Rose in a Storm »

A versatile, modern writer about life at the turn of the century, Jon Katz has gone from "suburban mysteries" to cultural criticism to personal memoir. His spirited, often humorous musings have earned him both fans and critics; as he wrote in his last column for the web site HotWired: "If the quality of my work was sometimes uneven, my determination to rant was unwavering."

From New York Times bestselling author Jon Katz comes a moving and powerful novel, the first one inspired by life on his celebrated Bedlam Farm—and perceptively told from the point of view of Rose, a dedicated working dog.
 
Rose is determined and focused, keeping the sheep out of danger and protecting the other creatures on the farm she calls home. But of all those she’s looked after since coming to the farm as a puppy, it is Sam, the farmer, whom she watches most carefully. 
   
Awoken one cold midwinter night during lambing season, Rose and Sam struggle into the snowy dark to do their work. The ever observant Rose has seen a change in her master of late, ever since Sam’s wife disappeared one day. She senses something else in the air as well: A storm is coming, but not like any of the ones she’s seen over the years. This storm feels different, bigger, more foreboding. 
   
When an epic blizzard hits the region, it will take all of Rose’s resolve, resourcefulness, and courage to help Sam save the farm and the creatures who live there.
 
Jon Katz consulted with animal behavior scientists to create his unique and convincing vision of the world as seen through the eyes of a dog. Poignant, thrilling, and beautifully wrought, Rose in a Storm is a wonderfully original and powerful tale from a gifted storyteller.

Publishers Weekly

Told from the perspective of Rose, a farm dog, Katz's latest pits man and dog against the forces of nature. Rose is a dedicated sheepherder and fiercely loyal to her owner, Sam. When a brutal winter storm hits Granville Farm during lambing season, Rose's work is cut out for her as she attempts to help Sam keep the animals alive. But when Sam is injured from a fall from the roof and lies buried beneath a snow drift, Rose is left alone to deal with harsh winds, subzero temperatures, a lack of food, frozen water supplies, and the ever-lurking pack of coyotes. Happily, Rose goes into Lassie mode, singlehandedly saving Sam and the farm animals and as a result, our tough endearing canine goes on to become a legend in the local farming community. Having Rose center stage offers some poignant insights into the interconnectedness of nature and provides a small window into Sam's life, empty after the loss of his wife, Katie, but Rosie's dog-mind is limiting. Katz (Soul of a Dog) has written extensively about his own farm (Bedlam in upstate New York) and the nature of dogs, but while the plot is interesting, the book reads more like an extended children's story than a fully developed novel. (Oct.)