back room at work (aka doggy daycare) surrounded by dogs (obviously) and it made it for a very fun and immersive experience. I enjoyed it lots

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am glad that I read "And a Dog Called Fig: Solitude, Connection, the Writing Life" by Canadian author Helen Humphreys. She invited the reader into the solitude of a writer's life and shared many precious gems about good writing.

It has been years since I had a dog, but my grown children have dogs, as do many of my friends. While reading about the author's relationship with Fig her new puppy, I thought of my friend Jane and her beautiful, energetic puppy, Louie.
Along with telling of many authors and poets and their relationships with their dogs, including pictures, Helen Humphreys writes about the connections each dog has/had with its owner's writing life.

Here are quotes that I noted:
"Writing is not simply about learning skills. Each new novel requires that everything be learned all over again, because no two books are like, and there are different sets of problems requiring different solutions when creating each one."

"I followed Woolf's example of how to live a writing day - working in the morning, walking in the afternoon, writing letters or listening to music in the evenings. That was the template I was working from when I was trying to be a writer in England in my early twenties, and I've always found it to be a good fit for my writing life."

"When writing characters, it is okay to create something in them that is a bit of a wild card."

Humphrey learned from her dogs that to have traits that are admirable is as good as having traits that are likeable. She remembers this when she creates a character. Also, she tries to find something in common with her characters, whether they are real or imagined, as it makes it easier to relate to them, to inhabit them.

"Writing is very much about the life of the mind."

"Structure in a novel, and in life, is the perfect balance of order and chaos.… A novel could be structured around 52 sections, each one representing a specific week of the year. This is a fairly strict structure, and yet what happens within those individual sections could be wildly diverse. I believe in the creative freedom inherent in this mix of the expected and the unexpected makes for the best writing."

"Structures is about setting rules for a story and then following them. But first, one has to decide what those rules will be. Does it make sense to impose a rigid structure on a novel that is more experimental in nature? No, better to have a looser hold on the narrative there, let it drift around more naturally. Structure is a kind of discipline and not everything needs the same kind of treatment."

"In writing, structure holds the story in place."

" Perhaps one of the hardest things to learn about writing is that it is a continual process. Fixing words to a page doesn't mean that they are permanent and inflexible. You haven't arrived anywhere, even though it feels this way. For writing to have energy it has to remain energetic, and this means that it has to be able to move and change. After finally deciding on a train of thought, a line of words, it is an effort to shift direction...a writer needs to be able to take off on another trail of ideas without worrying that they are heading in the wrong direction."

"Good writing feels alive because it is alive – the writer hasn't been afraid to scrap a line or alter direction to find out what is happening in their story at the same time as they are writing it down on a page. It is exciting to write like this, to always be in motion. To be alive itself is to be "in process.""

"Knowing this park as I do has made me think of how important setting is in a novel. Not so much what the setting is, but more what the characters know about it. What of a place is public, and what is private? What can be seen by everyone, and what is known only to a few people? My surroundings could be identical to my neighbour's surroundings, but if we are noticing different things about them, are using them in different ways, then we are actually living in different places from one another."

When writing, it is more effective to listen to intuition instead of trying to force your will upon a piece of work.

"Pacing in a book is what moves the story along. In poetry, I learned that a line will carry the rhythm of the body and will break where the poet takes a breath. Prose doesn't have the same parameters as poetry, but I believe that its lines also echo the rhythm of the writer and that the metre of the prose holds within it the breath and heartbeat of the writer. That becomes the natural pacing of a story, and sometimes that is adequate, just to go with how a narrative moves organically. Sometimes, though, it is necessary to manipulate the prose, to alter the pacing. If a story is without much action or drama, a writer can speed up the pacing to give the narrative more tension and urgency, to literally make it go faster. This is done by shortening the sentences, chopping things up, rushing the rhythm along. This can also be done by cutting out some of the linkages. A writer once told me to delete every third sentence, as this will remove some of the natural transitions and enliven the language. Though it seems an odd thing to do, it actually works surprisingly well."

"A fast pace in a story will move that story along at a clip and move the reader with it. Murder mystery writers are usually very good at pacing, knowing what to portion out when."

" If one is set on a writer's life, it is a good idea to be able to pace yourself – do not work too hard or too much, to make sure you have enough physical and social activity, to try and cultivate healthy habits.

"Writing can always be improved, and we could spend all of our time aiming towards a perfection of expression that is impossible to achieve. This is what makes it all consuming, and also isolating."

"Every time I write a book, I have to discard everything I think I know about writing a book. What worked for one book usually doesn't work for another, and the freshness that is needed for the approach depends on feeling that the book you are working on is, in a sense, the only important book. It is where you will say everything you need to say, and there is nothing to say beyond it. That's how you have to think about it in order for the writing of it to be new and full of energy."

3.8 rounded up to 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Paula · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love dogs,but this was terribly boring. Not about dogs and writers,but snippets of info and pointless asides.

[Jj Burch · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so pure
A writer and her dogs and
How to be and thrive.

[Kathrin Passig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hundebücher sind vermutlich als Genre einfach aussichtslos, ich hätte es ahnen können. Aber ich war gerade so begeistert davon, Helen Humphreys entdeckt zu haben, und das Buch fing gut an. Es sind ein paar interessante Gedanken drin, aber viel ärgerliches Füllmaterial über andere Autorinnen und Autoren, die auch mal einen Hund hatten, so als hätte Humphreys ihrem eigenen Material nicht ausreichend vertraut.

[rosie · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book was made for me. my dog’s name is fig. fuck whoever decided that it would be ok if any dog ever died ever

[Erika · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book!
Probably because I have a lot in common with this author.
I really connected with her perspective on new beginnings and also, coming to terms with the more difficult… endings.
How she enjoys and describes nature and the natural world also really resonated with me.
Highly recommend to anyone who’s greatest love is their dog(s).

[Ali Ives · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting read, in which Helen Humphreys relates the story of her life as a writer through the lens of the dogs she's owned over the years, as well as the troublemaking puppy that is her current companion. Interspersed amongst the chapters are anecdotes about other famous writers and their dogs (most of which sounded to be plentiful in personality and honestly quite horrible for anyone other than that particular author to be around).
I think what I enjoyed most about this book was how it made me ruminate not only on my own experiences as a writer, but on my own dogs and how they've shaped my life. As Humphreys told her stories of canine companionship, I dwelled on the dogs of my household, past and present, and what they mean to me. I reckon it's nice when a book sparks so much introspection (and often, in this case, discussion with people around me).
I did find her strict adherence to only one breed of dog (as well as what occasionally felt like a slightly down-the-nose view of other people's pets) harder to relate to, as a big fan of mutts myself, but overall it was an enjoyable book.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting (and somewhat self-indulgent) look into Canadian author Helen Humphrey's life as a Vizsla dog owner and writer. I really enjoyed hearing about her writing process and past books but I will admit parts of this book had me zoning out as she waxes poetic about her Vizslas. It was an interesting concept for a book - to look at writers and their pet dogs over the years but overall it was just an okay read. Dog lovers and die-hard Helen Humphreys fans will definitely not want to miss this one.

[Meg Androsiglio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book. I was ugly crying with the last 20 pages. My dog licked my tears which had me crying harder.

[Kris (My Novelesque Life) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5

[Clara Cere · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picked up and started this book two years ago. At the time, though interested, I was seeking other things and put it aside in search of escapism somewhere else. Now, years later, in a time where I would have loved nothing more than to escape once again, this book is the one that I needed, and who managed to touch me the way I yearned for without knowing. Juggling through my grief, my loneliness, and my growing desire to finally let my words out felt overwhelming. Reading through Humphreys' journey of similar challenges, with reflections I've often had, both comforted and inspired me. This book not only saw me, but spoke to me and helped reconcile and realize so much of what I was trying not to feel, so as not to hurt. But to be hurt is to have loved, and the words on these pages have brought me to the conclusion that there may be, in fact, hope. As I get another dog in the future, I will think of Yuuki, and of Charlotte and Fig.

All that to say -- writers, loners, thinkers and people who see their dog as their whole lives alike... read this book. Maybe it will help you as it helped me.

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book very much. Dogs were everything to the author as she grew up, and this memoir tells us about her life throughout the years, through the dogs that became part of her and her families lives.
Fig, is the most recent dog that she has owned and the same breed as one that had been very special to her, a Vizslas. Having this new puppy has been quite a trial as there is a lot of training to do, before she will become the perfect authors dog, who will sit by her side as she writes.
The bonus for her has been needing to break up her routine for dog walks, as they both loved to be in nature, and it was a good way to recharge before writing.
The author also gives us a look into other authors and there dogs, with there own set of challenges.
I have read one of the authors novels and have 2 more waiting to be read, so I am looking forward to that.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for a copy of this book.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very enjoyable memoir about the author’s life with a new puppy. Along the way we hear about her previous dogs, her writing life and the natural world around both dog and author when they walk together. There are also brief segments about famous writers and their dogs. The book is gentle (apart from Fig’s random “shark attacks”) and thoughtful. If you are a dog person then you will probably enjoy it.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful book the author wrote about her new puppy Fig. The book is written as a diary and the author hopes it helps her deal with the grief from the loss of her brother. I enjoyed the antics of the puppy and the photos and stories of other authors and their dogs. Enjoyable read.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A perfect read. Definitely my favourite book of 2022.

[Alsha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dogs + nature + writing + Helen Humphreys = an ideal book for me.

[Karim Alami · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the part where fig just started figging around

[Jennifer (formerly Eccentric Muse) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little too much minutiae -- i.e., a daily blow-by-blow of training a Vizsla puppy -- and a little too little of making compelling links between that and the writer's life.

I want to continue to love Helen Humphreys fiction and poetry, so I'm stopping now, at about 3/4s of the way in.