Book Review

One of the things people are most surprised to learn is that we don’t have cable. Although we do have television and an active Netflix subscription, we don’t spend much time watching it. When we do have time to relax, we enjoy reading. Travis read and re-reads mushing books and I read just abouth anything I can get my hands or ears on – I’m a big audiobook fan.

Although we certainly won’t do it all the time, I thought it would be fun to share some of what we read. I’ve often found it hard to find good books about mushing or dogs and know that it’s one of the things many people often ask before and after they visit us. Although many people think of “armchair mushing” referring to following races from home, I like to think of it more broadly to encompass any way a person can experience mushing without actually being on the trail.

So we are going to talk about books. Right now, I’m reading A Dog’s Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron. It’s not a book about mushing but it is a fantastic book about a dog. This book spent multiple weeks on the New York Time’s best seller list after it was published. It’s an easy book to get lost in. Many times I’ve picked it up and told myself “just fifteen minutes” but, an hour later, have found my nose still stuck in its pages and my chores left undone.

The book follows the progression of one dog through many different reincarnations as he tries to discover his purpose in life. Interestingly, the book is written from the dog’s point of view and there are so many delightful descriptions that you read and think ”my dog does that!” or “yes that’s exactly what my dog would think!”

Some of my favorite details so far:

“I especially didn’t appreciate it when, with a flick of her tail, Flare [the horse] dropped a smelly pile of poo on the road, narrowly missing me. I lifted my leg on it because it now, after all, belonged to me, but I felt fairly certain the horse had meant the thing as an insult.” (115)

Upon the cat’s death: “I nuzzled them both to remind that that there really was no need to grieve, since I was ok and really a much better pet than Smokey ever was. The next day, after Mom and the boy left for school, I went out into the yard and dug Smokey back up, figuring they couldn’t have meant to bury a perfectly good dead cat.” (133)

“When she hugged the boy, there was so much love between them that I couldn’t help but try to squirm in between their bodies, which always made them laugh.” (166)

These wonderful descriptions fill page after page and it’s easy to get lost in the story and the stories within the story. Besides his own life and experiences, the dog’s descriptions of human relationships are equally entertaining and at times heart-wrenching. The dog doesn’t always have perfect understanding of why his humans are suffering. All he knows is that their joys, are his joys and their sorrows, are his sorrows.

Reading has often left me both happy and sad as the dog finds new people to share his life with, enjoys his time with them, and then passes on into a new life. I’ve closed the book many times teary-eyed after the dog has reached the end of one of his lives.

I’d strongly recommend this book to anyone who loves dogs. I’ve enjoyed the creative approach to this book and have thoroughly enjoyed it.

Check it Out: