Sometimes when I think what special power I would like to have, I’m sure it’s the ability to read animals’ minds.
Other times, though, it’s invisibility, or teleportation.
I guess I’m not the only one who would want to have the power to read animals’ minds. Bruce W. Cameron took such approach to his book A Dog’s Purpose and wrote it… from the dog’s perspective, making the dog the narrator. The protagonist dies and gets reborn a few times over the course of the book, but his life as the dog Bailey is the most prominent. He has a lot of adventures along his few lifetimes, and always is looking for his purpose in life/lives.
A Dog’s Purpose is a story about not only a dog, but about cats, horses, boys, and human beings – all seen through dog’s eyes. I still wish I knew if that was even a little close to what dogs might actually be “thinking,” but nonetheless I admire the writer’s idea and willingness to show us the animals’ ways of life. And I appreciate that a lot of the book was based on the author’s own experiences with his dog, Cammie.
I did wonder why Bailey was always reborn as another dog. Isn’t reincarnation about being reborn as a “higher being?” Or maybe dogs are the highest beings, and there is nothing/nobody “better” to be re-born into. Or maybe after his last reincarnation, after the book ended, Bailey will be born as a human. He remembered all his previous lives while he was reborning as a dog, so it would be fun to read a story about his re-birth as a human and STILL remembering his past lives as a dog.
But I think I might be getting over my head now.
Anyway, A Dog’s Purpose is a light book, written in a language that’s not too advance, but this is to be expected for a family novel. In fact, this book is so sweet that it would be a sin to write anything bad about it. Thankfully, I don’t have to. For me it was a real page-turner and I was sorry when it ended (too quickly!). It was moving – I did cry a few times – but also light and uplifting. Most of all, though, it’s about our pets and their devotion to us. An absolute must-read for every dog-lover.
Author: William Bruce Cameron
Country: United States of America
Genre: Humor/Family Fiction
Published: 2010
Published: Macmillan Publishers
My rating: 9/10
Cordy 