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The Last Days of Dogtown

The Last Days of Dogtown
The Last Days of Dogtown
A Novel  
By Anita Diamant
This edition: eBook, 288 pages
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Description

Set on the high ground at the heart of Cape Ann, the village of Dogtown is peopled by widows, orphans, spinsters, scoundrels, whores, free Africans, and "witches." Among the inhabitants of this hamlet are Black Ruth, who dresses as a man and works as a stonemason; Mrs. Stanley, an imperious madam whose grandson, Sammy, comes of age in her brothel; Oliver Younger, who survives a miserable childhood at the hands of his aunt; and Cornelius Finson, a freed slave. At the center of it all is Judy Rhines, a fiercely independent soul, deeply lonely, who nonetheless builds a life for herself against all imaginable odds.

Rendered in stunning, haunting detail, with Diamant's keen ear for language and profound compassion for her characters, The Last Days of Dogtown is an extraordinary retelling of a long-forgotten chapter of early American life.

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"A deeply satisfying novel, populated by people we care about, delineated in spare, elegant prose...Moving, absorbing and engaging."

-- Kirkus Reviews

³Anita Diamant gives us a character who doesn't get from life exactly what she wants but who creates her own happiness, nonetheless. Judy Rhines lives life fully by embracing every moment and appreciating the uniqueness of others and her own integrity. Both Judy and the haunted New England landscape evoke something of the world of Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and his Hester Prynne, who also defies convention by following her own passion. The Last Days of Dogtown transports the reader to a fascinating time and place where even the dogs are compelling characters."

-- Sena Jeter Naslund, author of Ahab's Wife and Four Spirits

"[W]hat [Diamant] has createdŠis the overlay of a modern sensibility on an imagined past. Diamant's descriptive passages are as eloquent as a CongregationalistŠand her theme -- that life teems even as it dwindles -- has all the more power for its subtle, unsentimental articulation."

-- Washington Post

"Anita DiamantŠbrings an obscure piece of American history to life with great clarity in The Last Days of Dogtown. The story is one of delicate hope and turns out to be a quiet tribute to love's power. Diamant captures with imagination and credibility the people of a unique place and time. In casting her own spell over the Dogtowners, Diamant offers her readers the opportunity to appreciate the humanity that transcends both."

-- Miami Herald

"[A] superb historical novel. With its cast of thoroughly engaging characters, Diamant's gripping tale is so bittersweet and haunting as to make one weep."

-- The Baltimore Sun

"A group of savvy women in early-1800s Massachusetts refuse to live by society's rules. Their dramas are soap opera juicy--but much better written."

-- Glamour

"Diamant's fans won't be surprised to see that she continues to excel at creating memorable charactersŠ But the character that's the most moving is the dying town itself."

-- Boston Magazine

"The book is haunting, partly because of Diamant's lyrical language and partly because of the townspeople that she creates. The Last Days of Dogtown is well worth making the trip from town on up to the rocky hillside where Diamant brings her characters to life. Their voices -- and the eyes of the dogs, as well -- will linger with you for days."

-- St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"Diamant's tart observations - about human frailty and a landscape where "rocks are by far the most reliable crop" - are a pleasure to read."

-- Seattle Times

"[A] historically detailed story of class struggle, disappointment and long suffering. The characters are transformed into beloved (and sometimes hated), familiar friends."

-- The Denver Post
Diamant’s ‘Day After Night’ brings human drama to surface
Jewish News Weekly, December 19, 2009
...the expense of the detail that sets the scene. Thus, there is something apt in the focus of Anita Diamant’s new book, “Day After Night,” which instead points to the untold personal narrative. Diamant’s fiction concentrates on the ...
Down to the wire
Jerusalem Post, November 20, 2009
...the expense of the detail that sets the scene. Thus, there is something apt in the focus of Anita Diamant's new book, Day After Night, pointing rather to the untold personal narrative. Diamant's fiction concentrates on the exceptional ...
Review | Four women bond after escaping Holocaust in 'Day After Night'
Miami Herald, September 24, 2009
...Day After Night. Anita Diamant. Scribner. 320 pages. $27. The Old Testament women in Anita Diamant's phenomenal bestseller The Red Tent shared everything. They ``traded secrets like bracelets'' and passed them on through ...
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