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Overview
"A charming, hilarious look at a little-documented world." -- People
In dog years, Robert Rodi is 350. Age, however, couldn't possibly have prepared him for his experience with canine agility-the athletic cousin to best-of-breed shows. Rodi, an epicure and urban intellectual, picks up agility with aspirations for blue ribbons. His dreams of glory quickly fade when faced with the competition: hearty Midwestern handlers and their ferociously fit pups, who annihilate scrawny, scruffy, Dusty, Rodi's rescue dog and would-be champ, in the ring. The duo is utterly lost in the agility circles, but as in the best human/pet stories, they forge an everlasting bond to carry them through.
Combining the wit of Christopher Guest's Best in Show and the charm of Marley & Me, Dogged Pursuit is an uproarious account of a neophyte's year in the dog show world that abounds in humor and warmth.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781101050910 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Penguin Publishing Group |
| Publication date: | 06/11/2009 |
| Sold by: | Penguin Group |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 288 |
| Sales rank: | 745,171 |
| File size: | 290 KB |
| Age Range: | 18 Years |
About the Author
His first novel, Fag Hag, was published in 1991 and was swiftly translated into Italian, French, German, and Japanese. It was followed by Closet Case (1992), What They Did to Princess Paragon (1994), Drag Queen (1995), Kept Boy (1997), Bitch Goddess (2002), and When You Were Me (2007). His first nonfiction book, Dogged Pursuit: My Year of Competing Dusty, the World's Least Likely Agility Dog was released by Hudson Street Press in 2009.
Robert's shorter fiction can be found in a number of anthologies, including Men On Men 5, His, and Sandman: Book of Dreams. His novella Glad, Gladder, Gladys was serialized online at USAToday.com. His literary criticism has appeared in the pages of The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times, NewCity, and The Harvard Gay and Lesbian Review.
Robert is the creator of several comic-book series, including 4 Horsemen, Codename: Knockout, and The Crossovers. He was a founding member of the Chicago-based performance art troupe, The Pansy Kings, who were active throughout the 1990s, and he wrote sketches for the Live Bait Theater's revues Junk Food and Dear Jackie: The Queen of Camelot Remembered.
Robert still lives in Chicago, in a century-old Queen Anne house with his partner Jeffrey Smith and a constantly shifting number of dogs.
Table of Contents
Prologue: Tragically, Hip ix
Part I
Chapter 1 To Dusty I Shall Return 3
Chapter 2 What the Dickens 13
Chapter 3 Class Struggle 19
Chapter 4 Dee-lightful 25
Chapter 5 The Obstacles of My Affections 33
Part II
Chapter 6 A Measure of Difficulty 43
Chapter 7 The Agony and the Agony 53
Chapter 8 Trial and Terror 59
Chapter 9 Doubt and Distraction 71
Chapter 10 From the Jaws of Defeat 81
Chapter 11 Tales from the Cryptic 89
Chapter 12 Friends and Neighbors 99
Chapter 13 A Glimmer of Glory 107
Chapter 14 A Day at the Orifice 117
Chapter 15 Magic Time 127
Chapter 16 Alley Oops 133
Chapter 17 Hounds for the Holidays 141
Chapter 18 A Rum Business 151
Chapter 19 One for the Team 157
Chapter 20 Polarized 165
Chapter 21 Bloodied and Bowed 175
Part III
Chapter 22 The Leash Tugs Both Ways 189
Chapter 23 Ifs, Andi, Buts 195
Chapter 24 Psyched 203
Chapter 25 On, Blitzen! 211
Chapter 26 Rescue Me 219
Chapter 27 Punc'd 229
Chapter 28 Not So FAST 235
Chapter 29 A Break in the Battle 241
Chapter 30 Hop Alone 249
Chapter 31 At the Crossroads 261
Epilogue: Never Give Up 269
Acknowledgments 272
Reading Group Guide
INTRODUCTION
Combining an inside look at an engaging, colorful subculture, a classic fish-out-of-water story, and an examination of how a man and his dog can transform each other, Dogged Pursuit offers reading groups a range of topics for vibrant discussion. We hope that the following questions will aid you in exploring the major themes, incidents, and ideas that populate the book—and inspire you to uncover more of them on your own.
ABOUT ROBERT RODI
Robert Rodi was born in Chicago in the conformist 1950s, grew up in the insurrectionist 1960s, came of age in the hedonist 1970s, and went to work in the elitist 1980s. This roller-coaster ride has left him with a distinct aversion to isms of any kind; it also left him with an ear for hypocrisy, cant, and platitudes that allowed him, in the 1990s, to become a much-lauded social satirist.
His first novel, Fag Hag, was published in 1991 and was swiftly translated into Italian, French, German, and Japanese. It was followed by Closet Case (1992), What They Did to Princess Paragon (1994), Drag Queen (1995), Kept Boy (1997), Bitch Goddess (2002), and When You Were Me (2007). His first nonfiction book, Dogged Pursuit: My Year of Competing Dusty, the World's Least Likely Agility Dog was released by Hudson Street Press in 2009.
Robert's shorter fiction can be found in a number of anthologies, including Men On Men 5, His, and Sandman: Book of Dreams. His novella Glad, Gladder, Gladys was serialized online at USAToday.com. His literary criticism has appeared in the pages of The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times, NewCity, and The Harvard Gay and Lesbian Review.
Robert is the creator of several comic-book series, including 4 Horsemen, Codename: Knockout, and The Crossovers. He was a founding member of the Chicago-based performance art troupe, The Pansy Kings, who were active throughout the 1990s, and he wrote sketches for the Live Bait Theater's revues Junk Food and Dear Jackie: The Queen of Camelot Remembered.
Robert still lives in Chicago, in a century-old Queen Anne house with his partner Jeffrey Smith and a constantly shifting number of dogs.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS