The
House of the Two Three-Legged Dogs by Elizabeth McCracken is a plain spoken, realistic
story set in a domestic setting. It is told through an objective, far-away 3rd person point of view. Tony bought his son a cheap, broken down car for a Christmas present. As the story continues, the reader learns more and more about the family. Tony’s son, Malcolm, buys a
parrot from a
friend for his father, paying only half of the price. Sid, a friend, of Malcolm’s then tells Tony his son has left the country and is selling the house. Tony is
going to sell the car and the parrot dies in the front seat from carbon monoxide poisoning. In the end, he realizes that he’s not the only desperate person in the world.I
really enjoyed the way this story unfolded the past, giving it away in little bits and pieces, but never really giving it all away. Slowly you learn all about the family in the middle of the story that is being told. The
past is more important that the story going on now and makes the story worth writing about at all. There’s something very amazing about this technique to me. Reading stories like this, which use it, are always a treat. I also really enjoyed the tone because it is dark; the kind of story that sticks in the mind for a while.
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