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katykelly's review against another edition
5.0
I really, really enjoyed this. I was so excited to see Rosoff had written a book for adults - I've read several of her YA novels and always admired her plots, characters and variety of genres.
And now she's proved she has comic chops for adults as well. Bravo!
As she's demonstrated before (There is no Dog), Rosoff can do offbeat (and looks to be a dog lover as well!). This starts with a man telling us that his dogs have been talking about him... Jonathan is dog-sitting for his brother, two intelligent and canines that he is sure can understand him and feel human emotions.
Not that the vet believes him. The dogs seem to be trying to control his life as well. Which, to us, couldn't really hurt, as Jonathan is stuck in a relationship that the reader can see is less than perfect and in a job so soul-destroying he doesn't have the energy to do anything about it.
Will his doggy roomies help him to make the changes he needs to find love and contentment in his life?
I found this a pleasure from start to finish. Jonathan needs a good kick up the bum (even the dogs can see that) but I still found myself wanting a happier life for him.
Rosoff's unusual trick, to give (but not give) the dogs human thought (through Jonathan) is clever and works brilliantly. They MIGHT be helping him or it MIGHT all be in his head.
Certainly some things ARE in his head (constantly calling a certain wedding a 'funeral', other incredibly funny yet horrifying hospital and medical scenes).
I finished this and thought - yes, in the end, it takes a well-worn path through to an oft-visited destination, but Rosoff designs a new route for reaching it.
Very clever, very funny, I was amused throughout and loved the characters she created.
A lovely summer read. And you might do a double take the next time you walk past your dog...
And now she's proved she has comic chops for adults as well. Bravo!
As she's demonstrated before (There is no Dog), Rosoff can do offbeat (and looks to be a dog lover as well!). This starts with a man telling us that his dogs have been talking about him... Jonathan is dog-sitting for his brother, two intelligent and canines that he is sure can understand him and feel human emotions.
Not that the vet believes him. The dogs seem to be trying to control his life as well. Which, to us, couldn't really hurt, as Jonathan is stuck in a relationship that the reader can see is less than perfect and in a job so soul-destroying he doesn't have the energy to do anything about it.
Will his doggy roomies help him to make the changes he needs to find love and contentment in his life?
I found this a pleasure from start to finish. Jonathan needs a good kick up the bum (even the dogs can see that) but I still found myself wanting a happier life for him.
Rosoff's unusual trick, to give (but not give) the dogs human thought (through Jonathan) is clever and works brilliantly. They MIGHT be helping him or it MIGHT all be in his head.
Certainly some things ARE in his head (constantly calling a certain wedding a 'funeral', other incredibly funny yet horrifying hospital and medical scenes).
I finished this and thought - yes, in the end, it takes a well-worn path through to an oft-visited destination, but Rosoff designs a new route for reaching it.
Very clever, very funny, I was amused throughout and loved the characters she created.
A lovely summer read. And you might do a double take the next time you walk past your dog...
tinabean's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
tatyanavogt's review
2.0
Okay, the main guy was supposed to be weird and quirky but he came off as being childish and annoying. I found myself constantly annoyed by the guy and the writing and just wanting for the story to progress and to get on with things. For some reason I expected it to be a romance so it was pretty disappointing when it focused more on this guys midlife crisis wanting to finally grow up and be an adult and thinking a loveless marriage is the answer...
wordynerdyanddirty's review against another edition
4.0
A quirky novel about a guy who watches his brother's two dogs and ends up becoming inseparable from them. Mix in some nerdy references, a straight-laced girlfriend, bad office atmosphere, and an androgynous Zen life coach and you get an entertaining summer read.
vanya's review against another edition
3.0
Okay so. This is kind of a weird book? The plot is all over the place but it's still a very fun read. Read this if you want to laugh out loud and be kinda baffled by what happens.
sly99's review against another edition
5.0
it is uncharacteristically funny and weird. with lots of ups and downs that i could relate to.
my anxiety has been bleeding in my dreams and would not have realised it. thank goodness a very good friend pointed it out to me. (although i have not done anything so solve it yet) Much like this book, friends are so important. not just anyone, but a friend or 2 or more who has your back no matter how banal the situation is.
my anxiety has been bleeding in my dreams and would not have realised it. thank goodness a very good friend pointed it out to me. (although i have not done anything so solve it yet) Much like this book, friends are so important. not just anyone, but a friend or 2 or more who has your back no matter how banal the situation is.
hyena's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
pogseu's review against another edition
1.0
It was a very quick read. I had just finished an excellent if somewhat puzzling book, Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood, and didn’t know what to read next. Jonathan Unleashed was mentioned in a newsletter from Penguin, and I thought the blurb looked quite attractive. But what a disappointment! The characters were so bland, one-dimensional, and boring! Jonathan is young and fresh out of uni. Because he is a lucky person, he finds a somewhat suspicious apartment that probably belongs to criminals, in Manhattan no less. Hahaha. Is that meant to be funny? Were the descriptions of Jonathan worrying about mob people attacking him meant to be laugh-out-loud funny? Because if so, it failed completely with me. I was just.. bored.
So he finds a flat, no problem. But he also finds a job within days of moving to the city. In advertising, no less. His job description is often associated with suicide jokes, meaning that anyone writing ads for stationery must want to kill themselves or will surely die of boredom.
And let’s not even get into his relationship with his girlfriend from college. I kept being told how much they did not belong together, from the narrator and from some of the other characters, but there was no real description of, nor actual reasons given as to, why they were supposedly so wrong for each other — the characters are simply too underdeveloped for me to reach that conclusion, and it’s not because lots of characters point it out that I’m convinced in the least. Again, I was utterly bored.
And then there are Jonathan’s daydreams, him imagining crazy things happening when someone talks about something, anything, completely at random. His mind is meant to be quick and imaginative, I’m sure it was also meant to be funny, but again, I was skeptical and, again, bored out of my wits.
I didn’t mention the dogs. But really, what’s the point? Yay, Jonathan thinks the dogs plot behind his back, read his mail before eating it, rummage through his papers and snigger when he can’t see them. And yet, other reviewers say the dogs were great and made the book. I’m sorry to say I did not get any of that. Again, it was just another boring aspect for me.
Finally, spoiler spoiler, he gets the girl in the end. Even though it makes no sense whatsoever — Dr Vet as he calls her, is English and nice, and he dreams of her for weeks before revealing his feelings. He just finished uni. He just moved to NYC. He just started his first job. And seriously? A vet (and an expat at that) is supposedly about his age and interested in this immature young man who draws the babies he imagines he’ll have with a French baker/waitress he sees every morning on his way to work??! His whole life takes place in his head (and the way it was done and written about was not realistic at all, in my opinion), he is even offensive at times and his stupidity made me want to slap him—I don’t even know why I bothered reading the whole thing. It was pointless and far from satisfying. What a waste of time!
So he finds a flat, no problem. But he also finds a job within days of moving to the city. In advertising, no less. His job description is often associated with suicide jokes, meaning that anyone writing ads for stationery must want to kill themselves or will surely die of boredom.
And let’s not even get into his relationship with his girlfriend from college. I kept being told how much they did not belong together, from the narrator and from some of the other characters, but there was no real description of, nor actual reasons given as to, why they were supposedly so wrong for each other — the characters are simply too underdeveloped for me to reach that conclusion, and it’s not because lots of characters point it out that I’m convinced in the least. Again, I was utterly bored.
And then there are Jonathan’s daydreams, him imagining crazy things happening when someone talks about something, anything, completely at random. His mind is meant to be quick and imaginative, I’m sure it was also meant to be funny, but again, I was skeptical and, again, bored out of my wits.
I didn’t mention the dogs. But really, what’s the point? Yay, Jonathan thinks the dogs plot behind his back, read his mail before eating it, rummage through his papers and snigger when he can’t see them. And yet, other reviewers say the dogs were great and made the book. I’m sorry to say I did not get any of that. Again, it was just another boring aspect for me.
Finally, spoiler spoiler, he gets the girl in the end. Even though it makes no sense whatsoever — Dr Vet as he calls her, is English and nice, and he dreams of her for weeks before revealing his feelings. He just finished uni. He just moved to NYC. He just started his first job. And seriously? A vet (and an expat at that) is supposedly about his age and interested in this immature young man who draws the babies he imagines he’ll have with a French baker/waitress he sees every morning on his way to work??! His whole life takes place in his head (and the way it was done and written about was not realistic at all, in my opinion), he is even offensive at times and his stupidity made me want to slap him—I don’t even know why I bothered reading the whole thing. It was pointless and far from satisfying. What a waste of time!
zta's review against another edition
3.0
Very interesting story but gets very slow and depressing at times. Second half was definitely a better read.