Tweezle Reads

This book is not intended for children or adolescents, and Mr. Maccagnone states this on his Author's Note page in the beginning of the book. I was surprised at that, as I had assumed by the title and photo that this was an anthology of dog and child oriented stories.

"My Dog Tim" is a well written anthology. The stories were well written, and at times felt almost too real to be fiction. I grew up in a home where many members of the family were from the "old world" and Mr. Maccagnone captures that essence in those characters throughout his writings. Sometimes his characters were so real, they made me uncomfortable - especially when it came to the temperaments of the males.

These stories would definitely appeal to the male reader, since many are based on sports with the main character being male. They are gritty and carry a realistic and sometimes harsh tone. They aren't sugar-coated and contain offensive language, violence and tough lessons. Truly a book that would appeal to the male audience. At the same time, these stories also appealed to me, and for the same reasons. The realistic factor was probably the largest reason. Mr. Maccagnone must have known the same people I grew up with, as I swear there were times that I could pick out an aunt, uncle or a friend of the family. I could actually hear the tones of voices and the way things were said. My favorites from the whole anthology were "My Dog Tim" (about a boy and his dog) and "White Fang" (a humorous story about two brothers) with “St. John of the Midfield” coming in closely behind.

Parental note: This book contains offensive language, violence, sex, adultery, abuse, bigotry and racism.