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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
This book is stunning in more ways than one and severely underrated. The book gripped me from start to finish and was beautifully paced. The context within it is also very interesting and makes you think deeply about mankind, what makes us us, what makes other creatures such as dogs different, and what brings us all together. It talks about the power of language. It talks about kindness and compassion to animals as a necessity. Will probably come back for a second read at another time. One of the best reads I’ve had all year.
challenging
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Read my other book reviews at booksibled.wordpress.com
Well this was a devastating book. You should totally read it.
The only thing my friend had to mention about this book was that almost every character was dog and that if they weren’t a dog they were probably a Greek god. I downloaded it to my kindle that day.
This was the last book I read on my holiday. In fact I finished it standing in the queue while everyone was panicking over a lost phone which, looking back, was possibly a bit callous but THIS BOOK.
The premise of “Fifteen Dogs” is simply, how would a group of dogs cope if they were suddenly given human intelligence. Not human understanding, the dogs don’t suddenly know the words for everything and know how to use a computer and take over the world. They are just inexplicably aware of themselves and those around them and they can learn and understand a language more complex than their previous.
Two Greek gods, Hermes and Apollo make a bet in a bar that none of the dogs will die happily and so the games begin. The narrative follows the group as they begin to fracture apart when different ideas and responses to the sudden change begin to divide them. Zeus finds out about the bet and so immediately bans the gods from interfering any more in the lives of the unfortunate creatures but then, of course, he pretty much straight away begins to interfere.
I loved the way this story was told. The way the narrative follows the dogs that manage to make their own way and interlinks what happens to each dog unreliable truth mixing with fact. I loved that the dogs were not automatically good and intelligent but instead react so differently. I also loved the symmetry of some of the fates of the dogs and the dramatic irony used throughout. It’s all so brilliantly done and makes for a fantastic reading experience.
Right from the beginning I loved the dog Prince. He reacts to the sudden gaining of a new more complex language by creating poetry and questioning and enjoying the world around him. He is, in general, a very happy and calm dog to follow the story of and I became very attached to him from the first chapter. Then right at the end there is an authors note about his style of poetry which I found so fascinating that now I want to go back and read every word of it again. Which made me realise that, despite his worry that his words and his poetry would be forgotten and, in some ways it is because the reader is not given his poetry in his language, only in English, but reading even the translation in this book must count for something.
Good Dog, Prince.
P.S. It’s a bit of a massacre but this fantastic book on the pitfalls of human intelligence and the disintegration of a pack when blind adherence to the old rules is lost. Full of sounds, smells, deviousness and pathos this is such an interesting book and I’m going back to re-read the poetry now.
Well this was a devastating book. You should totally read it.
The only thing my friend had to mention about this book was that almost every character was dog and that if they weren’t a dog they were probably a Greek god. I downloaded it to my kindle that day.
This was the last book I read on my holiday. In fact I finished it standing in the queue while everyone was panicking over a lost phone which, looking back, was possibly a bit callous but THIS BOOK.
The premise of “Fifteen Dogs” is simply, how would a group of dogs cope if they were suddenly given human intelligence. Not human understanding, the dogs don’t suddenly know the words for everything and know how to use a computer and take over the world. They are just inexplicably aware of themselves and those around them and they can learn and understand a language more complex than their previous.
Two Greek gods, Hermes and Apollo make a bet in a bar that none of the dogs will die happily and so the games begin. The narrative follows the group as they begin to fracture apart when different ideas and responses to the sudden change begin to divide them. Zeus finds out about the bet and so immediately bans the gods from interfering any more in the lives of the unfortunate creatures but then, of course, he pretty much straight away begins to interfere.
I loved the way this story was told. The way the narrative follows the dogs that manage to make their own way and interlinks what happens to each dog unreliable truth mixing with fact. I loved that the dogs were not automatically good and intelligent but instead react so differently. I also loved the symmetry of some of the fates of the dogs and the dramatic irony used throughout. It’s all so brilliantly done and makes for a fantastic reading experience.
Right from the beginning I loved the dog Prince. He reacts to the sudden gaining of a new more complex language by creating poetry and questioning and enjoying the world around him. He is, in general, a very happy and calm dog to follow the story of and I became very attached to him from the first chapter. Then right at the end there is an authors note about his style of poetry which I found so fascinating that now I want to go back and read every word of it again. Which made me realise that, despite his worry that his words and his poetry would be forgotten and, in some ways it is because the reader is not given his poetry in his language, only in English, but reading even the translation in this book must count for something.
Good Dog, Prince.
P.S. It’s a bit of a massacre but this fantastic book on the pitfalls of human intelligence and the disintegration of a pack when blind adherence to the old rules is lost. Full of sounds, smells, deviousness and pathos this is such an interesting book and I’m going back to re-read the poetry now.
emotional
mysterious
reflective
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-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:
Complicated
challenging
dark
sad
slow-paced
Good Omens meets Animal Farm. It had its moments, but was a bit grim for my taste.
medium-paced