Treat Us Like Dogs and We Will Become Wolves - by Carolyn Chute (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

"Deeply felt, scorchingly funny."--Vanity Fair

Legendary storyteller Carolyn Chute's return to the setting of her bestseller The Beans of Egypt, Maine has received rave reviews from the mainstream press, with the Boston Globe hailing Treat Us Like Dogs and We Will Become Wolves as "unlike anything else you will ever probably read." Centered on one controversial man's attempt to create an alternative community away from the strictures of modern life and mainstream American society, and the scrutiny he and his Settlement come under when the media grabs a hold of their story, Treat Us Like Dogs and We Will Become Wolves is a multilayered, propulsive novel from one of our most daring and original writers.

"A 700-page piece of wonderful, infuriating, narrative energy...This is the work of a writer at the peak of her craft."--Minneapolis Star Tribune

"As always Chute's voice is smart, funny, and fired up about righting the wrongs of the world."-Boston Globe

Review Quotes

"Carolyn Chute is a James Joyce of the backcountry, a Proust of rural society, an original in every meaning of the word. She inhabits everyone in her creation, sees everything that goes on within it. And though we might at times rather look away, we readers see everything--and everyone--too."--New York Times Book Review

"Quirky, intensely original...an intellectual page-turner...Treat Us Like Dogs... is the work of a writer who defies classification. As in her acclaimed 1985 debut, The Beans of Egypt, Maine, Chute combines strident political commentary with humor, surrealism, and inventive language. Her novel, like its author (who lives off the grid in the woods of Maine), is multilayered and complex, deeply critical of society but fiercely devoted to humans."-O Magazine

"As always Chute's voice is smart, funny, and fired up about righting the wrongs of the world...The book has a breathless quality. It rolls over you like a tide, at times dazzlingly inventive... Fiery, impassioned, and unlike anything else you will ever probably read, you can take Chute's book as a warning, a letter from the future -- or from the present -- from people who are tired of promises and lies and just might not be willing to take it anymore."-Boston Globe

"There are works of fiction so flawlessly constructed, expansive in scope, daring in form and supple in prose that a reader has to pull back for a moment to allow time for awe. Such books endure, like cathedrals, monuments to the creative spirit. But often as not, you can make the argument that though they are Great Books, they aren't always great books...Not so with Carolyn Chute's latest book, a 700-page piece of wonderful, infuriating, narrative energy...
This is the work of a writer at the peak of her craft... she's not afraid to appear clumsy in the pursuit of grace, which is one of the things that makes this book great. And, yes, Great."--Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Deeply felt, scorchingly funny."--Vanity Fair

"Chute, a longtime political activist and champion of social justice, writes like a wild animal--ferocious, playful--making mincemeat of contemporary mores. Plenty to gnaw on here."--More

"A complex, multilayered story worth digging into, which explores, among other things, poverty, democracy in America, and the role of community in helping those living on the fringe of society take even the tiniest steps forward."--Booklist

About the Author