The Particulars of Peter

This is a cute compilation of essays in which Conaboy describes her relationship with her rescue dog, Peter, which is somewhere between adoring and obsessive (definitely leaning obsessive). Also, Peter just happens to look like a carbon copy of my dog, Carina. But Peter was described as having the heart of a poet, and Carina has the heart of an anxious spaz. But this is not relevant. I liked the essays of relatable dog-ownership, as they were fun and mostly funny and easy to read. However, it felt really unnatural anytime she brought in field experts to answer questions around essay topics, even if in a satirical way. I couldn't really figure out whether this was trying to be journalistic, humorist essays, memoir... I also found myself wishing for more moments of sincerity throughout, versus one vulnerable emotional apex towards the end, which, again, felt very unnatural given the rest of the book.