Book cover of Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog

Book description

The "Young Dog" of the title is of course Thomas himself, and this volume of autobiographical stories by the great modern poet, who died at 39 while on his third lecture tour in the United States, shows his waggish humor at its best, his exuberance and verbal magic in spectacular…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

These stories appeal to my appreciation of style in a perhaps peculiar way: I want to know.

How does a great poet sound when he’s writing prose? Especially a poet whose exalted work leaves many readers mystified. These are satisfying and memorable stories, and they gave me a look into what this poet saw, thought about, and prosaically wrote about in his youth.

Precise prose is, to my mind, the prime element of powerful writing, and these stories satisfied my search. 

If you love Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog...

Book cover of December on 5C4

December on 5C4 by Adam Strassberg,

Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!

On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…

Want books like Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog.

Browse books like Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog

Book cover of Dubliners
Book cover of In Our Time
Book cover of The Short Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald: A New Collection

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,298

readers submitted
so far, will you?

📚 If you like Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog, you might also like...

Book cover of Portrait of an Artist as a Young Woman

Portrait of an Artist as a Young Woman by Alexis Krasilovsky,

Kate from Jules et Jim meets I Love Dick.

A young woman filmmaker’s journey of self-discovery, set against a backdrop of the sexual liberation movement of the 1970s and 1980s. In Portrait of an Artist as a Young Woman, we follow Ana Fried as she faces the ultimate…

Book cover of Dark Fae Outcast

Dark Fae Outcast by Autumn M. Birt,

Trapped in our world, the fae are dying from drugs, contaminants, and hopelessness. Kicked out of the dark fae court for tainting his body and magic, Riasg only wants one thing: to die a bit faster. It’s already the end of his world, after all.

But while scoring his last…

5 book lists we think you will like!