Review Tuesday: 'Dog Boy'

Today’s ‘Review Tuesday’. On page 274 of her remarkable and acclaimed 2009 novel Dog Boy [1, 2], Eva Hornung [3] quotes Dostoevsky [4] thus, regarding animals: ‘God gave them joy untroubled. They are without sin, and you, in all your greatness, defile the earth by your appearance in it, and leave the traces of your foulness after you…’ And that, pretty well, sums up her book. In grungy Moscow Ramochka, a 4-year-old boy, is abandoned by his family and adopted by a pack of feral dogs. The first half of the book’s 290 pages tell the story of Ramochka and his new family. Eventually he becomes a dog in all ways except his appearance and sense of smell. Then, slowly but inevitably, the outside world – of humans – intervenes. Ramochka moves, with predictable difficulty, between both worlds which engage in a kind of tug-of-war for him. Finally he chooses one. Which? I’m not saying. You’ll have to read the book. And you should. Because it’s not to be missed. Especially by everyone who’s concerned by the place of animals in our contemporary world; and even more by anyone calling themselves a ‘dog person’. Darling Kate, who loaned me the book, told me that since she’d read it she’s thought about dogs quite differently. Me? I agree. But it also reminded me there are at least two sides to every situation, and it’s essential to see that situation from more than your own side. P.S. Grateful thanks, darling Kate.