The Last Days of Dogtown: A Novel

WOW!!Just finished the Last Days of Dogtown and I'm overwhelmed and very appreciative of the gift Anita Diamant has given to me and all who read this remarkable book.I am reviewing the CD version of the book. Congratulations to whomever selected Kate Nelligan. Kate so realistically portraying so many diverse characters. Check it out, if you haven't heard it, yet. It takes a CD or so to get into the "idiom" of the townspeople, but it is well worth learning. I'm a firm believer in the oral tradition of storytelling. A different part of the brain processes oral words from that which does the written word.The Last Days of Dogtown is full of stories of people that don't often see the light of day. The "downstairs" people. The people who build the railroads and don't become land barons. The people in the movies who are serving and begging. The majority of the planet's people.(The main trajedy of Hurricane Katrina was how it blew away the pretence that people don't get left behind to die by those who are better off.The oppressive poverty endured by the last residents of Dogtown was palpable. I could taste it and smell it. At first, I wanted to run and hide from it. The first CD was hard for me because I resisted identifying with any of the characters. I didn't want to suffer like they were suffering.But Anita hooked me with Cornelius's story. Hard as his life was, he didn't give up. I must say that Ms. Diamant's male characters are much more fleshed out than I remember from her earlier books. These are men I wanted to know and men that I cared about. Even the SOB's were interesting and real enough that they "belonged" in the story. I could understand their racism and classism as attempts at self preservation, not just blind, stupid acts.Of course the women were the most real and the center of the book. I have no problem with heroines and think that we need more "herstory" than we have, anyway. I don't think I've ever read a more tender portrayal of poor hookers. We usually see and read about those who want to "get out" or those who succeed in finding a way to thrive. Not in Dogtown.The book shows the misogyny shown to women who struggle to survive with so little: called witches or whores. The hard life of any women who chose to live alone, is clearly represented. Even when dead, there was not much forgiveness from the "Hireling Priests". Not very many choices for uneducated women who wouldn't/couldn't find a man.Same for the black folks who wanted to live a "free" life. Hadnt' thought about the bounty hunters who could kidnap a black person and sell them into slavery in the South. I loved the way the minister was blackmailed into leading Cornelius's funeral. And Ruth's having to pass for a man and then living alone with and like a dog says it all.This book is a very powerful statement of how racism dehumanizes everyone. This is still partially evident in the way many black folks in my neighborhood in a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia still look at the ground when they pass me, a white person, at the store or in the street.The stories of the Dogtown people are probably not that different from the rest of us. Looking for someone to love us as we are and not for what we can do or bring home is what many pine for, but few seem to find. To succeed in the search requires that we be who we are at the same time we are appreciating the gift of the other, when they take off their armor and open their heart to us.

It's hard to say whether Anita Diamant's "The Last Days of Dogtown," qualifies as an historical novel. When I set out to read it, I thought that's what it would be. Many of the characters presented have the names and the personas of real people who lived in Dogtown Commons in the early years of the 19th century, the final days of Dogtown.Dogtown or Dogtown Commons is the name given to a vast swath of land on Cape Ann, an area known for its granite, its wildness and "glacial erratics," immense, often other-worldly looking rocks left at odd spots by the retreat of the glaciers in the last Ice Age. Dogtown Commons was the original settlement site of Cape Ann beginning in the 1630's. Up until about 1750, the land was farmed, pastured, logged and hunted by descendants of original settlers. By the end of the American Revolution and certainly by the early 19th century, the last of the old families were gone. Remaining at Dogtown were mostly widowed women whose husbands died in the war or who were lost at sea, along with a handful of freed blacks--and dogs. Those who remained lived a marginal existence. It is this era of Dogtown that is portrayed by Diamant.Diamant introduces the reader to interesting characters with names and certain facts associated with real lives of Dogtowners. "Old Ruth" also known as "Black Ruth" was one such character, a freed black woman who assumed the name "John Woodman" who lived and worked as a man. Molly Jacobs was a real-life prostitute who according to Roger Babson's history of Gloucester, was known to "vamp the young men from the conservative families of Gloucester and Rockport." The character Cornelius was "Black Neil," another freed black who was one of the last-known inhabitants of Dogtown. Other key characters based on real people who lived during this period are Easter Carter, Tammy Younger and Judy Rhines. Members of the Wharf family, an original settler family figure prominently into the fictionalized tale imagined by the author.Such an auspicious start for this novel! However, disappointment set in. My hope for an historical novel tied to a fascinating place began to sink. Many of the richly-drawn characters deteriorated into twentieth-century, modernist stereotypes of themselves.In the early part of the book, Diamant wrote carefully with strong and vivid narrative, i.e., "Marooned by poverty, peculiarity, or just plain mulishness, they forged a thin livelihood selling berries and brews made of roots and twigs."By the middle of the book, a reasonably attentive reader could recognize that she was writing at a much faster pace and with much less polish. Her writing had become hurried, choppy and sloppy.By the last chapter, intriguing 19th century characters were transformed into 20th century modernists that were no longer believable. Her final chapter seemed to be written with the sole purpose of simply getting through it.What started out so promising ended in disappointment. Three-and-a-half stars is all I can manage.

As expected and appreciated, Diamant treats her characters like people she knows well and cares about, and she describes their lives in clean, forthright, and unapologetic prose. Few authors have Diamant’s gift for keeping herself completely out of the way of story.The plot moves neither quickly nor slowly; rather, it provides the reader with the insight to be able to imagine the characters well enough to understand what drives them to do what they do. I value this highly in an author.

Interesting and a race enlightenment

I hated to finish this book. Vivid descriptions, relatable characters (good and bad), and a dash of history; this is a loving tribute to life's second half and death's handoff to the living. I'm still savoring the range of relationships, and their courses through time.

I love Diamant's books, this is probably my favourite so far. Very original storyline and gripping.

A lovely read from start to finish. Was able to visualise the desolation and deterioration of Dogtown. Great array of characters and cried at the end. Will miss it

A great read from start to finish. Make sure the tissues are handy!

Another great read from this author. It tells a good story and the characters are well defined

Love love love