A Dog’s Luck

By: Liora Barash Morgenstern / Narrated By: J Robin Ward

Length: 4 hrs and 13 mins

A philosophy dissertation thaaat… goes nowhere…

I understood, from the Publisher’s Summary (Yeah, I know: I read the danged thing!) that A Dog’s Luck was going to be a young woman who pauses from writing her dissertation for a while (Turns out? A looong while!) to look back on her life, her childhood, and that she’d perhaps be discovering connections, secrets, realizing truths. I dunno. Maybe with that and a few dogs? Who knows? It cooould be quite compelling, right?

As things happened? Uhm, no. Not really.

I had to listen to it twice to write this review as I didn’t write the review IMMEDIATELY upon the first listen, and I absolutely forgot everything it was about. It’s THAT memorable :(

Here’s what I gleaned from the second most necessary listen: Ellie, writing a dissertation on a subject that her father fears will never find her a job, for some unknown reason, is draaaagged back to looking at her life when she was a 9-year old girl, living in Israel with her family. Her dog, who comes to be known as Champion, has made her the focus of his life, and it’s driving her nuts. So they get another dog to keep him company.

At the same time, her grandfather has hit that time in his life when aches and pains might be getting to be too much for him, that independent life is nigh impossible, and there’s tension in trying to get him to come live with the family, giving up all he holds dear. Mom is getting screechy, so the parent’s marriage is becoming fraught. Things are going in a bit of a whacky manner between Champion and new dog Sue and the inevitable puppies (Since, of course, pure breds have to be bred, CAN’T have them fixed and NOT contribute to pet overpopulation…!). And there’s always the back and forth between 9-year old Ellie and current Ellie, remembering all these things.

And basically? Nothing happens.

A Dog’s Luck is mostly, I s’pose, a character study even though no character is studied much except for the grandfather. Even Mom who keeps bellowing about not being heard is not heard. Everybody hears her cries, but they just roll their eyes because, apparently, she’s done and said it all before, and she’s irrational and such all.

There’s a nice bit where grandfather remembers his wife’s last illness and the difficulties in raising a little girl he was never there for. And every now and then there’s a bit of interest thrown in with a dog story or two. Well, that’s what held my own interest at any rate, but even those episodes don’t have much depth.

When you throw in J Robin Ward’s lackluster narration? Oh, snooooore!!!! She has a rather halting delivery, not much way in inflections, and sometimes her extreme dedication to proper enunciation quite simply takes the fun out of the very little few bits of excitement that are written into the story.

No, I can’t say: BUY THIS! Listen to THIS! Not when there are sooo many other fine audiobooks out there.

Only 4 hours and 13 minutes? It still felt too long, and the yawn-inducing narration that delivers the abrupt ending just made me frustrated.

And I’d like to spare you that frustration too!

Audiobook Accomplice taking one for the team? Yeah, you’re welcome…!