Reading: A Dog's Purpose

I will start this review off by saying that it seems like a billion people LOVED this book. There are hundreds upon hundreds of 5 star reviews telling people to go read this book right this very second because "OMG it's the best!"

However, I didn't have that reaction so my opinion is definitely against the grain.

Like cats, dogs have multiple lives. At least, Bailey, the canine narrator of this first novel, has more than one. Bailey’s first life is spent as a feral puppy who learns to trust humans after living with a loving but slightly dotty woman who owns too many dogs to suit the county. Bailey is removed by animal control, and his next life brings him to young Ethan, the human Bailey will love and search for through all his subsequent lives, first as part of K-9 Search and Rescue and then as a dumped and mistreated mutt. Through all these lives, Bailey contemplates his purpose in a voice full of curiosity and humor. He ruminates on the usefulness of cats (“none”) and the strange natures of humans (“Am I a good dog or a bad dog? They can’t decide”). This quickly paced, touching novel will charm all animal fans, especially those who loved Garth Stein’s The Art of Racing in the Rain (2009) and Vicki Myron’s Dewey (2008), the best-selling saga of a library cat. --Kaite Mediatore Stover via Amazon.com

I feel like I should like this book because it's about a dog and I love dogs, but it's actually because I love dogs so much that I don't think I liked this book much at all. That said, I'll start this review with what I did like: I liked Bailey's take on other animals. I thought there were some great lighthearted moments there. I just wish that there had been more of them.

Unfortunately there were a lot more things that I didn't like...

I thought it was too simple.  It's told from a dog's perspective so I think the author was trying to convey the "simple" mind of a dog. Much like with Room though, the end result was that I felt the writing was stunted. It's also really really sad. Dog-related books in general tend to have a bittersweet element to them, but there was too much bitter and not enough sweet here for me.

My biggest gripe with this book though was that I didn't feel like it took the pet overpopulation problem seriously enough. I was almost offended by the ease with which the writer glosses over how awful some of the scenarios are that Bailey finds himself in. It makes sense to include some of it in the book - because bad things do happen in reality every day - but, once they're in there the writer has a responsibility to make it crystal clear that that these conditions are inhumane. I don't feel like that was done at all.

Unfortunately this book wasn't for me so I can't really recommend it. If you're on the lookout for a good it-has-dogs-in-it novel, I recommend The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, The Art of Racing in the Rain, or Walking In Circles Before Lying Down instead.