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Dogsbody by Diana Wynne Jones
Oct. 30th, 2016 09:37 pmDogsbody
3/5. The one where Sirius the star is cast down to live as a dog, and gets adopted, and stuff.
Point one: yes, JK Rowling absolutely read this book at a formative time, wow, good to know.
Point two: I read this when I wanted something fluffy and soothing. It's DWJ! It's about a dog! My wife is fond of it! I asked no questions. This was a mistake.
This book is not fluffy. It is, in fact, a study in cruelty, in the overlapping ripples of it as people and creatures are awful to each other in succession. Sirius is mistreated in various ways, as is his nominal owner, a young Irish girl. The book is contrasting various kinds of cruelty – deliberate, absent-minded, childish copycat without understanding – and like. It's a good book! But boy I didn't enjoy any of that.
3/5. The one where Sirius the star is cast down to live as a dog, and gets adopted, and stuff.
Point one: yes, JK Rowling absolutely read this book at a formative time, wow, good to know.
Point two: I read this when I wanted something fluffy and soothing. It's DWJ! It's about a dog! My wife is fond of it! I asked no questions. This was a mistake.
This book is not fluffy. It is, in fact, a study in cruelty, in the overlapping ripples of it as people and creatures are awful to each other in succession. Sirius is mistreated in various ways, as is his nominal owner, a young Irish girl. The book is contrasting various kinds of cruelty – deliberate, absent-minded, childish copycat without understanding – and like. It's a good book! But boy I didn't enjoy any of that.