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Dog Days
by Ana Marie Cox
The debut novel from Ana Marie Cox (better known as the political blogger Wonkette) revolves around Washington D.C. insiders, a Presidential candidate, and, yes, political bloggers.
Riverhead, 288 pages
01/05/2006
$23.95
ISBN: 1594489017
Fiction
General Literature & Fiction
All reviews are classified as one of five grades: Outstanding (4 points), Favorable (3), Mixed (2), Unfavorable (1) and Terrible (0). To calculate the Metascore, we divide total points achieved by the total points possible (i.e., 4 x the number of reviews), with the resulting percentage (multiplied by 100) being the Metascore. Learn more...
The New York Times Book Review Christopher Buckley
If this sparkly, witty - occasionally vicious - little novel is any indication of Wonkette's talent, then Cox ought to log out of cyberspace and start calling herself Novelette.
Library Journal Sheila Riley
Although a tad tawdry and scattered, this so-called inside look at DC politics easily beats last year's navel-gazing DC blog book, "The Washingtonienne," by Jessica Cutler. [1 Feb 2006, p.69]
Bookslut Aja Gabel
Dog Days isn’t profound writing by any means. But then again, no one expects it to be. The chapters are short, the scenes jagged, and there are clumsy shifts in points of view.
USA Today Carol Memmott
Cox's book is less risqué and more a behind-the-scenes look at the seamy -- not the steamy -- side of politics. It has its share of sex, but it also has something else: a protagonist who comes of age the good-old-fashioned way.
Village Voice Izzy Grinspan
Wonkette's voice succeeds because it's fast and gutter-minded: Without the butt-sex jokes, all that's left is stylized cynicism.
Wall Street Journal Mark Gauvreau Judge
Like many first-time novelists, she is rather too fond of her own wit.
Washington Post P.J. O'Rourke
Dog Days is devoid of ideas or even references to ideas, thus giving an accurate picture of practical politics at campaign time, as if anyone needed this.
Booklist Ilene Cooper
Cox easily captures the incestuous and ultimately vapid relationships politics engenders, but that's part of the book's problem. No one is likable here, and all the frenetic action seems pointless. [1 Dec 2005, p.4]
Kirkus Reviews
Just call it Bridget Jones Goes to Washington or Sex and the Capital City, though readers hoping for some real-life dirt (or at least a salacious facsimile) will be dealt nothing more than lightweight fluff and throwaway farce. [1 Dec 2005, p.1244]
The Onion A.V. Club Scott Tobias
Cox understands the inbred culture of politicians, journalists, lobbyists, and campaign activists so well that she makes the whole scene freshly repulsive. This counts as an accomplishment of sorts, albeit a dubious one: Rarely do good novels make readers want to flee their characters' company and look for the nearest open bar.
San Francisco Chronicle Marc Herman
On balance, though, Cox has told us little about Washington, in a story that entertains us less than it might have. It's a mystery why she decided to pull punches as a novelist that she has proved she can land as a columnist. It's unfortunate that "Dog Days" wasn't written by Wonkette.
Los Angeles Times Diana Wagman
This novel seems like an overwrought online entry, a mishmash of stories, name-dropping and sex. [8 Jan 2006]
The New York Times Janet Maslin
Anyone expecting "Dog Days" to sound like Wonkette will wait a long time for any Wonkette wit to kick in.
Publishers Weekly
Cox aims for a light comedy of Washington power, halfway between Primary Colors and Sex and the City. Her powers of plot construction, though, don't match her political savvy: emotions are predictable, plot twists few. [12 Dec 2005, p.40]
The New Yorker
Aims at being a satire of Washington mores but comes off as Beltway chick lit.
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