Writing Tips Oasis

Review – A Pug’s Tale by Alison Pace

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This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.

Pugs tale
REVIEWED BY AMANDA KEATS

As a general rule, people are either cat people or dog people - I am neither. So when a "dog book" arrived for me to read I was somewhat underwhelmed – that is until I started to read this delightful addition that made me smile so much my face ached! 

A Pug's Tale is a story of art, culture, Manhattan treasures, theft and … well dogs (pugs to be precise). It is a rarity amongst its type – the silly book that does not dumb down for its readers. It manages to not take itself too seriously although the main plot is actually a serious one. Our heroine, Hope, works in the art conservation department at the MET museum and discovers a prized painting left one night leaning against a wall. On closer inspection she discovers it to be a fake, and learns that the real one is no longer on the wall where it should be. Her bosses decide to keep it a secret to avoid press involvement and discover the culprit themselves but they soon start to suspect each other.

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 Of course it helps that the whole thing is set in New York, one of my favourite places in the world and offers a backstage pass to the mind-blowing MET museum. But what makes this book brilliant is its humour. There is humour in everyday life and Pace has clearly found a way to harness it. It doesn't feel staged or over-indulgent, just real and heart-warming.

 

 
The love Hope feels for Max, her pug, is that of any true dog person. She takes him to work with her so he isn't alone, walks him round Central Park and has him on a strict diet and exercise regime to shed a few excess pounds. But Hope is just as messed up and lonely as the rest of us. Her amazing boyfriend Ben has been in remote Africa doing noble work for months and isn't back for another two (but who's counting). Of course, she is incredibly proud of her man but can't deny that part of her that just wants him there with her. That is what makes her such a likeable character. She has clearly diverted all her wasted love and affection for her man on the next best thing – her man's dog. She explores her own issues with a bitter-sweet honesty that is refreshing and easily identifiable and seeing her become the dog person she never imagined she would be is believable and completely adorable. Then as she realises that Max has instincts as much as any human and could actually prove helpful in her search for the art thief, the book takes even more amusing turns.

A Pug's Tale is a hidden treasure in itself. It reads like a great, clever and totally fun chick flick – in book form. It is witty, funny, clever and silly and has a fantastically written bunch of characters from the messed-up and endearing to the wacky and intriguing.
I wonder who will play Hope in the film version…

8.5/10