Fifteen Dogs

Fifteen Dogs by André Alexis
Published: 2015
Series: Quincunx #2
Length: 171 pages

This is the first book I read for this year’s CanBook Challenge. I finished it at the end of July, which shows just how behind I am on this whole blogging thing. My interest in this was piqued when I heard of it won the 2017 Canada Reads competition, but I’ve never been a huge fan of anthropomorphic animals as a literary device. Maybe I’m still reeling from the trauma of watching Homeward Bound as a kid, but animals as main characters is not something that makes me want to pick up a book. Lee-Ann bought this for me as a Christmas present, and I’m glad she did. I really enjoyed it, and I don’t think I would have picked it up myself.

The story begins with Hermes and Apollo drinking in a Toronto pub, debating whether or not animals would be happy if they were given the thought and speech of humans. To settle the argument, the two gods decide to give fifteen dogs in a nearby shelter human intelligence. If just one dog is happy at the time of his or her death, Apollo will serve Hermes for a full year, so sure is he that this will lead these animals to misery.

It was actually a fascinating thought experiment, and I really enjoyed seeing how different dogs reacted to their ‘awakening’. I was worried before reading this that it would all be a bit saccharine and silly, but it was actually quite serious and grim. The narrative focuses on just a few specific dogs and gets surprisingly dark at times. It asks a lot of big questions and doesn’t really try to answer them. It’s more about examining different aspects of human nature through this bizarre lens.

I did find it grim to the point of feeling a bit unrealistic. I’m sure a homeless dog’s life can be terrible, but I’m sure not EVERY human would kick them or throw rocks at them. Angry humans poisoning their garden to keep dogs out can’t be THAT common of a thing. I feel like painting all humans as awful was meant to raise the stakes, add to the struggle to survive and understand the world, but it’s actually the one part that didn’t ring true for me. It’s a book full of talking dogs acting with human consciousness and yet somehow the humans were the part that felt false. I supposed it’s because I really have no idea how those dogs would react, but I know at some point a human would want to give each of them some snuggle wuggles.

I really enjoyed this. I wish I knew the area in Toronto, as it felt like the neighbourhood was fairly well realized. This is apparently part of his Quincunx series that will examine faith, place, love, power and hatred, according to Goodreads. This is the second novel of five, three of which have already been published, but I don’t believe they’re related in any kind of narrative sense. I might check out Pastoral at some point, as I’m curious about his other writing now.