Word: dogged
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...fireworks you experienced last weekend had more to do with the acid in your stomach than the starbursts overhead, you probably blamed it on that one last hot dog you ate before reaching for a bottle of Maalox or a package of Pepcid AC. Most of the time, these and other heartburn remedies are all that are necessary to settle your stomach. But if you suffer from regular bouts of acid indigestion, you may need more than just a drugstore fix; you could have a more serious condition called gastroesophageal reflux disorder, or GERD, which can severely damage the esophagus...
While Lyons is unable to convey much of any deep sentiment from any of his cookie-cutter characters, Dog Days is not without some positive aspects. Lyons possesses a breezy and enjoyable style, although it is not particularly complex or challenging. Again, maybe the one-sidedness of the characters stems more from the lack of any sort of complication in the plot or of the novel as a whole. Lyons has not made much of an effort to broaden or expand his characters--each is as constant and predictable as the weather in a coolly air-conditioned room...
...might think that Lyons would want his characters to imitate the mercurial landscape and climate of the Boston they inhabit. Sadly, life and art could never coincide in Dog Days, as life for Reilly and his cohorts is too predictable. At one point Reilly wishes that he and his girlfriend could be a happy couple, "the kind you see in an Eddie Bauer catalogue, healthy and well-scrubbed nondysfunctional Eddie Bauer couples do." If only Reilly realized how close he and his little clique were to the so-called Eddie Bauer ideal...
...more minor yet disturbing point about the novel is the scattering of scatological jokes and references to Coco the dog's bowel movements. In one revolting scene, Coco suffers heat stroke and Reilly must administer a cold-water enema to the dog not once but three times. We are given the details in their full glory, not only about the enemas but of Coco's explosive bowel movements as well. Consider Reilly's deep thoughts about how he must cure Coco's home-sickness: "There are worse things, I suppose, than having to give a dog an ice water enema...
Unfortunately, the simplicity of Lyons's characters, plots and dialogues becomes overwhelmingly annoying and frustrating. Not only is Dog Days generally unbelievable and insulting to many minorities, it is fluff that probably wouldn't even fly on a hot summer's day at the beach. Essentially, the moral of the Dog Days is that if you don't steal dogs from the Mafia, your life will be straight out of the Eddie Bauer catalogue. Wait a minute--the Eddie Bauer catalogue? No, according to Lyons, life for Boston's yuppies is only worthy of J. Crew...