Separation Anxiety

March 23, 2020
Zigman (Animal Husbandry) charts a chaotic time in the life of an eccentric family in her winning and droll latest. Judy Vogel once wrote a successful kids’ book, but she followed that up with two commercial flops and a case of writer’s block. After running across her 13-year-old son Teddy’s former baby sling while cleaning, Judy decides, on a whim, to start carrying the family dog against her chest. Having a warm body close to her eases the sadness of turning 50, Teddy’s sudden drift away from her, and her recent separation from her husband, Gary. Unfortunately (and humorously), Judy and Gary can’t afford to live apart, and cohabiting helps maintain a charade of normalcy (ostensibly for Teddy). Gary, who works as a self-described “snackologist” selling snacks online, makes the situation barely tenable with his debilitating anxiety, which he eases by smoking marijuana. Financial concerns are somewhat alleviated when they agree to host a troupe of “people puppets”—adult performers who put on shows as puppets—and a young couple also moves into the house, adding to the weirdness. But when someone begins defecating in the halls of Teddy’s school and Teddy becomes a suspect, Judy wonders what effects her instability might be having on him. Snappy wit often offsets the sadness in this zany yet moving story. Zigman’s dryly funny, inventive tale shows how hope can be found in midst of crisis. (Mar.)
Correction: An earlier version of this review incorrectly referred to this book as the author's first.

March 1, 2020

Zigman's latest (Animal Husbandry; Her) features Judy, a 50-year-old mother going through some serious changes. Her career as a successful children's book writer has tanked; now she's writing clickbait for a self-help website. Her parents have recently died, her best friend has terminal cancer, her 13-year-old son is growing up and away from her, and her anxiety-ridden husband has turned to cannabis to an extreme, all of which is debilitating to the marriage. Judy has a twofold approach to her problems; she tucks her Sheltie dog into an old baby carrier and wears the dog everywhere, all while wallowing in self-pity. Anxiety is a serious issue, but here it is treated as comedic fodder, while the dog in the sling will have readers pondering whether it is animal abuse or if they should just accept it as farce. VERDICT Readers who enjoyed Maria Semple's far superior Where'd You Go, Bernadette or Linda Holmes's Evvie Drake Starts Over may enjoy this, but it is not Zigman's best effort. She is a popular writer, though, so buy for demand only. [See Prepub Alert, 9/16/19.]--Stacy Alesi, Eugene M. & Christine E. Lynn Lib., Lynn Univ., Boca Raton, FL

Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 15, 2019
Can wearing the family dog in a baby sling save a troubled marriage? "Wearing the dog is ridiculous. An act of desperation. I know this....But there is the loneliness. How I startle awake in the dark, panicked, full of dread, floating on the night sea on a tiny raft surrounded by all that vast blackness." Once-successful author Judy Vogel is beset by problems. Her writing's dried up, her 13-year-old son is pulling away from her, her best friend is dying of cancer, her marriage is falling apart due to her husband's extreme anxiety issues, and hers don't seem much less serious. As the book opens, Judy and Gary are technically separated but still living in the same house. He addresses his condition with a low-stress job and weed; she finds her solace in a never-used BabyBj�rn that turns up in the basement. In goes the family sheltie!--and suddenly, somehow it all doesn't seem so bad. Zigman (Piece of Work, 2006, etc.) is adept at Where'd You Go Bernadette-style snarkery about her son's progressive Montessori school, her own job writing posts for a health and happiness website--"Are dogs the ultimate antidepressant?"; "If just seeing the word cannabis makes you anxious, keep reading"--and a New Age creativity retreat the couple attend. But the central premise of the novel is a bit unsettling. When Judy first puts the dog in the sling, she's aware that it wants to get out. Soon she convinces herself it's nice in there. From that point on she pays so little attention to the actual dog that it could be a stuffed animal. She almost doesn't seem to care about it as a pet or as a sentient being with needs. When she's attacked by a group of people at the dog park who charge her with animal abuse, you wonder whose side you're on. The author gamely combines characters and caricatures, real pain and farce.

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January 1, 2020
Judy wears her dog in a baby sling that she came across when she was cleaning out the basement. Craving closeness and comfort, the dog will have to do, as her son Teddy is now a distant teenager. To add insult to injury, she and her husband Gary are separated, but too broke to afford to go through with the divorce. So Gary is living in the basement, telling Teddy he sleeps there because he snores. Not to mention, Judy's best friend is dying. And her first children's book was a one-hit wonder, so her career has all but tanked. What else could go wrong for Judy? Filled with chapter titles such as The Secret Pooper and The Noble Journey, which describes a meditation retreat Judy and Gary attend but cannot afford, Zigman's (Piece of Work, 2006) is a world where motherhood, wifely duties, and career aspirations take hard twists and turns. With plenty of snark and a dash of humor, she shows just how real the struggle bus is, perfect for readers who like a heroine with a messy life.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)