The Dog Stars by Peter Heller

“Guns, a dog, and a Cessna — post-apocalyptic survival pack”

Overview: Hig somehow survived the flu pandemic that killed everyone he knows. Now his wife is gone, his friends are dead, and he lives in the hangar of a small abandoned airport with his dog, Jasper, and a mercurial, gun-toting misanthrope named Bangley.

This story, for lots of reasons, reminded me of my father. The hunting, the solitariness, the chewing tobacco, the main character’s relationship with his dog, his sense of connection with nature; and I shared many of those experiences with my father, so this book really touched me.

I also liked it because it was a dystopian novel, but subtle. There wasn’t a lot of exposition or background on the nature of the “disease” that eradicated most humans - just sort of tossed you right into the middle of what was happening.

It’s hard for me to describe the power of this book, and through it all, I’d rate this post-apocalyptic story as "hopeful." But, in its odd, idiosyncratic and special way, I think it is. Even though the journey to that point of hope is a real doozy.