The Dog Stars

This book wasn't what I expected. I read the summary and it stuck with me for months. Finally I borrowed it from the library and decided to give it a try. The writing style is.... different. It reminded me of a style that some high school english teacher would praise as being “classic”. It was simply bizarre. It felt like one of those movies where you follow a guy around in the wilderness for awhile, watching his mundane life until this little climax happens. Usually in the form of an animal attack or something like that....

I thought that Hig would be living alone in the wilderness, then not far into the book he's go in search of this mysterious radio call. Even if he spent most of the book flying on his way there, it sounded like an adventure. Instead, the first 1/2 of the book covers his boring life in the wilderness, trying to survive with his aging dog Jasper and his psycho neighbor Bangley. Their conversations don't use quotation marks. That makes it even more confusing to read. Half the time I couldn't tell if they were actually talking or if it was just a conversation in his own head.

The second half of the book focuses on following the radio call. That is... if you can call it following. I wont say more at the risk of spoilers. It really did feel like one of those books that an english teacher praises and most of the students are left going “huh”? Then there are those few oddball students who say they loved the book and want to read more like it.

Would I recommend this? Most likely no. There is a very few select people who I think would enjoy this, but the audience seems pretty narrow. I was excited about the premise, but this left me unsatisfied.