August addendum, Devon in town, and seasonal activities.

An addendum: And then August threw up her stolen treats and the next-morning's mini-breakfast. She's been punished enough by now, I think. For that matter, so have we all.

Today, Devon was in town. I haven't seen him in some time, because I was traveling and then because I was wiped out from traveling, so even a one day visit was glorious—although I am not yet sure if tomorrow I want all the distractions (so that I don't think about missing him) or nothing to do at all (because I may be spoonless and morose). Either way, today we made cream cheese-stuffed pumpkin bread French toast (the barely-sweet bread was fantastic for this, because the maple syrup really popped and all the flavors came together; in the future, however, I'd do bigger pieces of bread and plop some cream cheese on top, as the filling-to-bread ratio was low and the stuffing was unnecessary work) and carved some pumpkins—the first time I've done so in many years, and they will look fantastic on the front porch just as soon as we grab candles. If I have spoons and want distractions, perhaps there will be some seasonal stuff tomorrow; regardless, we have caramels for Halloween, I found a way to stream Hocus Pocus to the PS3 so we can watch it while waiting for the doorbell to ring, and I'll wear my cat-eared hoodie and my bell-and-tag collar. I even have some intentions for the leftover caramels (read: make stuffed cookies). These may not be the huge seasonal plans I had, but they are much more than I've done in some time and they're brilliant. (But I do wish my boy were still here.)

Book Review: Lives of the Monster Dogs by Kirsten Bakis

Title: Lives of the Monster Dogs
Author: Kirsten Bakis
Published: New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1997
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 291
Total Page Count: 110,992
Text Number: 320
Read Because: personal enjoyment, purchased for $1 at Powells
Review: Years ago, impossible creatures arrived in New York: intelligent dogs who walked upright and had the hands of men. A human named Cleo became their friend, and now she collates their story from their strange origins to the end of their troubled lives. Its bizarre combination of erstwhile normal aspects is certainly strange and can be offputting, but Lives of the Monster Dogs knows it—and by embracing its ridiculous novelty, the book makes itself a success: it takes itself seriously but never forgets the impression it makes, developing a sense of bittersweet acquiescence, quietly acknowledging that existence is ridiculous for everyone and not just for Monster Dogs. Indeed, it's a book full of surprises: pragmatic from the onset, the focus on the minutiae of the Dogs's integration into society is actually fascinating and revealing, while also making the strange premise convincing. Its a book of contradiction—impossible and believable, obscure but compelling, macabre and thoughtful, private but existential—and in large part manages to be utterly absorbing. Unfortunately, as the book continues it refuses to nail down its science fiction elements, and the growing reliance on what is essentially magical realism destroys that pragmatic detail; combined with a told-not-show interpersonal relationships (characters are often fantastic, but friendships between them seem to exist only because Cleo claims they do), the end of the book goes soft.

Monster Dogs is so ingenious and shamelessly weird as to be compelling, but it's more than a novelty. Recasting age-old questions about humanity into these offputting familiar/weird terms successfully revitalizes the issue, and so while back-cover comparisons to Frankenstein may be exaggerations, they're not entirely off the mark. Weaknesses pile up in the book's second half, but that doesn't stop it from being bold, original, and fascinating, as well as successful on the whole; it offers intelligent introspection, a delicate mood, and an unfailing dedication to its premise, and that's more than enough reason to read a book. I recommend it moderately because I can't overlook its flaws, but if the book's bizarre cover makes you look twice, consider picking it up that second time.

Review posted here on Amazon.com.