My new goal: Beat Fredrik Backman in Best in Show.

Last spring, I wanted to be Fredrik Backman. I don’t mean famous. Or Swedish. Or brilliant. Or a guy. No, I wanted to be the writer whose words could cause a quinquagenarian former high school principal, not prone to emotional outbursts, to weep openly in an auto repair shop full of men to awkwardly examine the ceiling tiles while praying  for their trucks to be done soon.

I’ve been devouring his work. His novels knot my heart and mind until I can’t unravel where all the feelings start. I have to pause and do that Navy Seal breathing strategy from TikTok just to be able to analyze how he can turn ten ordinary words into a tornado of universally felt emotion. I read three of his novels before I realized that I’ve been thinking about this all wrong. And not just because I cannot actually be Fredrik Backman.

I am reconceptualizing my goal modeled roughly after a dog show.

But first, my disclaimer: I love dogs. All kinds of dogs. However, I have never shown a dog or participated in a dog show. I have watched dog shows. The extend of my direct showing experience is saying, “That’s my dog. See?” So, my canine professional friends out there, be kind if I miss a key detail only insiders know about the mechanics of dog shows. To bastardize a line from My Cousin Vinny, my expertise is in general canine knowledge.

Intricacies notwithstanding, the dog show has three successive levels:  Best of Breed, First in Group, and Best of Show. By breed, each participant competes for Best of Breed which is judged on how well the dog conforms to the agreed upon standards of that breed. For example, one element of the page-long list of American Kennel Club conformation standards for a Greyhound is:

“Tail: Long, fine and tapering with a slight upward curve.”

In contrast, the Akita standards describe the following in their densely packed two pages of conformation standards:

“Tail – Large and full, set high and carried over back or against flank in a three-quarter, full, or double curl, always dipping to or below level of back. On a three-quarter curl, tip drops well down flank. Root large and strong. Tail bone reaches hock when let down.”

All the Greyhound’s tails are judged against the Greyhound standards to determine the Greyhound Best of  Breed.

All the Akita’s tails are judged against the Akita standard to determine the Akita Best of Breed. The question is not which is a better type of tail (or coat or body, size, color, etc.) but rather which dog in each breed demonstrates their breed’s standards most closely.

Assessment of which tail type is better would be like saying longer novels are better, therefore Science Fiction is better than Romance because the generally accepted word count is higher. One hundred twenty-thousand-words might be fine for a Sci-Fi but too long for a romance.

The next level is First of Group. Each breed falls into one of seven groups based on what they were bred originally to do: Sporting, Hound, Working, Terrier, Toy, Non-Sporting, and Herding. For example, Greyhounds are in the Hound Group which according to the American Kennel Club “were bred for hunting other game by sight or scent” and “include such dogs as Beagles, Basset Hounds, Dachshunds and Greyhounds.” Though they meet the Group standard, I think you would agree comparing a Greyhound and a Dachshund would be challenging. And these are only two of the thirty-two breeds in this group. Again, the judge is comparing how well each meets the breed standard. Not is a Greyhound better than a Dachshund but is this Greyhound a better example of the Greyhound conformation standards than this Dachshund is of its standards.

Think of Mystery genre. They all must meet some standards to be considered a mystery at all. They have a crime or puzzle, a sleuth, a villain, clues, red herrings, and appropriate pacing, for example.  However, there are cozy mysteries, noir mysteries, police procedurals and amateur sleuths. Readers evaluate novels on how well they live up to the expectations of those subgenres. Sure, the book must meet the basic requirements of a mystery but the requirements for the subgenre vary. A police procedural with a zany amateur sleuth would be panned just like a Greyhound with four-inch legs. Best of Group would be like taking the best procedural, the best noir, the best cozy, and the best amateur sleuth and asking, which book is the best example of their type of mystery?

So once all the Greyhounds have been evaluated and the Best of Breed has been picked, and that Greyhound is evaluated with all the other Best of Breed winners in the Hound group, then the First in Group winners move on to Best in Show.

Now, do we get to admit that we like the Akita better than the Chihuahua? Alas no, the Akita, Greyhound, Spinone Italiano, West Highland Terrier, Chihuahua, Keeshond, and Puli are again compared as the best of their breed and group standard. That’s how a Bichon Frise beat a Giant Schnauzer in 2018 (both lovely dogs but could they be more different?!?).

And this brings me to my new goal. Best in Show.  I don’t want to be Fredrik Backman. He is unquestionably an extraordinary writer. But he’s not Stephen King or Agatha Christie or Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I would guess he doesn’t want to be. Nothing about their success diminishes his gift for telling a story so true and beautiful that I will cry through the final chapter even if I am in the auto shop waiting room. He’s the best of his breed and group. I want my book to be the best version of my writing. I want people to hold up two great books and say this is the best Catherine Matthews I’ve ever read. And then, this is the best book I’ve ever read.

Copyright Catherine Matthews 2025