Heating Up

I read Dog Days over a week in which summer came to Los Angeles with a vengeance. It's been hot enough to recall the Dog Days of August 2004, which I - like Melanie, the novel's heroine - spent in DC. Unlike her, however, I was not hooking up with my married lover in fancy hotels; also, I walked and took the bus rather than jumping in cabs all the time.

All that said... I don't have an inspired review. Ana Marie Cox maintains some of her bloggery sparkle. And I enjoyed the "veiled" analogies to actual Beltway personages and events. And like West Wing, it's an alternative universe that co-exists uneasily with the present. It is 2004 and the incumbent is a fool of a president named Golden; Yet Cox mentions the Bush twins. (Etc. Some of these inclusions are rather funny, especially - and perhaps only - if you follow Washington gossip.)

A few things distance Dog Days from your standard chick lit, so far as I can tell. One is that it does not include your typical romance; another is a (slightly) nuanced ending. These are good things. What didn't work for me was Melanie's jaded tone. It's desirable to have acute observational skills and a sharp tongue; it's less so when said observational skills overlook endearing and redeeming qualities in people. What worked as Wonkette - a sexy and louche lush - worked because it was a put-on. One can't help feeling that Cox really cares. But Melanie - who should care - ends up showing us nothing to care about. Which may be the trouble with Washington today, but also makes for a bit of a downer.

So. The upshot is that I still think this was a good book for me. I loved the little Washingtonian notes that made me feel like an insider. (A central character works at my Austin Grill - one in a chain of popular but pretty icky restaurants - a location all of a 4 minute walk from my old apartment.) I still love Cox. But I would recommend her novel sparingly. Instead, look for her on the pages of Time.