The Last Days of Dogtown

A Novel

By: Anita Diamant

Narrated by: Kate Nelligan

“An excellent novel. A lovely and moving portrait of society’s outcasts…affirms the essential humanity of its poor and stubborn residents, for whom each day of survival is a victory” (The New York Times Book Review).

Set on the high ground at the heart of Cape Ann in the early 1800s, the village of Dogtown is peopled by widows, orphans, spinsters, scoundrels, whores, free Africans, and “witches.”

Among the inhabitants of this hamlet are Black Ruth, who dresses as a man and works as a stonemason; Mrs. Stanley, an imperious madam whose grandson, Sammy, comes of age in her brothel; Oliver Younger, who survives a miserable childhood at the hands of his aunt; and Cornelius Finson, a freed slave. At the center of it all is Judy Rhines, a fiercely independent soul, deeply lonely, who nonetheless builds a life for herself against all imaginable odds.

Rendered in stunning, haunting detail, with Anita Diamant’s keen ear for language and profound compassion for her characters, The Last Days of Dogtown is an extraordinary retelling of a long-forgotten chapter of early American life.©2005 Anita Diamant; (P)2005 Simon & Schuster Inc. All rights reserved. AUDIOWORKS is an imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division.

Unforgettable

As others have mentioned, the chapters unfold and a set of characters are revealed while the author's focus weaves a tapestry from these disparate threads of seemingly small lives. It is only as each individual's time on stage ends and the story draws to a close however that we grasp how much each soul has indelibly touched the heart. With its excellent narration, this work may well become one of those journeys you remember long after the last sentence fades.

Excellent

Great story, a look back at just how tough life was in the early 1800's.

The Last Days of Dogtown

The vivid imagery displayed throughout the story interweaving the story characters living in a bleak and hard time in America's history. Excellent! In my opinion this Anita's best novel I've had the privilege to listen.

...they lived happily ever after

Decent novel. It is a series of little stories involving the different people in a small New England town-and how these events tie together. There is no main plot or who dunnit, just a story about people lost in a ever changing world. A nice little book to go to sleep to at night

Ladies & Gentlemen, This is Character Development

Anita Diamant is on the honour roll for character development! I don't know that I've read a book before that had so many richly developed characters. Each one of the Dogtown residents had multi layers of personality, motives, and viewpoints. Even the dogs and the town were characterized.

Anita Diamant's story was inspired by an article she read about the ghost town in Cape Ann, Massachusetts. I went online to see if there was such a place. There was indeed a town named Dogtown and legends about Judy Rhines, Tammy Younger, and Cornelius "Black Neil".

Each chapter was like a vignette showcasing individual characters and their circumstances. By the end of the book, as the last resident of Dogtown was moved to the workhouse, Diamant had tied them all together as a cohesive story about the trials and tribulations of the town that was known as Dogtown.

This was an audiobook narrated by Kate Mulligan who did a wonderful job in giving a voice to each character