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A review by silentcat7135
Mush!: Sled Dogs with Issues by Glenn Eichler
4.0
I started 2012 with two graphic novels I got for Christmas.
One of them made me laugh and one of them made me cry.**
This is the one that made me laugh.
Who knew sled dog teams were so full of relationship issues, office politics, and all-out existential angst? (Apparently, Glenn Eichler knew, but I had never given it a thought.)
Spend some time with...
Dolly, lead dog, questioning both her ability and desire to lead.
Fiddler, who ponders life, the universe, and everything
Venus, who resents the fact that the boss keeps breeding her, year after year.
Winston, snobby purebred Samoyed.
Guy, ambitious and aggresive, who wants Dolly's lead position.
And, my personal favorite...
Buddy, a lovable lump who can't figure out why his repeated breedings with Venus doesn't mean they have a relationship. Bitches can be such...well, bitches. His attempts at conversation with Venus (and the practice attempts at conversation with her that he has with Fiddler) had me laughing, sympathizing with him, and rooting for him at the same time.*
The relationship issues, office politics, and existential angst all go on during the dogs' boredom between runs. If there's the slightest hint of a possible run, all that falls away and their faces exude pure doggy joy.
There's an accident, an attempted coup, and...oh yeah...a subplot involving the intense, isolated lives of the boss (who doesn't realize it takes a village to keep a couple from wanting to kill each other) and the boss's mate (who among us hasn't had the equivalent of the "APRICOTS" argument). The plot elements aren't surprising, but are well handled and always serve to deepen the characterizations rather than just happening.
Highly recommended!
*And may I say to all of my Goodreads friends that your turd piles were most pleasingly formed this morning. Wait...wait...did I say something wrong? Stop...don't unfriend me...
**And here's the link to WE3, the one that made me cry.
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/213914424
One of them made me laugh and one of them made me cry.**
This is the one that made me laugh.
Who knew sled dog teams were so full of relationship issues, office politics, and all-out existential angst? (Apparently, Glenn Eichler knew, but I had never given it a thought.)
Spend some time with...
Dolly, lead dog, questioning both her ability and desire to lead.
Fiddler, who ponders life, the universe, and everything
Venus, who resents the fact that the boss keeps breeding her, year after year.
Winston, snobby purebred Samoyed.
Guy, ambitious and aggresive, who wants Dolly's lead position.
And, my personal favorite...
Buddy, a lovable lump who can't figure out why his repeated breedings with Venus doesn't mean they have a relationship. Bitches can be such...well, bitches. His attempts at conversation with Venus (and the practice attempts at conversation with her that he has with Fiddler) had me laughing, sympathizing with him, and rooting for him at the same time.*
The relationship issues, office politics, and existential angst all go on during the dogs' boredom between runs. If there's the slightest hint of a possible run, all that falls away and their faces exude pure doggy joy.
There's an accident, an attempted coup, and...oh yeah...a subplot involving the intense, isolated lives of the boss (who doesn't realize it takes a village to keep a couple from wanting to kill each other) and the boss's mate (who among us hasn't had the equivalent of the "APRICOTS" argument). The plot elements aren't surprising, but are well handled and always serve to deepen the characterizations rather than just happening.
Highly recommended!
*And may I say to all of my Goodreads friends that your turd piles were most pleasingly formed this morning. Wait...wait...did I say something wrong? Stop...don't unfriend me...
**And here's the link to WE3, the one that made me cry.
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/213914424