BKMT READING GUIDES
Gone to the Dogs
by Mary Guterson
Paperback : 288 pages
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Introduction
This comic breakup novel will have readers cheering for its loveable, dumped, dog-napping heroine. Rena never meant to steal her ex-boyfriend’s dog.. She’d just been casually driving by his new house, taking stock of his new life and his new girlfriend, when the dog invited himself into her car. Okay, she stole the dog. But how could a dog as great as this one be happy living with those two very bad people? Unfortunately, being a dog-napper is the least of Rena’s problems. Her mother has announced she’s getting married to creepy Ronald, her former-pot-smoking-turned-Orthodox-Jewish sister has suddenly stopped wearing her wig, and her family won’t stop fixing her up with anyone single in pants—most recently, the ultra-nice Chuck, who knows all about Rena’s illegal escapade. If Rena’s ever going to get on with her life, she’ll have to face up to the choices she’s made, the dreams she’s put on hold, and the man who broke her heart. “Fans of Jennifer Weiner will eat this up like good dark chocolate.” –Debra Dean, author of The Madonnas of Leningrad and Confessions of a Falling Woman
Excerpt
First Excerpt:My love life, abridged edition:
When I was thirteen, Matt Stone dumped me for Linda Acres, she of the great legs. I didn’t even know women had such a thing as great legs back then, but Matt Stone did. Suddenly, our long afternoons of making out on the single bed in his basement bedroom under a smelly army blanket were over. He hardly glanced at me in the hallways of Captain Charles Wilkes Junior High after that. You’d have thought he’d never in his life tried to shove his hand up the front of my shirt and, finding the route impassable, tried shoving his hand down my pants instead. You’d have thought he’d never looked at me with his huge brown eyes and long eyelashes like a girl and told me that he really, really liked me. But I couldn’t have cared less. Making out with him hadn’t been all that much fun anyway. I hadn’t yet equated “boyfriend” with a person you wanted to be with. I thought it was all about making out. ...
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Discussion Questions
1. Rena believes her personal happiness depends on loving a man and being loved back. Is loving a life partner your definition of happiness? Is it possible to have real happiness, even when not in a loving relationship? Has Rena fallen victim to societal conventions? Discuss the differences between happiness, contentment, and satisfaction.2. Rena ultimately realizes that Brian will never be her life partner—that they will never get married as they once had planned. Yet when she leaves him the last time, she tells him that she hopes he’s very happy. Does she mean it? Is she being sarcastic, or is she being big about the situation? If you have ever had a bad breakup, did you wish for happiness for the other person?
3. Rena steals Brian’s new dog in an impulsive moment of romantic revenge. Have you ever taken revenge on an old boyfriend or girlfriend? What did you do? What was the outcome?
4. When Aviva/Alicia married Aryeh/Alan, she made an inherent promise to live under the rules of a traditionally Orthodox Jewish home. Is it fair of her now to change her mind? What do we owe someone when we make a pledge to them that becomes unpalatable to us later? What promises should a bride and a groom make to each other? Will Aviva and Aryeh stay together?
5. In all the years she lived in the building, Rena had never been inside Carl’s apartment. It isn’t until he dies that she gets to know more about him. Has this ever happened to you—you’ve gone to someone’s funeral and realized that you missed out on really knowing them? Should Rena have made more of an outreach to Carl when he was alive? What do we owe to our neighbors, and in particular, to our elderly neighbors? Where does responsibility begin and where does it end?
Notes From the Author to the Bookclub
People are always asking me how much of my novels are from real life. I usually just give them a shrug. But since you’ve been so kind as to read my book—or to consider my book for your book group—I’ll let you know how I got the idea for the dog-napping plot in my novel Gone to the Dogs. Years ago, I had a boyfriend who broke up with me (the idiot!) and then, almost immediately, moved in with another woman. One day, I happened to drive by his new house—the one where he now lived with the woman who had taken my place—and the two of them were on the front lawn, playing with a dog. I don’t know why, but something about the fact that they’d gotten a dog together made me incredibly angry. Well, I never stole that dog, but I’ll tell you—I sure thought about it! And so, when it came time for me to write another book, I thought it would be fun to have a heroine impulsive enough to take revenge on her old boyfriend by stealing his dog. I suppose I ought to thank my old boyfriend for inspiring me. But I don’t think I’ll give him the satisfaction….. Please visit my website (www.maryguterson.com) if you’d like to learn more about me and my writing. And drop me a note at [email protected]. I’d love to hear from you!Book Club Recommendations
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