The Daily Collegian Review

April 14, 2004

The Daily Collegian online

UMass Student Triumphs With Debut Novel

by Amy Forni, Collegian Correspondent

My Dog The Meat Eater

Daniel Trask

One Tiny Pizza Publishing

Find a few spare hours and get comfortable because once you begin reading "My Dog The Meat Eater" by Daniel Trask you will develop a connection with the characters and themes. The experimental novel appeals to open minded readers by exploring several ideas and points of view.

"My Dog The Meat Eater" incorporates autobiographical accounts of daily life transcended in the direction of the fantastic. The novel intertwines multilayered themes including life and death, the deep connection and dependence that develop between people and animals, as well as people and land. The book explores the silent yet unbreakable connection between friends who share a common bond and love. Evident themes also discuss the impact of industrialization on the cultivation and necessity of farming and the hardships of growing up and the unstoppable time clock of our lives.

Yanni, Enridgio, Bag, and Bear devote their summers to maintaining the last existing farm in the town of Benson. Working alongside them, an old Puerto Rican named Louie entertains them with his broken English and enthusiasm for bringing life to the land. The boys grow together each summer and eventually pave their own paths. However, they always remember the farm. The stretch of fields they labored over continually run through their hearts.

Trask's poetic style and intense imagery open up an infinite domain of interpretation. The book incorporates the sometimes unspoken realities of life and succeeds in developing an emotional appeal to the readers. Trask commented that he "did not want to control what readers took from the book."

Trask's freestyle writing exercises the use of different tenses ranging from first to third person. The voices of dogs, mice and in dreams present different points of view. The speech style changes for each character proving their uniqueness and individual presence in the story.

The poetic and creative language, images, and human feelings float off the pages and into readers' hearts. "My Dog The Meat Eater" leaves readers in contemplation by questioning their own relationships and existences in our world today.

"My Dog The Meat Eater" is Trask's first published novel. As an undergraduate biology major at the University of Massachusetts, Trask spent nine months composing the 132-page book. He commented that the book wrote itself and "told [him] what direction to go in." He writes short stories inspired by his experiences, dreams, and relationships.

The book is available for $11.99 at the Campus Center Store, Food for Thought in Amherst and Broad Side Book Shop in Northampton. You can visit Trask's website at www.otppub.com to learn more about the author as well as read reviews from other readers.

<back