The Dog Master: A Novel of the First Dog

Probably one of the most misrepresented books I have ever read. Touted as a book about the first dog and her owner; this rambling, nonsensical, soap opera, dumpster fire of a book is the first book I've finished that I will actually give one star to. Usually I reserve this low of a rating for books that drive me totally mad and that I can't bring myself to finish. This one had me pressing through, not because it's good in ANY way, but because I desperately wanted an answer to why the hell it's marketed the way it is. I have no answer, even after reading all of it, plus Cameron's Afterword, and his very own shining five star review that he left ON HIS OWN BOOK.

Even if I had known what this book was really going to be, I would hate it. Maybe slightly less, but I would still consider it lazy, middle-grade school level, repetitive writing that had me wondering how this book had possibly managed to receive such a high review score on Goodreads. Characters speak to each other in ridiculous ways that Cameron says was an artistic choice, there are repeated scenes written in slightly different ways sprinkled throughout, and there's only about 10-15% of the book that's actually about the first dog and her owner. Don't even get me started on how the characters names would be spelled differently several times on the same page. Which I suppose is more the editor's fault than Cameron's, but still infuriated me to no end.

If you want to read a story about the mom of the guy that first domesticated a wolf, another unconnected tribe (up until about 1/4 of the way through the book), and a TON about the Paleolithic version of Day's of Our Lives, this is the book for you. If you want to read a story about the first dog? Steer clear of this one.