Novelist Carolyn Parkhurst knew she wanted to write a story about a man trying to come to terms with his wife's death. But she couldn't find the best way to do it. Then she rediscovered some stories she'd once written about attempts to teach dogs to speak like humans. Her critically acclaimed novel "The Dogs of Babel" tells of what happens when Paul realizes his dog was the only witness to his wife Lexy's accidental death. He sets out to teach his pet to talk so he can find out what really happened. Parkhurst told Minnesota Public Radio's Euan Kerr pets witness parts of their humans lives that no other person ever sees. Carolyn Parkhurst will read from her novel "The Dogs of Babel" at the Ruminator Bookstore in St Paul tonight at 7:30. To hear a reading from the book and a longer version of Euan Kerr's interview with Carolyn PArkhurst, please vist the MPR books page at Minnesota-Public-Radio-dot-org