Rating: 
Summary: The Best Nersesian Book -- Hands Down!
Review:
I was referred to this novel after reading The Losers' Club by Richard Perez, another short, lively novel that takes place in the East Village. And after reading Dogrun, I must say that I think it's the funniest, most entertaining novel Nersesian has written so far. Better than the F**k-Up (by far), better than Manhattan Loverboy, much, much better than Chinese Take-out, which after a while totally runs out of energy and is actually an effort to read, lacking in that fun, manic energy Nersesian?s early novels have. In Dogrun, we have a sarcastic female protagonist who 'investigates' the secret life of her deceased boyfriend, and in the course of doing so comes to re-examine her own life. Much as in The Losers' Club, we have something of a ground-level view of downtown NYC, both novels have a kind of manic style. I must say I haven't laughed or enjoyed a book as much as I've enjoyed Dogrun. It's totally goofy and freewheeling and fun; and you can relate to the protagonist's fear of turning 30 and her feeling that 'the party may be over.' Anyway, pick up a copy of this fun book!
Rating:
Summary: makes you want to join a band, write a book, live in NY...
Review: Arthur Nersesian is my new hero. His three books are all excellent, and a fine alternative the sappy gunk that runs up and down the NYT bestseller lists.For readers with guts and intelligence all over the world. Too cool.
Rating: 
Summary: Nothing Special
Review: Arthur Nersesian's Dogrun tries oh so hard to be cool, but it's just not. Being published by MTV Books doesn't make it hip. His portrayal of modern life in East Village doesn't make it hip. References to all things pop doesn't make it hip. Not even Mary Bellanova's Kenneth Cole shoes make it hip. What this book is is a boring early effort by a young and learning writer who needs to live something besides the writing life so he has something besides the writing life of a young and learning writer to write about. The self-absorbed, woe-is-me heroine is of so little interest to the reader that even when major plot twists reveal themselves, you couldn't care less what they mean to her, only how they might impact the end of the story. Nersesian does an fair job of a man writing from a woman's perspective, although his scenes of self-descrition seem to be more of a composite of what he thinks a woman is than what one might actually believe Mary to be. Even if this is an accurate descrition of life in the Village, it's not a particularly interesting story. Bellanova and her stock friends and lovers are boring people who you already know -- and the story doesn't make you want to know more or care about what happens beyond the last page. If youth is wasted on the young, this is an example of the retelling of youth being wasted by a young writer. The perspective of a storyteller a little futher removed from the "scene" would have done this book wonders. I'll watch for more books from Nersesian, but I'll be a little more choosy before buying.
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Summary: Non-New Yorker Review
Review: As someone who's visited New York only once and that was ten years ago (back when Times Square was Disney and Carson Daly-free), I was skeptical about reading Dogrun. Many novels that focus on a particular geographic location tend to forget that some semblance of universality is needed. And based on other reviews of Nersesian's work, it seemed his appeal was limited mainly to New Yorkers and East Village inhabitants. After finishing this book, however, I realized I couldn't be more wrong. Nersesian has a gift for creating new yet familiar characters that take you for a weird, funny, neurotic and frantic ride. While Dogrun's plot does tend to get a bit soap opera-ish as another reviewer commented, the book's true appeal is its narrator, Mary Bellanova. Cynical yet loveable, neurotic yet hopeful, Mary is an absolute charmer. Her wry, appealing view on all things related to love and living in New York is universal enough that any late twentysomething/early thirtysomething urban dweller can identify with her predicaments. But the true test of Dogrun's success is it's ability to leave the reader wanting more. Few books these days succeed at that task. While Nersesian's roster thus far hasn't included any sequels, one hopes that Dogrun isn't the last we've heard of Mary Bellanova and her wacky gallery of friends, deadbeat boyfriends and obnoxious employers. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: A hilarious romp around NYC!
Review: I found "Dogrun" hilarious. Once I started it, I couldn't put it down. Our heroine, Mary Bellanova, arrives home from work, yells at and serves dinner to her boyfriend Primo's corpse before she realizes what has happened. Can things possibly get worse or more absurd? If you've read Arthur Nersesian before, you know they absolutely can. Mary realizes she didn't know Primo as well as she thought so becomes determined to learn more about him. Hilarity ensues as she meets a more than a little bizarre cast of characters, ends up joining a band with two of Primo's exes, and secures a loathsome job at Kinko's with a man she detests. Arthur Nersesian's writing is witty, sharp, and wonderful. You are immediately sucked into his characters' lives and problems and find yourself not only going along with, but agreeing with their slapstick antics and questionable decisions. I can't wait till his next book comes out.
Rating:
Summary: A hilarious romp around NYC!
Review: I found "Dogrun" hilarious. Once I started it, I couldn't put it down. Our heroine, Mary Bellanova, arrives home from work, yells at and serves dinner to her boyfriend Primo's corpse before she realizes what has happened. Can things possibly get worse or more absurd? If you've read Arthur Nersesian before, you know they absolutely can. Mary realizes she didn't know Primo as well as she thought so becomes determined to learn more about him. Hilarity ensues as she meets a more than a little bizarre cast of characters, ends up joining a band with two of Primo's exes, and secures a loathsome job at Kinko's with a man she detests. Arthur Nersesian's writing is witty, sharp, and wonderful. You are immediately sucked into his characters' lives and problems and find yourself not only going along with, but agreeing with their slapstick antics and questionable decisions. I can't wait till his next book comes out.
Rating: 
Summary: Typical but Entertaining
Review: I found this book a little typical (single 30 something living in NYC, trying to find a job, a guy, a roommate, etc.), yet it was highly entertaining. I believe the reason for this is because Nersesian takes this typical character throws in odd twists all over the place. To get the list of her newly dead boyfriends ex-lovers, she has to go to strip clubs and join a indie-rock band. We see her scraping up the dogrun for human ashes and getting her feet licked by a man who has a fetish over her cowboy boots. It's a typical story, with some excellent twists. I would suggest reading it just for the enjoyment of the impossible.
Rating:
Summary: an amazing ride
Review: I just finished reading this book and I loved it. I don't normally read more humorous books, because I think I won't get very much out of them, but I was very wrong. Dogrun has changed me forever. Nersesian had me laughing all the way through this woman's journey of love. With every twist of bad luck, you couldn't help but smile and say, that's life. This book is truly the book of life, with all of it's ups and downs, it tells the story of us, humans. The narrator of the story, Mary is a 29 year old temp worker and hopeful writer, who discovers her boyfriend of 6 months, dead in her apartment one day after work. From this spins an uncontrolable tale of finding out about someone's past and finding out who you really are. Mary's search for answers in her life, makes the reader ponder questions in their lives. Like why are we in the relationships we are in? Along the way you meet crazy characters that all seemed linked to Mary's dead boyfriend, the most memorable being a hard rocker and ex-stripper named Sue Wott. If you want a fast paced, remarkable book, that will leave you laughing but thinking, read this book. I have now become one of Arthur Nersesian's biggest fans! You won't regret buying this book.
Rating:
Summary: "Dogrun" is pure joy
Review: I just finished this book for the fourth or maybe fifth time this afternoon and I already want to read it again. Nersesian is an author unequaled in the way his prose vividly blossoms into poetry that is still grounded in the nitty gritty reality of NYC's East Village.
Rating:
Summary: "Dogrun" is pure joy
Review: I just finished this book for the fourth or maybe fifth time this afternoon and I already want to read it again. Nersesian is an author unequaled in the way his prose vividly blossoms into poetry that is still grounded in the nitty gritty reality of NYC's East Village.
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