Product Description

"Before Clara, I was not a Pet Parent. The Pugs were dogs. Cute dogs, willful dogs, lovable to be sure, but I was Human. I was in charge. Then along came Clara, and all bets were off."--Margo Kaufman, from Clara

Acclaimed columnist Margo Kaufman fell in love with pugs when she was nineteen. But none of her previous pets could compare with Clara, a glossy black, twelve-pound package of pug charm and pugnacity with the face of an imp, the heart of a ham, the seductive skills of a slut, and the deductive gifts of a genius. It didn't take long for Clara to let her new pug parents know who was ruling their California household--whether she's sipping Evian from a cut-crystal bowl at Saks, or performing a star turn on PrimeTime Live. Filled with the author's trademark wit and dry observations, Clara is the hilarious and heartwarming story of the unforgettable pug.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #200947 in Books
• Published on: 1999-09-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Amazon.com
You would think that a 12-pound dog would know her place in the world. Well, you obviously haven't met Clara, the pug that rules writer Margo Kaufman's life and the topic of discussion in Clara: The Early Years, Kaufman's hilarious account of living with the imperious pug. Kaufman, author of This Damn House! and the Hollywood correspondent for Pug Talk magazine, admits to being the "Official Pug Lollipop," a fact that Clara takes full advantage of. From their first meeting in a New York hotel room, Kaufman knows that Clara is "different": "Five minutes after her arrival, she inspected our junior suite like Leona Helmsley checking to see if the chocolate mints on the pillows were lined up at the right angles. Clara noticed the spacious queen-sized bed, the plush carpet, and the cozy loveseat in my sitting room. She beheld the cold hard floor--tile, not even marble--in her tiny bathroom. And she realized that the Human had put her own comfort over the pug's--a serious error that must be corrected at once so the Human would not make this mistake again." Sure, most people would have run screaming from the little Hitler, but not Kaufman. She's instantly smitten with the tiny, "bat-eared," "jack-o'-lantern"-toothed puppy, as the whole world soon would be. Joining Kaufman on book tours, stealing the show with her designer doggy cap and natural on-air charm, posing for photographs (to be used in dog-food endorsements, no less), and generally hamming it up and handing out orders, Clara comfortably stakes her claim to the Kaufman clan--including fellow pug Sophie. But when Kaufman and her husband decide to adopt Nicholas, a Siberian orphan, Clara feels the limelight slipping away. Wrapped in bureaucratic red tape, the adoption process involves not only months of paper pushing but a trip to Siberia that just about puts Clara over the top. Luckily, the persnickety pug accepts Nicholas into the fold and all is well in Clara's universe. As for the Kaufmans, well, indentured servitude to a pug isn't so bad. Kaufman's witty observations--combined with Clara's unforgettable antics--make for a memorable read. --Stefanie Hargreaves

From Publishers Weekly
Most of those who live with animals concede to their whims and finally admit who is pet and who is master. Kaufman (This Damn House!), Hollywood correspondent for Pug Talk magazine, knows who rules her life?Clara, an ebony pug, and Sophie, Clara's sister. "Who knew that small wrinkled dogs with pushed-in faces would prove to be the greatest commitment of my life?" asks Kaufman in this delightful book. Dubbing herself "the Official Pug Lollipop," the author extols the dog's virtues and relates its drawbacks with irony and compassion. She recounts visits to a breeder with a "Pug Wall of Glory," to "snooty" pet stores, to clothing stores and, with Clara, to TV and radio stations where the dog garners more attention than her human. By the book's conclusion, both Clara, "the little princess" who is wont to attack dogs 10 times her size, and Sophie need to learn to share the spotlight, as the author and her husband make a human addition to the family. After the taxing and hilarious adventure of adopting a foreign baby, Kaufman finds raising an infant not unlike raising a pug. Among her son Nicholas's first words are "Clara," proving that the pugnacious canine retains her claim on ruling the household. This memoir will charm anyone who loves dogs. As Kaufman notes, "Pugs are living proof that God has a sense of humor"?and so does the author, in spades. Agent, Loretta Fidel.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Inside Flap Copy
Pugs were dogs. Cute dogs, willful dogs, lovable to be sure, but I was a Human. I was in charge.
        Then along came Clara, and all bets were off.
        Once a pug owner, always a pug owner--or so thought Margo Kaufman, having shared her home with the lovable snub-faced imps since her college days. But it was not until the 1992 arrival of Clara--petite, imperious, whip-smart, and seductive--that Margo found what it meant to be a pug parent: that a pug could rule her life, and perhaps the world as well.
        Clara, the Early Years is the hilarious story of how a glossy-black, twelve-pound package of canine energy took over Margo's heart and home while charming the pants off the rest of the world. From commandeering the dressing rooms at Saks (where a personal shopper offers Clara Evian in a cut-crystal bowl), to accompanying Margo on her first book tour, to an appearance on PrimeTime Live (where Margo plays a supporting role), the indomitable Clara establishes herself as a world-class personality, a star of the first order. But there is one event Clara cannot upstage, as Margo and her husband, Duke, travel to Russia to adopt an infant boy, and all of them learn new meanings for parent, family, and home.
        Full of the kind of uproarious observations and brilliant insights that have won Margo Kaufman's books and commentary legions of loyal followers, Clara, the Early Years is a laugh-filled portrait of a singularly memorable pet.

Customer Reviews

Erica Asahan Book List
Erica Asahan wrote:

I just got done reading this wonderful book! There are parts where I laughed so hard and a couple of areas where I was scratching my head, because I did not quite understand? And I am very saddened to learn that Margo K., has passed away, RIP. Over all, I do love this book and will own it till the day I go. Clara is so much like my Bota. She is amazing!

Vanity publication stretches limits of belief
I was looking forward to this book when I picked it up, but by the time I was halfway through, I was looking forward to putting it down.

I love books about animals, and have enjoyed many other authors in the genre, but this one was a big disappointment.

The author is a columnist, and the writing shows that. It is snappy, sassy prose that beats you over the head with jokes and observations about life, but it fails to build a cohesive story that gives the various episodes a greater significance.

A book that lauds a dog must be careful to maintain a semblance of believability, and the best dog books celebrate the dog's character without losing sight of the dog's essential "dogness." Kaufman, on the other hand, anthropomorphizes every tilt of the head and blink of the eye, to the extent that we are asked to celebrate Clara's humanity.

I can get behind this to an extent, but the characterization of Clara is so unrelenting and insistent that I found it to be a huge turnoff. I had the same problem with Farley Mowat's account of his dog Mutt, but Mowat is at least a hardcore, rough and tumble writer who was looking at his childhood pet through the haze of years and sentimental youth.

Kaufman, on the other hand, comes across as pampered, sheltered, and rather foolish, treating Clara more like a human child than a dog. I have no problem with loving a dog, but fooling yourself into thinking that a dog has human tastes is a disservice to that relationship.

This book will probably appeal to a certain brand of pet owner, the kind that feel their animal is unbearably precious, and is even moreso when dressed up in darling outfits.

But for anyone who is more concerned with animals maintaining a semblance of dignity, this book will not impress.

Hilarious! Have read it twice!
I remember the first time I read this book a few years ago and I laughed so hard. I am just now re-reading it and am loving it all over again. I'm not sure why the author wasn't more popular in her lifetime - she has a great way of writing, very easy to read and very witty. It's fun hearing about her rich mom in NYC and her beachfront bohemian neighborhood and her husband and her effort to adopt a Chinese baby, all thrown into the book. If you've ever loved a pet, you'll recognize yourself in her humorous retellings of dealing with her pug Clara, a little furry diva.