Berne is an American writer known for her adept portrayals of family life. Like authors Carol Shields, Edith Pearlman, and Anne Tyler, Berne is a miniaturist, expertly focusing on the private lives of her characters.
In her 2013 novel The Dogs of Littlefield, Berne writes of a fictional Boston suburb whose inhabitants are upper middle class and educated. In the book, The Wall Street Journal names Littlefield as one of the “Twenty Best Places to Live in America.” The town is home to 1,146 psychotherapists, 679 psychiatrists, 3 pizza parlors, 6 dog groomers, fine schools, and leafy streets.
However, like all of Berne’s books’ settings, darkness lurks in Littlefield. An off-leash proposal for dogs sets neighbor against neighbor. Then, mysteriously, several dogs are poisoned. Who amongst the residents is perpetrating these heinous acts?
Much of the plot focuses on Margaret Downing, a sympathetic wife and mother whose husband, Bill, no longer loves her. From the outside, her life seems picture perfect, but in truth, she suffers from acute anxiety, her teen daughter is snarky, and her dog is out of control. The dog, in fact, is a metaphor for the state of Margaret’s life. Other characters include George, a novelist (of sorts); Hedy, a widow whose radio talk shows provide day-long company; and Dr. Clarice Watkins, a sociologist who is secretly studying the effects of “good quality of life.”