Red Dog - Hardcover

De Bernieres, Louis

3.8

4,123 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0436205807 ISBN 13: 9780436205804

Publisher: Martin Secker & Warburg Ltd, 2001

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No reader, regardless of age, will fail to be captivated by this charming story of a legendary dog, in Louis de Berni�res’ Canadian publishing debut.

After his beloved master, John, is killed in an accident, Red spends the rest of his life looking for him, not understanding that John is gone for good. Ensuingly, Red becomes everyone’ s dog. Welcomed by everyone he meets, Red goes to parties, hitches rides, steals food at beach barbecues, and makes friends with the most reluctant people and wary cats. Based on the wonderfully irresistible adventures of a legendary Aussie dog, Red Dog is about devotion, independence and good food -- the things that matter.

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Review:

Readers familiar with the epic sweep of Louis de Berni�res' previous novels, and especially his phenomenally successful Captain Corelli's Mandolin, might be shocked by this small volume of (literally) shaggy dog stories. But those who have enjoyed the humour of those same novels will appreciate this sleeker, slimline de Berni�res.

In 1998, de Berni�res visited the mining towns of Western Australia and stumbled across a bronze statue of Red Dog (1971-1979) outside Dampier. Inspired by this legendary canine, he made another visit, collecting the stories of his life and gently fictionalising them. We follow Red Dog, the itinerant, resourceful, if flatulent hero ("a real dag of a dog") as he seduces all who meet him at Hamersley Iron Transport. After his early residence with New Zealander John is cut short by John's untimely death, however, Red Dog undertakes "his greatest adventures" with "absolute liberty", criss-crossing the country with amazing ease, becoming the "Pilbara Wanderer, the Dog of the North-West, who belonged to everyone because he couldn't find the one he loved the most, and wouldn't settle for less".

Whether undermining the Hitlerian trailer-park managers, or hitch-hiking from Perth, Red Dog always comes up trumps. Dealing with his hero's inevitable decline, de Berni�res manages to secure real empathy for the dog, without declining into mawkishness--perhaps because we all know a Red Dog, canine or otherwise. As one character points out: "Everyone's got a Red Dog story. Someone ought to write them down." Louis de Berni�res thankfully has. --Alan Stewart

Review:

"De Bernieres brilliantly evokes the red heat of Australian summers. Heat lifts off the pages: turning them is like opening furnace doors" (Spectator)

"When I finished the final chapter I immediately extended a sought-after invitation to my dog to spend the night on the bed" (Observer)

"Contains some of his best writing" (Sunday Times)

"It's a novel that will appeal to everyone whether they're dog-lovers or not." (Daily Express)

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