The Dog Stars - Heller

In Peter Heller's, The Dog Stars, "Hig survived the flu that killed everyone he knows. His wife is gone, his friends are dead, he lives in the hangar of a small abandoned airport with his dog, his only neighbor a gun-toting misanthrope. In his 1956 Cessna, Hig flies the perimeter of the airfield or sneaks off to the mountains to fish and pretend that things are the way they used to be. But when a random transmission somehow beams through his radio, the voice ignites a hope deep inside him that a better life–something like his old life–exists beyond the airport. Risking everything, he flies past his point of no return–not enough fuel to get him home–following the trail of the static-broken voice on the radio. But what he encounters and what he must face–in the people he meets, and in himself–is both better and worse than anything he could have hoped for." (PeterHeller.net)

“A dreamy, post-apocalyptic love letter to things of beauty, big and small: a twitching trout, a can of Sprite, empathy, sex, decency, and a good dog.” (Gillian Flynn, author of Gone Girl )



Let me just start by saying that I hate, HATE, books where animals die. I am a big old wimpy, wimp and as my sweet little kitty ages (14 years old) I become less able to get through such a scene without sobbing and facing the inevitable future. And, this book just happened to ruin a delicious ice cream sundae...I just couldn't finish it I was crying that hard.

That said, this was a really beautifully written book about not just loss, but about appreciating what you've got before it is gone. I really enjoyed the read and suggest others check it out too - just remember your box of tissues!


4/5- Great. Push it on your friends and family.