I really wanted to love Even the Dogs because it looked at challanging issues that I am concerned with... however I and my book group found the endless drudgery depressing overshadowing any insights which may have been had. The writing style was an attempt to recreate the dysfunctional thought patterns of those affected by drug and alcohol misuse however it quickly became repetitive through overuse. What I found the most difficult (and added to the depressing air) was the flitting about in terms of story making it difficult to develop any depth with the characters; when I finally finished all 208 pages (believe me it felt like a lot more), frankly I couldnt care less about their plight anymore than I did on starting the book. It is only a story thankfully!

The realistic protrayal in creating the scenes and backdrop did lead our group to wonder about the authors background; the detailing was graphic in places although he never states which city is featured - it was somehow familar to us all though. This led to an interesting discussion about helping this section of society, which as he is saying exists everywhere in a truly helpful way and how lucky we really are to have so much.