Book Description 

After months of planning a romantic holiday getaway in Venice, Paul is blindsided when his five-year marriage suddenly unravels. Fueled by heartbreak, Paul endeavors to take the trip alone.

Soon after arriving in Italy, he notices a small, scruffy, self-assured dog trotting alongside a canal with the confidence he so desperately wants for himself. When their paths cross again, Paul feels compelled to learn how his new four-legged friend thrives on his own. Amid the food, sights, and welcoming people of Venice, Paul’s journey culminates in a magical encounter that leads him to feel real connection—to a dog, to a foreign city and, most importantly, to himself.

Capturing Steven Rowley’s signature wit, insight, and indelible characters, The Dogs of Venice offers another timeless story of love lost, and independence found—a holiday tonic for the soul.

My Review 

The Guncle is one of my favorite books of all time, so I was definitely excited about the opportunity to read this book. However, I was disappointed when I realized that this was a tiny novella and not a full-length novel. 

However, I am going to put aside my sad feelings and judge the book on its content and not its size. 

Protagonist Paul decides to make limonate out of lemons after his unexpected divorce and go on the Christmas trip to Venice alone. While in the City of Canals, Paul sees a scrappy street dog several times and becomes determined to track down the elusive canine. Along the way, he rediscovers who he is, something he had lost sight of in the aftermath of his divorce. 

This book is a nice combination of poignant and sweet with a big dash of the humor I can recognize as Rowley’s signature style. Even though the trip is a bit of a downer now that the romantic couple’s trip has been downgraded to a solo venture, Paul can still find humor in the minutiae with snide (but not mean) observations and self-deprecating humor. 

I would recommend The Dogs of Venice. I somehow missed that this book started as an Audible Original narrated by Neil Patrick Harris. I know that Rowley narrates several of his other books, but I did listen to a preview of this book and I do think the novella format is better suited for audio rather than print/digital form. I wish this book was longer, although I can admit that the story felt fully fleshed-out and resolved by the end.  

I received a digital ARC of this book from Penguin/NetGalley.