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The Dog: A Novel
The Dog A Novel
Author: Joseph O'Neill
***LONGLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOK PRIZE 2014*** — The author of the best-selling and award-winning Netherland now gives us his eagerly awaited, stunningly different new novel: a tale of alienation and heartbreak in Dubai. —   — Distraught by a breakup with his long-term girlfriend, our unnamed hero leaves New York to take an unusual job in a strange d...  more »
ISBN-13: 9780307472946
ISBN-10: 0307472949
Publication Date: 5/19/2015
Pages: 256
Rating:
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 1

4 stars, based on 1 rating
Publisher: Vintage
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover, Audio CD
Members Wishing: 0
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reviewed The Dog: A Novel on + 105 more book reviews
Strange book. The protagonist, who has no name, takes on the job of overseeing transactions in a company owned by two brothers. One brother is a former classmate, although not a friend.

To do this job, our hero has to live in Dubai. So we learn some interesting things about this strange place of luxury, from how easy it is to get what you want to how easy it is to be thrown out.

Our hero is a lawyer and cautious. Thus he comes up with many ways to proclaim his lack of liability when he signs approvals. He is proud of his carefully-crafted language. For while he generally trusts this former classmate, he doesn't trust his brother.

The story is interesting although fairly straightforward. What is more interesting is the internal life led by the speaker. He ruminates on everything, and speaks in fluent parentheses, often many nested parens and pages with no paragraph breaks.

I had some difficulty figuring out exactly where he stood - was he being sly, clever, or was he genuinely a caring, thoughtful person? There may be a clue in the title, for it is himself, the dog.


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