The LoneDogs of Scrabble (a Canine TreeLeg Chorus) uniquely sports a separate dog narrative (indicated by small dog icons) which is threaded throughout the book, seamlessly interwoven into the human narrative. Four dogs are sentient beings and protagonists in LoneDogs, and their distinctive perspective on the human world is deftly brought to life through their language. The subtitle reflects a hint of this by use of “TreeLeg”, which is one of three canine words used to refer to humans. Although the canine voice is mostly understandable in context, a "Dog Dictionary," is included in the rear of the book.
The human relationships in LoneDogs are far-reaching with quick-paced dialogue, likeable characters, and multilayered relationships. The human story, set in rural Pennsylvania, begins with Jonas, a highly creative thirteen-year-old boy who aspires to be a writer and overtly asserts his own style. In school he meets Roy, a sharp-tongued teen from Oklahoma with an acerbic disdain for the immaturity of his classmates. The plot centers around three culturally dissimilar teens and their families, who interrelate through a gamut of emotions in a continuum of events.
The overall elegance of Redwood's writing style is ingeniously illuminated by a "shifting viewpoint narrative" where the voice of the human and canine narratives change with the character in focus. The LoneDogs of Scrabble has already reached a wide appreciative audience of young adults, seniors, and dog /animal lovers. Indeed, it is a tour de force of creativity, and decidedly an upbeat and adventurous page turner for multi-generational readers and has been touted as a “modern Mark Twain.”
SANTA FE WRITER'S PROJECT: Every once in a while, when I've served in the capacity of judge for a literary competition, I come across writing that, while not a final prizewinner, demands further comment. The Lone Dogs of Scrabble is just such a piece! May I say at the outset that Lone Dogs is clearly more than a book. It's an art piece! Sculptural, pictorial, filagreed.. .I simply wanted to assure you that the multiple design elements were not lost on any of us at the Santa Fe Writers Project. This book is clearly in aa class by itself in terms of its of its imaginative look and presentation. As to the writing, clearly you have a complicated vision and a wide-ranging aim... This is a suprisingly assured piece of work! Certainly your courage in attempting such a large and innovative tale is self-evident-and impressed all of us who came in contact with Lone Dogs.
SANTA FE WRITER'S PROJECT: Every once in a while, when I've served in the capacity of judge for a literary competition, I come across writing that, while not a final prizewinner, demands further comment. The Lone Dogs of Scrabble is just such a piece! May I say at the outset that Lone Dogs is clearly more than a book. It's an art piece! Sculptural, pictorial, filagreed.. .I simply wanted to assure you that the multiple design elements were not lost on any of us at the Santa Fe Writers Project. This book is clearly in aa class by itself in terms of its of its imaginative look and presentation. As to the writing, clearly you have a complicated vision and a wide-ranging aim... This is a suprisingly assured piece of work! Certainly your courage in attempting such a large and innovative tale is self-evident-and impressed all of us who came in contact with Lone Dogs.
Anna M. Edling, V.M.D. I highly recommend ! Characters were refreshing, intelligent, clever, decent and… knew how to be true friends; I wanted to be where there were people like these … satisfying to read into the depth of their lives. I was most impressed that such a diverse group of characters could all come from the same author... kept me turning pages & I felt uplifted ...two other things set this book apart: (1) The study of human to canine and canine to canine interactions. From a veterinarian’s point of view, I feel most dogs need a lot more than we allow them to and they were lucky because they got to work and learn, and their hierarchy was well-defined. (2)Unique also to this book was, amidst the realism was the author’s touching upon the mystical. To the author’s credit, the canines were not anthropomorphized-- fully their own dogs a what they sensed and felt was handled in detail. The in-depth study of the canines was an intriguing addition and based on my knowledge of and based on my knowledge of canine behavior- very well done.
