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celtic67's review
4.0
A thoughtful book about family relationships seen through the eyes of a dog. Do dogs have feelings and morals or just us humans?
suzreckmeyer's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
katykelly's review
4.0
Dog's point-of-view of a family falling apart
4.5 stars
Prince is a Labrador intent on following the 'code', to protect his Family, to use his canine wiles to do his duty and watch out for them.
Tutored by an older Lab, tempted by a Spaniel into breaking the code, Prince does his best to protect the Hunter family as potential marital strife and teenager issues threaten to tear them apart - but can he do anything?
The point-of-view of the dog is well considered, and we get the best of both worlds, seeing Adam and Kate's marriage through his eyes as well as their own.
There's mystery at the heart of the story, as well as some quite dark issues within the Hunter family. With some twists to uncover, I enjoyed the Shakespearian connection too - Henry, Prince and Falstaff - all made it seem as though tragedy and death were possible, just around the corner.
The story culminates in a few shocking episodes, and ends on a rather bittersweet note, but one I felt entirely appropriate.
It's a great read, might be quite upsetting for dog lovers, but a wonderful early work from a rather big name contemporary writer. I read this as a fan of Haig's other adult and children's books and was not disappointed.
4.5 stars
Prince is a Labrador intent on following the 'code', to protect his Family, to use his canine wiles to do his duty and watch out for them.
Tutored by an older Lab, tempted by a Spaniel into breaking the code, Prince does his best to protect the Hunter family as potential marital strife and teenager issues threaten to tear them apart - but can he do anything?
The point-of-view of the dog is well considered, and we get the best of both worlds, seeing Adam and Kate's marriage through his eyes as well as their own.
There's mystery at the heart of the story, as well as some quite dark issues within the Hunter family. With some twists to uncover, I enjoyed the Shakespearian connection too - Henry, Prince and Falstaff - all made it seem as though tragedy and death were possible, just around the corner.
The story culminates in a few shocking episodes, and ends on a rather bittersweet note, but one I felt entirely appropriate.
It's a great read, might be quite upsetting for dog lovers, but a wonderful early work from a rather big name contemporary writer. I read this as a fan of Haig's other adult and children's books and was not disappointed.
laura119's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Drug use, Animal death, Death, and Infidelity
Moderate: Murder, Vomit, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, and Suicide
kjteehan's review against another edition
dark
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Honestly this book was awful.
As a lover of Matt Haig, this book was absolutely disappointing and as a dog lover this book made zero sense.
Maybe not the best read just 6 months after losing my own Labrador, the idea and the plot of this book was dreadful and the ending should maybe come with a bit of a warning.
The human plot of the book could have made a decent book, but this fell very flat for me.
Very disappointing 😫
As a lover of Matt Haig, this book was absolutely disappointing and as a dog lover this book made zero sense.
Maybe not the best read just 6 months after losing my own Labrador, the idea and the plot of this book was dreadful and the ending should maybe come with a bit of a warning.
The human plot of the book could have made a decent book, but this fell very flat for me.
Very disappointing 😫
girliekatie's review against another edition
5.0
This book broke my heart. It absolutely did. Even though it's pretty funny at times, it definitely isn't a light read.
jade314's review
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
byoung1997's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0