Comments on: Blog-worthy topics http://www.katherineemmons.com/2009/06/its-a-dogs-life/ Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:30:31 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Catherine Stine http://www.katherineemmons.com/2009/06/its-a-dogs-life/comment-page-1/#comment-161 Catherine Stine Fri, 05 Jun 2009 21:55:23 +0000 http://www.katherineemmons.com/?p=1227#comment-161 Dear Daisy, Speaking of dogs that speak, have you read the book, "The Dogs of Babel" by Carolyn Parkhurst (Opps, almost typed Barkhurst). I just it finished yesterday. This fictional love story actually is based on the concept that dogs speak. So much so that one dog, Dog J, puts a person in jail. What is really unique about this book is that while the author is a woman, it is written in the first person (I) that is a man. What? I have read many, many books which were written about women in the first person, but the author is a man (like Wally Lamb’s, "She Come Undone"….) But this is my first experience the other way around. I wonder if Daisy would get along with Loilei—the main character, or do I say big-dog in this book? She is a Rhodesian Ridgeback (read big dog)? A review by Judi Clark shares that there is a running joke about novels that include “a dog barking off in the distance” -- somehow that’s become an indicator that it’s going to be a “bad book.” Not so---keep reading. Another talking or action dog book, "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night," is by Mark Haddon. This is an inspiring book told from the point of view of an autistic 15-year-old boy. It begins when Wellington, the pet poodle who lives across the street, is stabbed with a pitchfork and killed. Christopher decides to solve the mystery and write a book about it. Using his favorite novel, "The Hound of the Baskervilles," by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, (Yes, another dog book) as his model, he investigates the crime. While it sounds like a downer, this coming of age story is filled with warmth and often humor. In yet another book, "Silver Blaze," by Arthur Conan Dolye, again, there is a murder and the dog didn’t bark. "Silver Blaze" focuses on the disappearance of the eponymous race horse named Silver Blaze, a famous winner, on the eve of an important race and on the apparent murder of its trainer, John Straker. The tale is distinguished by its atmospheric Dartmoor setting and late Victorian sporting milieu. It also features some of Conan Doyle's most effective plotting, hinging on the famed "curious incident of the dog in the night-time" ... : Gregory (Scotland Yard detective): "Is there any other point to which you would wish to draw my attention?" Holmes: "To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time." Gregory: "The dog did nothing in the night-time." Holmes: "That was the curious incident." All to say, keep writing Daisy, you are in an impressive league… or do I say pack? Catherine. Dear Daisy, Speaking of dogs that speak, have you read the book, “The Dogs of Babel” by Carolyn Parkhurst (Opps, almost typed Barkhurst). I just it finished yesterday.
This fictional love story actually is based on the concept that dogs speak. So much so that one dog, Dog J, puts a person in jail. What is really unique about this book is that while the author is a woman, it is written in the first person (I) that is a man. What? I have read many, many books which were written about women in the first person, but the author is a man (like Wally Lamb’s, “She Come Undone”….) But this is my first experience the other way around. I wonder if Daisy would get along with Loilei—the main character, or do I say big-dog in this book? She is a Rhodesian Ridgeback (read big dog)?

A review by Judi Clark shares that there is a running joke about novels that include “a dog barking off in the distance” — somehow that’s become an indicator that it’s going to be a “bad book.” Not so—keep reading.

Another talking or action dog book, “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night,” is by Mark Haddon. This is an inspiring book told from the point of view of an autistic 15-year-old boy. It begins when Wellington, the pet poodle who lives across the street, is stabbed with a pitchfork and killed. Christopher decides to solve the mystery and write a book about it. Using his favorite novel, “The Hound of the Baskervilles,” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, (Yes, another dog book) as his model, he investigates the crime. While it sounds like a downer, this coming of age story is filled with warmth and often humor.
In yet another book, “Silver Blaze,” by Arthur Conan Dolye, again, there is a murder and the dog didn’t bark. “Silver Blaze” focuses on the disappearance of the eponymous race horse named Silver Blaze, a famous winner, on the eve of an important race and on the apparent murder of its trainer, John Straker. The tale is distinguished by its atmospheric Dartmoor setting and late Victorian sporting milieu. It also features some of Conan Doyle’s most effective plotting, hinging on the famed “curious incident of the dog in the night-time” … :
Gregory (Scotland Yard detective): “Is there any other point to which you would wish to draw my attention?”
Holmes: “To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time.”
Gregory: “The dog did nothing in the night-time.”
Holmes: “That was the curious incident.”
All to say, keep writing Daisy, you are in an impressive league… or do I say pack?

Catherine.

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