"Paul Iverson, a linguistics professor, calls his wife, Lexy, at home one ordinary afternoon, only to learn from a police officer that she has fallen from a tree in their backyard and broken her neck. Only their dog, Lorelei, witnessed Lexy's death, and in his grief Paul decides he's going to teach Lorelei to talk, so she can tell him whether Lexy fell accidentally from the tree or on purpose. Paul delves into the somewhat dubious field of canine linguistics, even going so far as to get in touch with a scientist jailed for animal cruelty for his experiments with dogs. His skeptical colleagues try to get him to come back to work, but Paul's research consumes him entirely. Interspersed with Paul's quest is the story of his courtship of and marriage to Lexy, a beautiful, insecure artist who makes extraordinary masks. The brilliance of Parkhurst's novel lies in the subtle buildup of emotion as Paul digs deeper and deeper to discover the truth about the woman he loved, who may have worn a mask even when with him. The beauty of the novel lies in how powerfully that emotional wave hits the reader." --Booklist
Pick up a book at the circulation desk and join Deweys Do on April 8 at 6:30 p.m.
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