Fifteen Dogs

The premise of this book is very unique and interesting. However, as someone who studied zoology and anthropology, some of the author's choices pulled me out of the illusion. The way the book is written in terms of themes and events seems to suggest the author subscribes to the unscientific belief in dominance theory among dogs and that human nature is also competitive and cut-throat. Combine the two, and this book has so much competition and violence for a story about two cooperative, social species. This book is really about what makes us human, not about what makes a dog a dog, and yet despite trying to incorporate both, it fails to really explore the reality of either. It doesn't really add anything new to the conversation of our humanity and works off of a relatively narrow view uninformed by anthropology, sociology, or linguistics. I feel like this book could have been great if the author knew more about the subjects he was using thematically.

Rating: 2.5 ⭐This keeps happening to me... I'm doomed to dislike award-winning books. Whenever a book receives high praise and tons of media and literary attention, I always find it falls short of the hype and expectations. I know myself as a highly critical reader of anything that presents itself as high literature, so take my analysis with a grain of salt.SummaryBored and restless gods Apollo and Hermes decide to place a wager on whether or not dogs can die happy if given human consciousness. The brothers decide to test out their theory by giving fifteen dogs in a kennel the gift of human thinking, but it soon becomes clear that humanity is a burden on the animals, and so Apollo and Hermes watch as the dogs attempt to navigate life with their newfound sense of self.ReviewMy biggest gripe with Fifteen Dogs is that it is a very dry and uninteresting prose. The writing reminds me a lot of [b:Normal People 41057294 Normal People Sally Rooney https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1571423190l/41057294.SY75.jpg 59141209], which I also disliked, so maybe that explains things. Fifteen Dogs drags in many places, and the pacing is inconsistent. I found myself bored more often than not, and, surprisingly despite the themes of the book, I felt zero emotional attachement to the characters. The dogs lead horrible lives and die in horrible ways thanks to humans, gods, and fellow dogs, too. However, the emotional impact was not as strong as what was intended. The author's extended moralistic allegory is repetitive and dull. Moreover, there were quite a number of plot holes that required a higher level of suspension of disbelief to get over them.For example, Majnoun and Nira have a conversation about god during which Nira asks if he believes in a higher power. Majnoun explains that the concept is completely foreign to dogs, and so it is difficult for him to form a definitive opinion about the topic. However, some 20-30 pages later, Atticus builds an altar in the park and sacrifices to god (Zeus) because he believes in a “master of all master.” How can one dog have no concept of religion, yet another not only knows of the idea, but even understands ancient rituals to appease his god of choice? Speaking of gods, Zeus is sorely misrepresented as a benevolent and caring god. Anyone who knows Greek mythology knows he is anything but kind to mortals. By contrast, Apollo and Hermes are made more cruel than what they already are in mythos. Another thing that is never explained nor revisited is the idea that the dogs have a different clock and calendar system than humans. Why was this detail included if it wasn't relevant to the story?One of the strong points of the book, however, was the inclusion of poems that, once recited out loud, contain the name of a dog in the story. This was a clever mechanism that ensures that 1) the book is revisited after it's over and 2) that the dogs are remembered for their lives and sacrifices.Overall, Fifteen Dogs was a miss for me. I would have DNFed it save for the fact that I had to read it for work. I don't regret giving it a shot, but I know that I will not be rereading it any time soon.

An exploration of what it means to be human, and especially what it means to love, told through the eyes and noses of fifteen Toronto dogs unexpectedly given human intelligence.

I don't remember the last time I was so deeply moved by a book. Maybe it's because I have and love dogs. I finished the book on the train and had to hide the tears streaming down my face. It's poignant. Tragic. Joyous. Profound.

Bonus:listen to the audiobook. There's a moment at the end where the reader chokes up and apologizes. I'm not sure why the engineer didn't edit that out, but I loved it.

I cried a lot.

What a delightful book! To me, it read like a mixture of a fable and a Moacyr Scliar novel. Not at all what I was expecting, but still a great read; one of the best of the year, for sure.

It sure helped that I love both dogs and Greek gods.
It also helped that Majnoun was a black poodle.

Two drunk Gods decided to make a bet, give dogs the intelligence of humans and see if they can find happiness. What happens is some turn on each other violently, some are selfish and cunning. One dog Prince becomes a poet and some of them are threaten by him. Majnoun after being attacked by some of the pack, is taken by a couple and has a deep relationship with Nira, the human who took care of him. All trough this book, we learn what happens to the 15 dogs and discover if they truly are happy. A brilliant book that makes you think.

This book keeps showing up on book prize lists, so I figured there's gotta be something good about it. I knew I was going to like it at least a little, since it's basically an AI story - dogs gain consciousness through divine intervention. It felt like a spin-off of [b:Mort e 22181034 Mort e Robert Repino https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1416178734s/22181034.jpg 41529181] actually, in a non-apocalyptic setting. 15 dogs suddenly find themselves with a new awareness of the world, and I found myself hoping desperately for their happiness. This has come about because of a bet between Apollo and Hermes, who've wagered a year of servitude against the happiness or lack thereof of the dogs at the time of their death (so, yes, dogs die in this book - keep that in mind if you're sensitive about this!). There's some goddish bickering in the background of the story that affects the lives of the dogs in different ways, but really it's about how the dogs deal with knowing. They quickly create a new language among themselves, and some embrace it quickly by creating puns and poetry, while others try to cling to their essential “dogness”, whatever that is, and struggle to reconcile what they see as their fundamental being with a new-found intelligence and knowledge. But they're different...they don't fit in the human world, but not in the dog world either. I can't help but call the gods' wager unfair, as they've created self-aware outcasts and expect to compare their level of unhappiness with humans who were born into a world expecting their self-awareness. How happy can you be to suddenly know the extent to which humans condescend to you? But it's only condescending if you have the knowledge to understand why. Baby talk is condescending to adults but for babies it's perfectly acceptable (and helps them understand language faster). Is it fair to be angry that someone spoke to you in a way you perceive as condescending if it wouldn't have been condescending before you could perceive condescension? And if the someone isn't aware that you can perceive condescension now? That was kind of confusing but the dogs weren't really thinking too much about how humans see regular dogs. They did a lot of reacting, and the nature of their reactions were different from before, and it scared and intrigued them. Anyway, I liked this book. I hope it wins one of the awards it was nominated for.