Fifteen Dogs
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- €4.99
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- €4.99
Publisher Description
Winner of the Giller Prize 2015
Winner of the Writers' Trust Fiction Prize 2015
It begins in a bar, like so many strange stories. The gods Hermes and Apollo argue about what would happen if animals had human intelligence, so they make a bet that leads them to grant consciousness and language to a group of dogs staying overnight at a veterinary clinic.
Suddenly capable of complex thought, the dogs escape and become a pack. They are torn between those who resist the new ways of thinking, preferring the old 'dog' ways, and those who embrace the change. The gods watch from above as the dogs venture into unfamiliar territory, as they become divided among themselves, as each struggles with new thoughts and feelings. Wily Benjy moves from home to home, Prince becomes a poet, and Majnoun forges a relationship with a kind couple that stops even the Fates in their tracks.
Engaging and strange, full of unexpected insights into human and canine minds, this contemporary take on the apologue is the most extraordinary book you'll read this year.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Just when you think there are no new ideas for stories, you come across something as unique as Fifteen Dogs. Canadian author André Alexis starts with a surprising premise: fickle Greek gods Apollo and Hermes make a bet in a bar that animals would be much less happy if they possessed human intelligence. To settle the matter, they grant 15 canines consciousness and the ability to use language—and sit back to see what happens. We found ourselves completely absorbed by the book’s four-legged characters and charmed by Alexis’ witty fable.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"One evening in Toronto, the gods Apollo and Hermes" decide that the only way to determine whether human intelligence contributes to happiness is to grant it to 15 dogs and see whether they die happy. This audacious beginning of the latest novel from Alexis (Childhood, winner of the Books in Canada First Novel and Trillium Book Awards) places the book firmly in the ancient tradition of stories about the immortal gods placing wagers on mortal activity. The gods' interference allows Alexis to neatly sidestep potential criticism that he has anthropomorphized, sometimes leveled at works that try to imagine the inner lives of animals, while he ruminates on aspects of human society including political structure, the nature of dominance, the role of the weak, religion, authenticity and performativity, love, and art. Clearly familiar with canine behavior, Alexis manages to encapsulate an astonishing range of metaphysical questions in a simple tale about dogs that came to know too much. The result is a delightful juxtaposition of the human and canine conditions, and a narrative that, like just one of the dogs, delights in the twists and turns of the gods' linguistic gift.
