With summer in full swing, the days are long, and chances are good there's some downtime on the horizon. Here are a few new fictional options for filling the time:

• Gone to the Dogs. Mary Guterson. St. Martin's Griffin. 278 pages. $13.99 in paper.

We are not surprised in any way to learn that Rena was still angry at her ex-fiancé Brian when she stole his dog. The Big Guy, as Rena named him, was not even Brian's dog. He belonged to Anna, ''the tall, blond, athletic thing'' for whom adventurous Brian ditched Rena (after seven years of dating) while he was off kayaking through the Grand Canyon.

''My boyfriend left me, so I took the dog,'' Rena explains. ''I know it sounds like a flimsy excuse.'' But what a fine excuse for Guterson to have written this pitch-perfect, hilarious, spirited novel.

Rena is a mess, and not just because of the dognapping. Her Seattle apartment is a house of filth. Her car has possibly never seen a vacuum, and she's been waitressing for years because after going to graduate school to be a speech therapist -- and hating it -- she can't figure out what else she wants to do.

The action is mostly limited to sneaking the Big Guy, ''a dog the size of a Volkswagen,'' into Rena's no-dogs-allowed apartment, dodging family matchmaking attempts, coping with her divorced parents' new relationships and supporting her Orthodox Jewish sister as she chafes against her religion.

When Chuck enters the picture (as Chaim, at a Sabbath dinner hosted by her sister and brother-in-law), Rena resists. But he soon proves to be a genuinely good guy who doesn't mind the disaster her life has become.

Guterson gets the heartbreak of being dumped, the difficulty of picking up the pieces, the idiotic willingness to take the jerk back and the eventual relief of Getting Over It. Rena's voice is self-deprecating and sharp, and Guterson's writing strikes the perfect balance of wit and wisdom. Like man's best friend, this novel is the perfect companion for a lazy day.

• The Lace Makers of Glenmara. Heather Barbieri. Harper. 288 pages. $24.99.

Kate Robinson is as alone and untethered as a traveler can be when she stumbles into the village of Glenmara on Ireland's west coast. Kate was supposed to have taken this trip with her mother until cancer interfered; then it became a possible honeymoon destination until her longtime boyfriend dumped her for a model.

Haunted by her losses and discouraged by her professional failures -- a fashion line back home in Seattle flopped -- Kate decides to stay in Glenmara when the local lace makers extend her some kindness.

She finds a land that's haunted by tragedies, a handsome man dealing with his own past and a circle of women coping with different issues. Bernie, who takes her in, is widowed and childless and desperately misses her husband. Oona is recovering from breast cancer. Colleen is fearful of losing her fisherman husband to the sea. Aileen is locked in a war of wills with her rebellious teenage daughter, and Moira suffers at the hands of her husband.

The novel is steeped in folklore and tradition, and Barbieri writes with a sweet, lilting tone that serves the subject matter well. When Kate comes up with a new use for their intricate lace, the women find their lives -- and the village -- changing, and Kate allows herself to take a few more risks and dares to get excited about the future.

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.repliedToText@

@Nyx.replyAnswerText@

Reply to this Comment @Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@