A short novella about a sweetly neurotic New Yorker divorcé named Paul traveling to Venice for a no-longer romantic Christmas trip. He sees a street dog projecting a level of confidence he has never felt and wishes to study its ways.

As usual, Rowley delivers a witty, silly, and heartfelt story. Paul’s heartbreak and feelings of failure and rejection are palpable. He feels like he can’t even do though most basic things, but he pushes himself more and more. It would be easy to make Paul into a ridiculously pathetic person, but Rowley lets us see that he’s a relatably “pathetic” person instead. Paul carries so much fear of rejection and lonelinesss and I felt it viscerally.

It’s a definite recommend for fans of Steven Rowley and those who love stories about sweet gay men who need to find their spark again.