I was surprised to read Stephanie Bouchard’s harsh review of Carolyn Chute’s new book, “Treat Us Like Dogs and We Will Become Wolves” (“In Carolyn Chute’s new novel, strong plot gets lost amid gimmickry,” Nov. 23).

I’ll admit right up front that I’m a fan of Carolyn Chute and her writing. She pulls me into her world with a prose style completely her own, an honest and keen eye for the details of life in rural Maine towns that don’t have much to do with the craft breweries, fusion cuisine, art installations and swanky retail shop culture (as delightful as all that is) of Portland and other posh coastal communities. Indeed, Chute’s delightful and inventive prose seduces readers like me who otherwise might turn away from the harsh realities of which she writes.

Luckily for the book, other reviewers do not seem to share Ms. Bouchard’s opinions. Far from seeing the book as a “disaster” or “excruciating,” some reviewers found the work “dazzlingly inventive” (Caroline Leavitt in The Boston Globe) and “the work of a writer at the peak of her craft” (Emily Carter in the Minneapolis Star Tribune). In The New York Times, Bill Roorbach even compared Carolyn Chute to Proust and Joyce.

Though she has written this book from a multitude of perspectives, though this choice might make the reading challenging for some readers, I trust Carolyn Chute enough to believe she will show me something I need to see, will tell me something I need to know.

One thing we might remember as we head to the bookstore is that literature isn’t necessarily supposed to be easy. I hope that readers don’t miss out on Chute’s new book because of one negative review. I hope, instead, that they will give this talented Maine writer’s book a chance and decide for themselves.

Shelley Burbank

Limerick