Dogs in Literature:
“A Big Little Life: A Memoir of a Joyful Dog” by Dean Koontz…
When Dean Koontz fans hear he has written another novel, they order ahead for instant shipping or hot-foot it to their local bookseller to grab a copy. Koontz has been hitting the New York Times bestseller lists for decades, never failing to provide a roller-coaster ride to his readers full of twists, turns, chills and thrills. They will be rocked back on their heels to find that A BIG LITTLE LIFE is a tender, insightful, loving homage to Trixie, a Golden retriever companion dog whom Dean and his wife of 35 years, Gerda, took into their southern California home in 1998.
The Koontzes have long been big supporters of Canine Companions for Independence, a Southern California dog training center. But because of their intense work schedule and frequent travel, they shied from the full-time commitment of bringing a pet of any kind into their home. They were finally persuaded by friends at CCI to adopt a three-year-old Golden retriever who needed placement in a forever home because she could no longer work as a service dog for health reasons.
Enter Trixie, who would change Dean and Gerda’s lives forever. Koontz’s writing style is lightning-speed, page-turning prose of murder and mayhem, high-speed chases and things that go bump in the night. But when he commits this homage to Trixie to paper, he uses all his prodigious writing skills to tell the story not only of companion dogs and this very special one, but also his own autobiography, beginning in his childhood.