The Thang That Ate My Grandaddy's Dog: A Novel

By John Calvin Rainey

The publisher calls this a novel, but really it's a series of short stories that feature the same characters. Most of the stories are narrated by Johnny Woodside, a city boy who goes to live with his... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1561641308
• ISBN13: 9781561641307
• Release Date: June 1997
• Publisher: Pineapple Pr Inc
• Length: 360 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 1.3" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

Timeless Depiction of Life in the South

Much has been said about Mr. Rainey's gift for capturing the African American experience on paper. These statements narrow Mr. Rainey's gift. He gives voice to all the rural south. Reading his book, hearing his characters speak, I heard the voices of my childhood in central Florida back when folks remembered hard times, cattle country, and dirt farmers. I heard my own granddaddy's stories in Mr. Rainey's stories and heard the stories of my aunts and grandmothers, all told on the back porch while shelling peas. I suspect if they still lived, they'd hear the voices of their own aunts and grandparents in these pages. Mr. Rainey's words, his characters, their stories, are timeless. The things boys do to make mischief are the things boys do to make mischief, whether in Florida or Georgia, whether nowadays or back then. And "back then" can be a long way back. I wish my father was still alive to read this book. North Georgia in the 1920's, running barefoot across his uncle's fields with his cousins, and Florida in the 90's are just not that different when Mr. Rainey does the telling. Not unlike Mark Twain and Zora Neale Hurston, Mr. Rainey's characters and their stories are timeless.

A Tale That Sticks With You Long After the Story Has Ended!

I read this book three years ago and recently ordered a copy as a gift for my mother. Despite the fact that it's been three years, I still remember the characters, especially Grandma Gert, and the humor that they evoked. John Calvin Rainey did a spectacular job in capturing the true essence of African Americans in the South. It doesn't matter whether it's Florida or Arkansas, the warmth and wit knows no boundaries.

Rainey is among the pinnacle of African-American authors

I don't think I've ever "lived in a novel" as much as I have with this book. When you're reading it, you can almost feel yourself experiencing the same thoughts and actions as young Johnny, a boy who moves with his family to a rural Florida town. This is one of the few books I've read that depicts the life of rural blacks in Florida, a truly underrepresented population in American fiction. Only Zora Neale Hurston expresses this unique culture as well as Rainey, and that's saying a lot! Buy this book now!

LOVED IT!!!

'The Thang That Ate My Grandaddy's Dog' is the most engaging book I've ever read. It's hysterically funny and heart-breakingly sad in just the right dose. In my opinion, John Calvin Rainey gets everything right. This is what good storytelling is all about!

Excellent reading. Keeps you reading from begining to end

I found this author to be quite witty. He writes as though it's all happening as he writes. I found myself feeling that I was there or at least knowing the people he wrote of. Though I never grew up in a rural area, he made you live it through his writing. It was extremely warm and funny and it kept my attention from the beginning to the end.