Engaging and expertly crafted. A recommended purchase for collections where women's and lit fic are popular.

What a powerhouse of a novel. This is a must-read for people interested in mid-century photography, specifically Sally Mann. The book is a look at grief, aging, family trauma, and relationships through the lens of Bea, the 56 year old daughter of Mimi Marx, a famous photographer who died when she was young. Marx took photos of her and her brothers, and became notorious for a series titled the Marx Nudes.

In present day, MoMA and Hollywood come knocking at Bea's door, interested in Marx's legacy. But looking at the past, something Bea has avoided, is difficult and stirs up many old wounds. I found it fascinating that the book in a direction I didn't see. Family secrets get dredged up, and the idea that innocent art is actually not so innocent at all. I also liked Bea's on again off again marriage to an old school rock start 20 years her senior. Bea is thorny, and the book is often uneven, but my art history major heart loved the inside-baseball art world references.

Bea Seger is almost 60 years old with little to show for her life. Sure, she has a twice-ex husband, an apartment he pays for, a step-sister roommate, and a photo "Carry The Dog" taken by her famous mother. But otherwise, she remains stuck. Until one day when Bea discovers a storage unit that holds her mother's work and memories from Bea's childhood. Those items might be the ticket to her freedom, but they will unlock a few secrets, too, that might turn everything upside down.
I like that this book focuses on a mature woman. She may not know her mind yet, but she's real.
I almost didn't finish the book because it's pretty slow in the beginning, though. The flashbacks are annoying, too.
While difficult to read, the trauma explained at the end helps everything make sense.
This book is sad. And it contains potentially triggering content, including childhood nudity and abuse.
Themes include family dynamics, PTSD, photography, rock-n-roll, gender roles, and relationships.

Hmmmmm....I'm not exactly sure what I was expecting with this story, but it definitely hit differently that I initially thought. It was a story that had a more disturbing background and history, but it also made me feel hopeful for a different future for the family. A story of past trauma that can ultimately affect any sort of future one may have.

Bea and her brothers were the subjects of her mother's portraits when they were children. They were known as the Marx Nudes. The fact that their mother who was a celebrated photographer put them in disturbing photos as siblings was at the forefront of an investigation that did not end well. Now the Marx children are in their 50's and 60's and Hollywood and MoMA have come calling about these photographs and other pieces of their mother's past. Bea takes us on a journey of seeking out her siblings and seeing what they want to do with their mother's 'legacy'.

I am always fascinated with artists, the way they create and how it ultimately affects their family. Seeing Bea navigate all these things after the death of a parent head on was done quite well. What didn't quite work for me was some of the writing. At times it seemed very stunted and not detailed enough for a story about art and life. At other times, it was almost too perfect. I'm not even sure if that makes sense.

Overall, this was a story that could've been beyond disturbing, but the way Gangi thoughtfully navigated Carry the Dog into Bea's journey of finding herself and connecting with family while finding closure was done with care and a preciseness that worked. I only wish that soem of the writing connected with me more. It was definitely more of a me thing.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Algonquin Books for gifting me both a physical and digital ARC of this wonderful book by Stephanie Gangi and allowing me to participate in the blog tour - 5 stars!

Bea is nearing 60, still relying both for financial and emotional support on her ex-husband, Gary, an aged rock star who isn't able to reciprocate well. Bea's childhood was fraught with trauma. Her mother, Miri, was a photographer who exploited her children to get those perfect shots, in a series dubbed The Marx Nudes. It all ended in tragedy and Bea has been mostly estranged from her remaining family ever since. Decades later, both Hollywood and the Museum of Modern Art are courting her for projects involving her mother's photos, which have been kept in a storage space.

I adored this book, even though the subject matter of childhood trauma and exploitation is a serious one. Bea had to come to terms with her past before she could move into a new future, and she realizes that she had one memory of her past that was different from reality. As we age, I think we are all forced to face our pasts and become comfortable with our face in the mirror in more ways than just looks. I loved these characters, flaws and all. This is a coming-of-age story for grownups and gave me so much to think about. I also loved the author's note, so be sure to read that. Can't wait to read more from this author!

Carry the Dog is a brilliant and gripping book about trauma and how it affects one's life, grief, aging, how the past affects our future, self-worth, and relationships. I found it hard to put down and felt for Bea.

Bea and her brothers were the subjects of her mother's infamous photographs dubbed the Marx Nudes. Their mother Miri, a celebrated photographer, took nude photographs of them. Their mother made them pose in uncomfortable poses. Their nudes were famous and garnered a lot of attention. The attention was not favorable and there was outcry and an investigation. The end result was tragic.

Bea went on to marry and divorce rock star Gary Going twice. They have an interesting relationship and Bea relies on him financially and emotionally. She also wrote one of his most famous songs but never received credit or compensation for it. Yet, she keeps coming back.

Readers will see Bea at a crossroads. She is 60 years old and thinking about the rest of her life. What her choices are, what she wants to do, and how to move forward. She has been approached about the photographs and her life - a Hollywood producer wants to tell Bea's story and the Museum of Modern Art wants to show her mother's work again. What a decision to make. Does she make money off the photos and her life's story, or does she keep the photos in the storage unit and go on with her life? What a decision to make!

Bea is forced to confront the past while forging ahead with her future in this captivating book. This book is raw and compelling. Bea has a lot on her plate and has some decisions to make. Often, we just go through life, pushing things to the side, not dealing with issues or our feelings. But Bea is at a crossroads where she must look back, face her past, her feelings, her thoughts, emotions, and relationships.

I found this book to be well written and thought out. I look forward to reading more books by Stephanie Gangi.

Thank you to Algonquin Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

While this book was had subject matter I did not find interesting. I would give it 5 stars for anyone a bit older than me that would like a good romance about people their age and things that happened during their era.

Hmm, hmm, hmm. Reading this novel was a rubbernecking experience with many metaphorical pileups and head-on crashes and sometimes the cars just decide to run inexplicably off the road. There was just way too much going on for me to love it. It would have worked better or me if it had a tighter focus on fewer characters, and fewer outrageous acts to be revealed along the way.

I loved the encounters that protagonist Bea has with her own memories of her childhood, vs. the Bea revealed in the photographs. Loved every instance of Bea trying to grapple, herself, with whether she was exploited or not, whether her mother's work as a photographer of her children was abuse or art. I would have preferred to have had that tension fully explored vs. a story that gives such a strong answer to her questions about her past. So yeah I would have preferred other choices as far as the development of the story went but hell I do in some ways also admire the audacity of this story as well as the not-hold-anything-backedness of the plot.

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. But the words in this book about photography and life touched me more than any photo. Highly recommend this complex, beautiful, and difficult read.

Bea, the central figure of the book, resonated with me immediately. Raised by a famous photographer mother and twice married and divorced to rock legend Gary Going, Bea at first seems to outsiders to have a charmed, bohemian, enjoyable and creative life. But we soon learn that since childhood, Bea has had her own voice silenced by other peoples’ artistic pursuits. It began in her childhood when she and her siblings were forced to pose nude in a series of photographs made famous by her legendary photographer mother Miri. So scandalous were the famous nudes that an FBI investigation resulted, to determine whether Bea and her two brothers were being sexually or otherwise abused by their mother while being captured on film. While the FBI found no abuse and they eventually returned the children to their mother, slowly the book uncovers Bea’s experience with posing for her mother’s art, which was filled with trauma and stress since she was very young. A mystery also surrounds the early death of her seventeen-year-old brother.

Bea’s experiences in posing for her mother’s are are somewhat replicated in her now-defunct marriage to rock legend Gary, who for years used Bea as a muse without giving her proper credit or ownership of her own creative work. Bea in fact wrote Gary’s biggest hit but does not worn the rights to the song.

I loved the way the book let us dig deep into Bea’s psyche. This book had so much to say about the way art is sometimes created, the pain that can be involved, and I really enjoyed following Bea in her struggle to own both her own creativity, and ultimately to determine what to do with her now-deceased mother’s creative legacy, which her rocker husband now wants to turn into a biopic — his latest attempt (in my reading) to usurp and exploit Bea’s artistic agency.

This was a lovely and complex character study which at times was hard and painful to read but I enjoyed every sentence. If you are a creative person - be it writing, photography, music, or something else - you will enjoy the ruminations herein on creativity, on art and pain, and in difficult childhoods and adult relationships. I really enjoyed this author and look forward to reading much more by her. Trigger warnings for sexual and other childhood abuse should be mentioned.

Many thanks to Algonquin Books, NetGalley and the author for the deep and stirring literary read. 4.5 stars, highly recommended.

Wow. I am now determined to get many many people to read Carry the Dog. This is tough subject matter that unfortunately affects many today. This book will likely help readers process trauma if they have experienced this themselves. It was a privilege to read Bea's story.

However, I found the stream of consciousness, rambling style very difficult to get into. I tried many times over months and only made it about a quarter of the way though. If that style is more your speed and the above sounds interesting, you will love this book!

One of the books that made me uncomfortable to read. CARRY THE DOG brought a complex topic about childhood abuse that lived forever in photographs. Between money and trauma, the main character had to decide which one took priority. It seemed like an easy answer, but not for Bea, the narrator in this story. 
 
Bea and her brothers were the subjects of their mom's photos. Her mom was a famous photographer back in the 1960s. For outsiders, her mom's work was a masterpiece, but not for Bea and her siblings. The pictures were evidence of their childhood trauma. Decades later, the Museum of Modern Art and Hollywood were interested in bringing back her mom's works offering Bea the compensation she needed. 
 
I enjoyed the writing, but I couldn't overcome the disturbing scenes of Bea's childhood. I think childhood molestation got me very upset. But on the other hand, the author, Stephanie Gangi, effectively provokes my emotions through Bea.

I almost put down Carry the Dog after an awkward sex scene early in the book, but I’m SO glad that I didn’t. Gangi has created a raw, thoughtful coming of age story about a woman nearing 60 with childhood trauma that has stunted a lot of her own development. Gangi’s narrative is carefully written, with a richly detailed present, and a fragmented and hazy history that reflects the reality of traumatic memory. Gangi explores many complex issues, like navigating trauma that others dismiss, the lines between art and exploitation, and children’s rights to bodily autonomy. I appreciated seeing Bea’s growth throughout this novel as she discovered the things that she needed to heal. Please check CW.

Thank you to @algonquinbooks for a copy of this book to review. All opinions are my own.

Published by Algonquin Books on November 2, 2021

Carry the Dog is told in the first person by a woman who is nearing the age of sixty. Berenice (or Bea or Bean or Berry) Marx-Seger is still trying to find herself. She has a moderately famous ex-husband named Gary Going, a dying father named Albert, a brother she hasn’t seen in years named Henri (or Henry or Hank), a 22-year-old half-sister named Hannah (or Echo), no children, and temporary custody of a neighbor’s dog. Her immediate problems are a cancer scare, a potential museum exhibition of her dead mother’s controversial photography, and a growing feeling of loneliness that might be exacerbated by her hookups with her unfaithful ex. The dog’s indifference to her existence isn’t helping.

Bea is the child of Miri Marx, who was nearly charged with child pornography for featuring her nude children (including Bea) in photographs. Whether their poses were artistic or salacious is a matter of opinion. Bea’s opinion is unresolved, although she still feels the discomfort of being known as one of the Marx children.

Henry’s twin brother died in a fire while the boys were still young. Miri committed suicide a few months after taking photos of children at Woodstock. Bea twice married and divorced Gary, a rock star in an opening-act band who is now seventy but still seeking the spotlight. Bea wrote Gary’s biggest hit but has no ownership interest in the song. Judging by the lyrics, it’s a good song.

Stephanie Gangi juggles several dramatic plot elements. Bea’s life is full of unresolved issues and regrets. She regrets her age, her inability to attract the touch of a young man. She doesn’t know how to respond to MOMA’s request for access to a storage unit filled with her mother’s photographs and notes. Perhaps she should instead sell everything in the unit (she needs the money), but is that the right thing to do? She finds footage shot by a documentarian in the storage unit and comes to understand the impact that the documentarian had on her mother and on her twin brothers. She feels that she has been betrayed by the significant actors in her life: her mother, Gary, and most recently, Echo. Sometimes she’s right and sometimes she makes assumptions based on incomplete information, as dramatic people tend to do.

A series of events force Bea to reevaluate her life. Did she abandon her family or did they abandon her? Should she try to reconnect with her living brother or is it too late? Did her mother abuse her by photographing her in the nude or is that something she’s been told by people who don’t understand the creation of art? Did her mother have demons of her own that drove her to exploit her children? Are Bea’s memories of her childhood accurate or has she suppressed trauma? In one of the novel’s most insightful moments, Bea realizes that she needs to organize the memories of her past so they take up less space, making room for the present.

Bea has collected a good amount of baggage in her life, but the plot never seems forced. Bea’s unusual life has produced unusual problems, but Gangi makes them seem like real problems, the kind of problems that someone who was raised by a self-absorbed parent and who ran away as a teen with an older rock star might have. Bea is never weepy about her circumstances and the reader is never asked to pity her, but it is easy to sympathize with Bea’s difficulty coping with her accumulation of life-changing issues. When, at sixty, she takes small and indecisive steps to start cleaning up the mess, her decisions seem completely natural.

This is difficult material for a writer to handle without going over the top, but Gangi crafts Bea as a credible, sympathetic character whose coping skills are constantly tested. When Bea says “Half the time I feel like I’m invisible to the world and the other half I am disappearing myself,” she’s expressing authentic feelings that are shared by a large group of people.

With fluid and straightforward prose, Carry the Dog teaches a valuable lesson — we are the sum of our parts, all the parts, not just the trauma. Life is always changing and the story isn’t written until it ends. It is a verity of psychologists that confronting the past is the only way to escape from its grip. Bea’s journey, her stops and starts as she gains the courage to examine her life, to define herself by her entire life and not just its worst moments, to live in the present instead of the past, makes a compelling story.

RECOMMENDED

Algonquin Books is definitely one of my favorite publishers - and I have really enjoyed the books that they have brought to my attention -including this one! It's a sort of a delayed coming-of-age story. As her 60th birthday approaches, Be a reflects on her past - and her future. Daughter of a famous and controversial photographer, ex-wife twice over to the same rockstar and a lyricist and writer in her own right, Be a still feels like her life has been more defined by the haunting and disturbing nude photos of her and her older twin brothers than anything else. When both MoMA and Hollywood approach her, instigating her introspection of past traumas - as well as confronting the truths in her current relationships, the book hits its rhythm of past and present. While the book broaches dark topics, Gangi handles these gracefully. It's refreshing to see an older protagonist, too. Totally enrapturing, I couldn't put this one down! The characters all come to life and I can see this as a good choice for book clubs or discussion groups!

Carry the Dog by Stephanie Gangi is a captivating story that reads like a memoir. It's an engaging narrative style.

Photography and art play a central role in the book. I am not great at it, but I love taking pictures, so I connected with this element of the story.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

My Highly Caffeinated Thought: A smart and authentic story about a woman dealing with aging, relationships, and the haunting legacy of her mother’s artwork.


CARRY THE DOG is a raw, honest, and brilliant book that captivated me by bringing the reading into Bea's world. Gangi eloquently peeled back the layers of the lives of all those featured within these pages with a level of candor as well as wit. 


From her relationship with her ex-husband to the dynamic between her kind-of sister Echo, Bea is quite a character. This character is boldly unique. Then, the author infuses the story with the art of her mother and those who want to bring it back to public consumption. As an artist and someone who once worked at The Museum of Modern Art, I loved seeing this aspect of the story play out. There is an understanding of the art world though it is constructed within this fictional realm. 


This book is truly for that anyone who loves art, music, and current-day literary fiction. It will open your mind to how complicated the nature of people’s pasts can be.

Bea is a wonderful character and it's amazing she's done as well as she has with the childhood trauma she endured. She's managed to bury that trauma and not understand what really happened at the hands of her horrible (but also traumatized) mother.

Watching Bea face her aging and her realization of her past is mesmerizing. I did get bored with the story occasionally but I couldn't stop reading.

Family dynamics, trauma, and aging make for a powerful story with a bit of rock and roll. This book will pull you in. If you liked Daisy Jones & the Six, you will most likely enjoy Carry the Dog.

3.5 stars

Beautifully written, evocative and emotionally turbulent... the realities of generational trauma, sense of self, and womanhood collide in this insightful and literary novel.

Writing: ★★★★
Characters: ★★★★
Enjoyment: ★★★

Sometimes, you read a book and you realize that you're just not...there yet. For me, I think Carry the Dog was conveying messages that I was frankly too young to fully appreciate—I'm a mid-20-something woman, not someone looking back on her life in terms of decades. I'm not there yet, where Bea Seger is at in this novel. But I might be someday, and for that reason I found this novel extremely compelling.

In the 1960s, when Bea was a young child, she and her siblings were photographed in a series of provocative and explosive nude photographs taken by their own mother. They were controversial at the time, and they've remained so up until the present day. But now, museums want to showcase them—and they're talking to Bea about it.

Bea has spent a long time not analyzing those images, or her experiences with them. But should she? And even if she's not willing to self-analyze, would it be worth it for the money?

With those questions circling around her, Bea is also dealing with other elements in her life. Like her complicated relationship with her divorced husband, which is filled with toxicity, subtle and overt betrayals, and issues. Bea's not exactly handled that well internally, either.

But the light is starting to shine on Bea's life, and whether she likes it or not, it's time to look at the pieces around her and locate that inner steel at the core of her womanhood.

Complex? Yes. Beautifully rendered? Also yes. An uplifting and joyful read? Not particularly.

Like I mentioned earlier in this review, I think this book provides more poignancy and support to women and individuals with more life experiences under their belt—I'm not calling anyone "old," y'all, but I am calling myself too young to fully appreciate this novel's bittersweet and lingering resilience.

However, I didn't have to fully understand Bea's struggles and emotional palate to appreciate the raw storytelling skills at play here. The author did a fantastic job at rendering Bea and her journey, and I couldn't help but appreciate that.

Thank you to the publisher for my copy in exchange for an honest review.