The Dogs of Babel : A Novel
by Carolyn Parkhurst
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Book Summary Information
Author: Carolyn ParkhurstEdition: Paperback
Format: Bargain Price
Published: 2004-06-07
ISBN: 0316011037
Number of pages: 288
Publisher: Bay Back Books
Book Reviews of The Dogs of Babel : A Novel
Book Review: A weird book, but not bad
Summary: 4 Stars
The Dogs of Babel isn't a bad book, but it's not a great book either. The book opens with the narrator, Paul, suddenly discovering that his wife, Lexy, has died from falling out of the apple tree in their backyard. The rest of the book details how Paul grieves and copes with and the loss of his wife. The narrative alternates between their past love story and Paul's present day coping activities. In particular, Paul attempts to teach his dog Lorelei how to talk, because he realizes that Lorelei is the only one who has insight into the last moments of Lexy's life. I am sympathetic to his very strange endeavor. Anyone who has suffered a sudden loss would have a ton of questions and would go to any lengths to find answers. Still, I found Paul's attempt to teach his dog how to talk weird. Then, as the book progressed, this business of teaching a dog how to talk got even weirder. I found it to be distracting from the central theme of coping with a sudden death.
In between the present day narration is the one about Paul and Lexy's past. Some parts of Paul and Lexy's love story remind me of Nicholas Sparks' writing. Their romance was sticky sweet. The two of them were so in love with each other that their first date lasted a week. However, that's where the similarities end. Paul and Lexy's romance did not have an overarching theme or greater message about love in the way that Sparks' novels do. Additionally, I had a hard time relating to Paul, Lexy, or their romance.
The novel is neither plot-driven nor character-driven. Instead it focuses on one aspect of human life, coping with death. I think that Paul knew the answers to Lexy's mysterious death from the very beginning, but he wasn't ready to face it. After all, isn't denial the first stage of grief? Throughout the book, he desperately searches for clues about his wife's death and in the end he finds the answers that I felt were in his possession all along.
Overall, I would rate Dogs of Babel 3.5 stars. But since I am unable to rate it with a half star, I rounded it up to 4 stars. I neither recommend it nor not recommend it. It's as enjoyable read that was never dull, but parts of it were just too weird for me to give it a higher rating.
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