It was the farthest thing from her I see a squirrel bark.

[Maybo]

I did the glass and was heading for the peg in the front hall where the leash hung when Radar started to bark, harsh and fast and very, very loud. It was the farthest thing from her I see a squirrel bark.

Source: Fairy Tale by Stephen King

Radar is a dog.
I want to understand the sentence structure of "It was the farthest thing from her I see a squirrel bark".
Should I read "It was the farthest thing from her bark"? In the book, "I see a squirrel" is italic. Is that phrase extra?

 

[Tarheel]

I had easily figured out it was a dog by the time I got to your explanation.

The writer is saying that the squirrel was pretty far away, but the excited dog barked at it anyway.

That sentence is not extra. The writer is simply drawing attention to it.

 

[Flask]

I did the glass and was heading for the peg in the front hall where the leash hung when Radar started to bark, harsh and fast and very, very loud. It was the farthest thing from her I see a squirrel bark.

"Her I see a squirrel bark" refers to the type of barking that she (Radar the dog) did whenever she would see a squirrel. To paraphrase, it (the type of barking that the speaker is reporting having heard from Radar at that moment) was very different from (the farthest thing from) the type of barking that meant, in Radar's dog language, "I see a squirrel!"

 

[Maybo]

The writer is saying that the squirrel was pretty far away

No, there was no squirrel. Radar was barking at a shed.

More context:
I did the glass and was heading for the peg in the front hall where the leash hung when Radar started to bark, harsh and fast and very, very loud. It was the farthest thing from her I see a squirrel bark.
Mr. Bowditch snapped his book shut. "What the fuck is up with her? You better go see."

 

[Tarheel]

OK. There's something in the shed that got the dog's attention (probably a burglar).

"It was the farthest thing from her 'I got a squirrel' bark" means it was not at all (the farthest thing) like the bark she makes when she detected a squirrel.

 

[5jj]

From the limited context we have, we have no idea what caused the dog to bark - except that it almost certainly wasn't a squirrel.

 

[emsr2d2]

OK. There's something in the shed that got the dog's attention (probably a burglar).

It's by Stephen King, the "king" of horror writing. Trust me, in his books, something in a shed that makes a dog bark isn't going to be something as dull and normal as a burglar. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

 

[Maybo]

It's by Stephen King, the "king" of horror writing. Trust me, in his books, something in a shed that makes a dog bark isn't going to be something as dull and normal as a burglar. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Yes. There is a creepy thing inside the shed.

 

[emsr2d2]

Yes. There is a creepy thing inside the shed.

Anyway, do you now understand what the original text means?

 

[Maybo]

Anyway, do you now understand what the original text means?

I think it means Radar acted strange like a squirrel barking.

 

[emsr2d2]

I think it means Radar acted strange like a squirrel barking.

No! Not at all.

Radar has a particular bark he uses when he sees a squirrel. That's his "I see a squirrel!" bark. He probably has other barks, that sound slightly different, in other circumstances. The barking sound he is making at the shed is extremely different from the bark he uses when he sees a squirrel.