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robbynjreeve's review against another edition
1.0
GARY PAULSEN
I would have read Hatchet, but I had already read it in elementary school. I was excited to read this book because I remembered liking Hatchet when I read it. However, I did not like this book at all. It just wasn't a fun read for me. I couldn't relate to the character and didn't really understand the situation he was in. I think the book was written for younger adolescent readers. I'm not sure if they would find it interesting or not. On the one hand, it's a little bit of an adventure in a "foreign" land. On the other hand, it doesn't seem like such a grand adventure and there's not a lot of excitement.
I would have read Hatchet, but I had already read it in elementary school. I was excited to read this book because I remembered liking Hatchet when I read it. However, I did not like this book at all. It just wasn't a fun read for me. I couldn't relate to the character and didn't really understand the situation he was in. I think the book was written for younger adolescent readers. I'm not sure if they would find it interesting or not. On the one hand, it's a little bit of an adventure in a "foreign" land. On the other hand, it doesn't seem like such a grand adventure and there's not a lot of excitement.
vibingjaren's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Not my favorite book by Gary Paulsen. The book idea was interesting, but it just felt dull to me. I loved Hatchet growing up, but this one, not so much. I was honestly hoping it’d focus more on the dogs.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death
Minor: Child death
jamesbullinger's review against another edition
2.0
Reading Gary Paulsen as a 27 year old is a different experience than reading Gary Paulsen as a child. I remember thinking Hatchet was such a full story.
Dog Song was not a full story, but still an enjoyable little story. It got better as it went on. And it helped me decide that if my wife dies before me, I'll just move to the Arctic and be depressed with some Eskimos. So, it had that going for it.
Dog Song was not a full story, but still an enjoyable little story. It got better as it went on. And it helped me decide that if my wife dies before me, I'll just move to the Arctic and be depressed with some Eskimos. So, it had that going for it.
rebelbelle13's review against another edition
3.0
I'm no stranger to Gary Paulsen's work- I've read and enjoyed his entire Hatchet series. Dogsong reads the same, rather like a stream of consciousness and focused on survival. I don't know how accurate this story is to Inuit culture or how much research Paulsen did before writing this narrative. As with most modern Indigenous stories, this one deals with hanging onto tradition and culture in the face of it being stolen by white men- their religion replaced with christianity and their way of life replaced by machines and other modern day conveniences. Russel wants to capture the way his people used to live, and decides to live with and be taught by the oldest and wisest in his village, a man named Oogruk, who just happens to own the last group of sled dogs. Russel goes on a soul-searching journey in the dark and cold, across the ice with the dogs. He hunts and he survives all in the old way. A lot of this part of the book feels very same-y, swapping between his dreams and him traversing the ice. In the last twenty pages he finds the pregnant girl in the snow (not a spoiler, it's on the back cover) which I feel was way too late in the novel to introduce a new character. I appreciated the different perspective this novel brought, but it wasn't very memorable for me. Hopefully there's better modern Inuit stories out there!
cherry_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
bloomingrose92's review against another edition
4.0
Dogsong is simplistic in the way that feels almost childish. Yet it is in this childish way that Gary Paulsen is able to express this hunter's way of life which is born into many and remember by some.
The main character Russel on his run of awesome proportions represents our own more mental run back to a cleaner form of things. Returning to the old ways and ridding ourselves of some of the "better" forms of present day is the main connection to character and reader alike. Although it is hard for readers to say they understand how it feels to hold their life in their hands, anyone can connect to this ancestral way of living. All it takes is a little less focus, and more diving in on the reader’s part.
Paulsen has also created a stand that I feel personally. His mention of how losing the old ways has made life more complicated but not particularly better really sinks in when one ponders the state of the world we have created with man’s machine. And I’m not calling out machines here to scapegoat, I’m talking about the greed we hold as much as the “white men” in the book. I feel that is one of the best messages you can learn from any book, and the way Paulsen has captured it will make it sink deep and stay. So young and old, new or great reader, enjoy.
The main character Russel on his run of awesome proportions represents our own more mental run back to a cleaner form of things. Returning to the old ways and ridding ourselves of some of the "better" forms of present day is the main connection to character and reader alike. Although it is hard for readers to say they understand how it feels to hold their life in their hands, anyone can connect to this ancestral way of living. All it takes is a little less focus, and more diving in on the reader’s part.
Paulsen has also created a stand that I feel personally. His mention of how losing the old ways has made life more complicated but not particularly better really sinks in when one ponders the state of the world we have created with man’s machine. And I’m not calling out machines here to scapegoat, I’m talking about the greed we hold as much as the “white men” in the book. I feel that is one of the best messages you can learn from any book, and the way Paulsen has captured it will make it sink deep and stay. So young and old, new or great reader, enjoy.
elliearnold's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
jarichan's review against another edition
4.0
Eine wundervolle und eindringliche Geschichte aus dem Ewigen Eis. Gary Paulsen bringt dem Leser das Leben der Inuit näher, ihre Bräuche, ihr Leben im Norden und wie sich alles verändert hat, seit sich der Weisse Mann eingemischt hat.
Die Beschreibungen der Schlittenfahrten waren oftmals richtiggehend berauschend. Ich war tief beeindruckt, wie sich Russell immer mehr auf seine Hunde einliess und dabei auch seine für uns unwirtliche Heimatwelt neu entdeckt.
Zwar als Jugendbuch geschrieben, kann ich doch auch neugierigen Erwachsenen dazu raten, sich diesem Buch zuzuwenden. Es entführt uns in eine uns fremde Welt und zeigt uns eine andere, ursprünglichere Art und Weise zu leben auf.
Die Beschreibungen der Schlittenfahrten waren oftmals richtiggehend berauschend. Ich war tief beeindruckt, wie sich Russell immer mehr auf seine Hunde einliess und dabei auch seine für uns unwirtliche Heimatwelt neu entdeckt.
Zwar als Jugendbuch geschrieben, kann ich doch auch neugierigen Erwachsenen dazu raten, sich diesem Buch zuzuwenden. Es entführt uns in eine uns fremde Welt und zeigt uns eine andere, ursprünglichere Art und Weise zu leben auf.
eralon's review against another edition
fast-paced
2.0
No, don't do it. Read it with my 6th grade son and he didn't especially enjoy it either.
nicolec429's review against another edition
5.0
i have read this book over and over again. i dont know why i like this book, but i always enjoy reading it!