A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron

A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron

First book in the A Dog's Purpose series by W. Bruce Cameron

 

(taken from Amazon.com)

Heartwarming, insightful, and often laugh-out-loud funny, A Dog's Purpose is not only the emotional and hilarious story of a dog's many lives, but also a dog's-eye commentary on human relationships and the unbreakable bonds between man and man's best friend. This moving and beautifully crafted story teaches us that love never dies, that our true friends are always with us, and that every creature on earth is born with a purpose.

Bailey's story continues in A Dog's Journey, the charming New York Times and USA Today bestselling direct sequel to A Dog's Purpose.

I read this book on a whim, because one of my dearest students in seventh grade offered to let me borrow her copy when I noticed it tucked under her arm as she left my classroom a week ago. I had not, and still haven't, seen the movie, so I can't speak to how that measures up with the novel.

A Dog's Purpose started out sounding much like Jack London's Call of the Wild or White Fang (neither of which I was ever particularly fond of, seeing as they lacked a certain human element), but once I was about 100 pages into it, I really began to enjoy it. While London's novels never really seem to escape the wild animal perspective (which is part of the point, yes, but not all that interesting or engaging for someone who fancies more human characters), A Dog's Purpose diverges about a quarter of the way into the book when Bailey meets Ethan and their friendship blossoms. As the reader, we are concerned for the well-being of the dog, but, often even moreso the human characters that the dog(s) care for. With Jack London's novels, the narrator does not dwell much on the dog's/wolf's masters beyond their relationship to the animal, but in A Dog's Purpose, the human reader often understands more about the humans in the story than the canine narrator, and consequently sympathizes more with the dog who loves his masters and companions without abandon, and in spite of their flaws and struggles. I became invested in the dog narrator, not so much because I love dogs (and I do, but, again, I prefer human characters), but rather because the dog's fate is tied so much to the fate and well-being of his human owners and care-givers. This book, although written for dog lovers to unearth the depth of relationship between humans and canines, is ultimately not just about dogs. It is also about the struggles of humans in broken relationships, and seeing them healed.

I was also impressed at how the themes in this book tied together so suddenly and succinctly with the tying-together of the characters and plot at the end. You don't see the main themes and underlying message until it is suddenly brought together at the end, and I thought that was cool.

Overall Rating: 8 / 10 Stars 

Even if you're like me and you prefer books with human protagonists, don't be deterred; this book will not disappoint. Unless you're really into cats. In which case you might be offended by some of the comments Bailey the dog makes about the purposelessness and uselessness of cats.*


*It should be noted that Bailey-the-dog's claims are neither inaccurate nor unfounded. Cats actually, in fact, are useless. Let's be honest. They mew and scratch and prance around like they own everything. Also, ALLERGIES.