Let me preface this week's review by saying no, I haven't seen the movie. I love movies, but I love books too (more, usually!).
So I am not going to be talking about the movie or the controversy around it or anything like that. I'm going to talk about the book.
Fair warning: I'm a dog person. You've probably figured that out by now. Actually, I'm an animal person, but dogs hold a special place in my heart. And with these two, how could they not?
(Photos courtesy of my super talented mother-in-law)
So guess what... a book from a dog's perspective, about how much he loves his humans, as he searches for meaning in his life - in his many lives?
Yeah, I kind of loved it.
I also kind of cried.
But it's a happy book. There are sad parts, but as a whole, it's happy.
I loved the voice of the dog. At one point, he's talking about how he walked down an aisle at a church and stood still and sat when he was supposed to and then his humans kissed and everyone cried and cheered to see what a great job he did walking and sitting when he was supposed to.
I mean come on. How adorable is that?!
Or how about this gem:
“I wondered briefly if cats also came back after death, then dismissed the thought because as far as I had ever been able to tell, cats do not have a purpose.”
Snippets like that made me smile throughout, and I teared up more than once.
In case you don't know the premise, after a short life as a mutt, our narrator is euthanized. He is surprised to wake up again as a puppy, and he gets to live life all over. He lives his life - and then another, and then another - in a quest to find his real purpose.
So yes, there are definitely sad parts. But knowing that "the dog dies at the end" trope isn't in this one makes things a little easier. It didn't save the sleeve of my hoodie from being a makeshift tissue, but it still made it slightly less sodden. Probably.
The humans are fairly one-dimensional, I will say that. If you are looking for subtlety, this also is lacking. But that really isn't the point. The world is seen through a dog's eyes. He strives to be "a good dog" throughout all of his lives. He is not going to understand nuance. People who smell like beer and kick at dogs are bad. People who smell like farms and baking are good. Kids are good. His kids are best. Loneliness is bad and anyone by themselves has to be lonely. Sadness is bad and to be avoided.
Really, the voice of the dog is what makes this book amazing. I can see my own dogs' expressions in the narration, which I love.
A dog person will get it. Even a non-dog person likely will.
A recommend for sure.