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A review by biscuitcrux
Stargazing Dog by 村上たかし, Takashi Murakami
5.0
I was dying to read this book after my boyfriend read it and told me it made him cry like a baby. He hadn't cried in more than 15 years about anything. I've never seen him cry and can't imagine it happening. So I just had to see what kind of graphic novel could actually break down that emotional wall for The Man Who Never Cries.
So...yeah. It's not unheard of for me to cry at a book, but this one made me lose it several times. It's from the point of view of a dog, snagged from a box by a young Japanese girl but that ends up being primarily cared for by her father. Her father is kind enough but inattentive to the needs of his wife and family. In the book's afterword, he is described as someone who failed to adapt. His daughter, undisciplined by her father, goes off and lives a life of sleazery in a rock and roll band (or that's what I gathered), and his long-suffering wife eventually files for divorce. The man, unemployed and suffering from a heart condition, gathers the dog and his few possessions in his car and heads south towards his hometown.
They don't end up making it, as you can see from the book's very first pages where they are seen being pulled by police, long-dead, from the broken-down car in the middle of a field. The man has been dead much longer than the dog, so evidently the loyal dog had been living in the car after the man's demise.
My boyfriend described the book as "manipulative," and I'd have to agree. The book is from the point of view of the dog, which is not very bright but very sweet. Its name is "Happie." It calls the man "daddy." Things happen to it that it does not understand but the reader understands. It was manipulative but very well done.
So...yeah. It's not unheard of for me to cry at a book, but this one made me lose it several times. It's from the point of view of a dog, snagged from a box by a young Japanese girl but that ends up being primarily cared for by her father. Her father is kind enough but inattentive to the needs of his wife and family. In the book's afterword, he is described as someone who failed to adapt. His daughter, undisciplined by her father, goes off and lives a life of sleazery in a rock and roll band (or that's what I gathered), and his long-suffering wife eventually files for divorce. The man, unemployed and suffering from a heart condition, gathers the dog and his few possessions in his car and heads south towards his hometown.
They don't end up making it, as you can see from the book's very first pages where they are seen being pulled by police, long-dead, from the broken-down car in the middle of a field. The man has been dead much longer than the dog, so evidently the loyal dog had been living in the car after the man's demise.
My boyfriend described the book as "manipulative," and I'd have to agree. The book is from the point of view of the dog, which is not very bright but very sweet. Its name is "Happie." It calls the man "daddy." Things happen to it that it does not understand but the reader understands. It was manipulative but very well done.