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mikhovam's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
olivian11's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
graciegrace1178's review against another edition
5.0
oh m y g o d. I am writing this through actual tears. WOW. This book was the perfect cure for my book slump. Bless you, Garth Stein.
WHAT I LIKED:
1) The Alchemist meets A Dog's Purpose. This book is told entirely through the perspective of genius pupper Enzo. Enzo wants to be a human and MAN is he ready. He's witty and wise and clever and a million other words for *smart.* As a result, the perspective is philosophical but still grounded in the reality of life as a dog. (EDIT: also some hints of Nicholas Sparks in style? Can't really back that one up just yet because the thought just popped into my brain.)
2) The Case. ANNIKA! IS! THE! WORST! I was so revolted with the false allegations. It took me more than a few pauses for deep breaths to get through Annika being just..the worst. You would think this would be a negative, but IT IS NOT! It was nice to see the counter-perspective where the man was innocent and the girl was in fact lying for various reasons. (Before anyone attacks me for that comment I would like to mention that I have seen all the stats and I know the rarity of this particular case. I stand by my decision to include this as a positive though because it runs counter to the current media that floods my everyday feed which makes this an opportunity to see a different perspective. No further comment.)
3) Real life. I've been struggling to get back into plausibly realistic fiction stories because so many of them just aren't realistic enough or are pushing a certain angle/belief WAY too much for a story to actually be enjoyable. But this one- this read like a real story of real people in real life. (That enough "real" for ya?) Life isn't perfect. Antagonists pop up from every corner. Holes pop up in seemingly impenetrable structures of daily existence... It's just *real.*
4) The Good Cry Factor/Poetic. Goodness gracious it's been a while since I've actually cried while reading a book. The last was probably...The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller? I think? Anyway, I totally cried. It wasn't sobbing like for the Miller book. This was the kind of quiet crying that happens so inadvertently that I didn't even realize I was crying til a tear hit my hand. Why was I crying, you ask? OH BOY. The ending. The whole frickin ending. Normally I'm not a fan of the "poetic repetition" style choice to hit readers in the gut but good god Stein you did it so masterfully. I just- Enzo? As a racer boy? I could not handle it. I'm gonna cry again just thinking about this WHY DID THIS HIT ME SO HARD???
5) Breaking the Slump. There are very few books that have been awarded the title of "book slump breakers." This is one of them. I thought about it constantly and read it whenever I could. (Well, listened to it. It was an audiobook edition.) I tried probably fifteen other books before this, and none of them really clicked with me. This one got me right from the beginning. Bravo, Stein. Bravo.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
1) Tiny Bit Heavy on Repetition. The irony here is that I was just praising the repetition at the end. But still, the whole "your car goes where your eyes go. Simply another way of saying that which you manifest is before you" thing did occur a l o t. It's a good sentiment! But I could've heard it four times less and been equally impacted. That's nit-picking though. Man, I loved this book.
2) Little to No Potential for Sequel. This can hardly be counted as a negative, but (like for my other favorite books this year) I feel weird leaving this spot so barren. The book wrapped itself up in such a pleasant little (HEART WRENCHING) bow that there's almost no chance Stein could make a sequel with these same characters. I'm devastated by that because I WANT MORE BOOKS LIKE THIS IN MY LIFE. STEIN, IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, KEEP WRITING GOOD SIR!
WHAT I LIKED:
1) The Alchemist meets A Dog's Purpose. This book is told entirely through the perspective of genius pupper Enzo. Enzo wants to be a human and MAN is he ready. He's witty and wise and clever and a million other words for *smart.* As a result, the perspective is philosophical but still grounded in the reality of life as a dog. (EDIT: also some hints of Nicholas Sparks in style? Can't really back that one up just yet because the thought just popped into my brain.)
2) The Case. ANNIKA! IS! THE! WORST! I was so revolted with the false allegations. It took me more than a few pauses for deep breaths to get through Annika being just..the worst. You would think this would be a negative, but IT IS NOT! It was nice to see the counter-perspective where the man was innocent and the girl was in fact lying for various reasons. (Before anyone attacks me for that comment I would like to mention that I have seen all the stats and I know the rarity of this particular case. I stand by my decision to include this as a positive though because it runs counter to the current media that floods my everyday feed which makes this an opportunity to see a different perspective. No further comment.)
3) Real life. I've been struggling to get back into plausibly realistic fiction stories because so many of them just aren't realistic enough or are pushing a certain angle/belief WAY too much for a story to actually be enjoyable. But this one- this read like a real story of real people in real life. (That enough "real" for ya?) Life isn't perfect. Antagonists pop up from every corner. Holes pop up in seemingly impenetrable structures of daily existence... It's just *real.*
4) The Good Cry Factor/Poetic. Goodness gracious it's been a while since I've actually cried while reading a book. The last was probably...The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller? I think? Anyway, I totally cried. It wasn't sobbing like for the Miller book. This was the kind of quiet crying that happens so inadvertently that I didn't even realize I was crying til a tear hit my hand. Why was I crying, you ask? OH BOY. The ending. The whole frickin ending. Normally I'm not a fan of the "poetic repetition" style choice to hit readers in the gut but good god Stein you did it so masterfully. I just- Enzo? As a racer boy? I could not handle it. I'm gonna cry again just thinking about this WHY DID THIS HIT ME SO HARD???
5) Breaking the Slump. There are very few books that have been awarded the title of "book slump breakers." This is one of them. I thought about it constantly and read it whenever I could. (Well, listened to it. It was an audiobook edition.) I tried probably fifteen other books before this, and none of them really clicked with me. This one got me right from the beginning. Bravo, Stein. Bravo.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
1) Tiny Bit Heavy on Repetition. The irony here is that I was just praising the repetition at the end. But still, the whole "your car goes where your eyes go. Simply another way of saying that which you manifest is before you" thing did occur a l o t. It's a good sentiment! But I could've heard it four times less and been equally impacted. That's nit-picking though. Man, I loved this book.
2) Little to No Potential for Sequel. This can hardly be counted as a negative, but (like for my other favorite books this year) I feel weird leaving this spot so barren. The book wrapped itself up in such a pleasant little (HEART WRENCHING) bow that there's almost no chance Stein could make a sequel with these same characters. I'm devastated by that because I WANT MORE BOOKS LIKE THIS IN MY LIFE. STEIN, IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, KEEP WRITING GOOD SIR!
jennadell's review against another edition
4.0
Such a good book. everyone should read asap so cute and sad
ljimenez89's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
the_bi_ballerina's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? No
1.5
I disliked this book, but the stars I did give it were for the execution of the premise in its narration, and the technical talent shown in the description. It shines best in the metaphors and the chapters only about racing, because the plot itself is pretty bad. Not redeemable with any of the good qualities in the book.
The latter half of the book actually reads a bit like a deliberate effort to incorporate every hackneyed stereotype of victim-blaming you can imagine. The story itself is the narrative people try to sell when they wish to blame or discredit survivors of sexual assault, and to cast any accused perpetrator as a victim of conspiratorial false accusations intended to ruin their reputation. Not only is it disgusting on a metatextual level, it is also completely trite within the text. One could predict everything that happens next simply by having spent a moderate amount of time reading the comments of a news article about sexual assault, or from ever having seen the usual "discredit and blame" routine in their own lives, families, or communities. Or literally from having just read a list of common victim-blaming tactics. The protagonist is a good man who did nothing wrong except trust the goodness of a child, and the accuser is a crafty vixen whodeliberately forces the man into a compromising situation, entirely imagined his reciprocation of her feelings, and falsely accuses him of what she wanted to happen, all at the behest of a conspiracy to hurt the man she was accusing. Oh, and she's his 15-year-old cousin. Whose childishness is simultaneously key to how she is manipulated into accusing him as part of the conspiracy, and whose sexual maturity and seductive nature is nonetheless repeatedly mentioned. Her breasts are practically their own characters in one scene. As is her constant objectification, sexualization, slut-shaming, and villification in the narration, beginning in the very paragraph she is introduced, despite the narrator being a literal dog. The human characters are a bit kinder, treating her more as the agent of others and the victim of her own naivete, a view which is more validated in the conclusion. But that really doesn't make it any better; it's just variety in the rape myths and victim-blaming being incorporated.
I went into this book on the recommendation of others, and I really expected to like it, or at least see what other people see. And at the beginning, I did like it. But that turn halfway through sours the whole experience. And there is nothing in me that sees any part of that plotline as necessary to what the book was setting up. It could have been great art. But alas, it went on to make itself simultaneously disgusting and boring. Ironically enough, I can still see why it is so popular; there are plenty of examples of similar stories with widespread appeal, perhaps because it has the comfort of biases that people want to believe. But I myself would not recommend it. I didn't like it when I first read it years ago, and I don't like it now.
The latter half of the book actually reads a bit like a deliberate effort to incorporate every hackneyed stereotype of victim-blaming you can imagine. The story itself is the narrative people try to sell when they wish to blame or discredit survivors of sexual assault, and to cast any accused perpetrator as a victim of conspiratorial false accusations intended to ruin their reputation. Not only is it disgusting on a metatextual level, it is also completely trite within the text. One could predict everything that happens next simply by having spent a moderate amount of time reading the comments of a news article about sexual assault, or from ever having seen the usual "discredit and blame" routine in their own lives, families, or communities. Or literally from having just read a list of common victim-blaming tactics. The protagonist is a good man who did nothing wrong except trust the goodness of a child, and the accuser is a crafty vixen who
I went into this book on the recommendation of others, and I really expected to like it, or at least see what other people see. And at the beginning, I did like it. But that turn halfway through sours the whole experience. And there is nothing in me that sees any part of that plotline as necessary to what the book was setting up. It could have been great art. But alas, it went on to make itself simultaneously disgusting and boring. Ironically enough, I can still see why it is so popular; there are plenty of examples of similar stories with widespread appeal, perhaps because it has the comfort of biases that people want to believe. But I myself would not recommend it. I didn't like it when I first read it years ago, and I don't like it now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Pedophilia
The sexual violence plotline echoes a rape culture myth and several common victim-blaming narratives, where survivors are seductresses who falsely accuse people of sexual assault as a way to ruin reputations. In the context of the story, we know that the victim-blaming "side of the story" is actually what truly happened.lyraggs's review against another edition
4.0
4.3
Pequeños o grandes animales que se vuelven mucho mas..
Amigos, compañeros, guardianes
Pequeños o grandes animales que se vuelven mucho mas..
Amigos, compañeros, guardianes
margseli's review against another edition
4.0
LOVED. Loved loved loved this book. It had me laughing and crying the whole way through.
sammy_ajani's review against another edition
3.0
I like how the book has been written from a point of view of the dog & i like the plot. The book has certainly been dragged here & there and i had to skip read. Also i love Enzo, the dog. He is super cute.
Worth a read.
Will i re-read? No
Do i recommend it? Yes, to all dog lovers & car aficionados.
Worth a read.
Will i re-read? No
Do i recommend it? Yes, to all dog lovers & car aficionados.
ajlovesbooks's review against another edition
5.0
What a good dog book. This book about Enzo a mixed breed dog is written from the dogs perspective. I was really funny at times sad in even insightful. A definite recommendation for any dog lover.