Heroic Measures by Jill Ciment


Posted on Aug 6, 2009
By Tanya Turgeon

REVIEW by Tanya Turgeon

Pantheon Books, 2009
208 pages
$23.00

In the grand scheme of things "Heroic Measures", a new novel by Jill Ciment, captures only a moment, a mere forty-eight hours of an eternity, when much so much of life hangs in the balance.  A terrorist may be striking New York City again.  Elderly couple Ruth and Alex have outgrown their apartment.  Will they be able to sell for a price that will afford them a new one with an accommodating elevator?  And eclipsing it all, the book opens upon their little black dachshund Dorothy suffering from a debilitating illness. 

"Heroic Measures" has all the workings of a well-written play.  It is broken into sections of Friday Night, Saturday Morning, Saturday Evening, etc. and most of the sections are complex- equally strong and fragile.  Alex and Ruth's rich history includes FBI investigations of them during the cold war yet presently Alex relies on his hearing aid and Ruth is lost without her glasses.  Even the little dog Dorothy has survived numerous accidents like ripping off a toenail, having a seizure, and tasting rat poison, yet now she's lost the use of her back legs making her completely vulnerable.

It may seem like an odd recipe for a plot - New York City in the middle of a possible hostage crisis while Alex and Ruth dive into real estate but strangely the two scenarios have more in common than is first apparent.  In addition to both situations requiring a need for skillful negotiating (hostages in one case and real estate bids in the other), they represent a world of change and transition.  The city of Ciment's story exists in a post-9/11 era of uncertainty from which there is no going back; while Alex and Ruth are about to leave their apartment home of decades.

The thread tying it all together is the little dog.  Dorothy's illness thrusts Alex and Ruth right into the panicked chaos of New York City under seige as they make their way to the veterinarian.  Dorothy is only physically present at the beginning and end of the book, yet Ciment captures Alex and Ruth's anxiety of awaiting a call from the vet so perfectly that your thoughts are always on her.  It is an all-too-true example of despite all the stresses we might face, our beloved pets will be foremost in our minds.  At the end of the day, what's important in life is family, even when family comes packaged as a little black wiener dog.

"Heroic Measures" came hot off the presses on June 30th so there's still time for you to be the most up-to-date on doggie fiction in your reading circle if you get a copy now.

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