Book Review: The Dogs of Babel

Reviewed By: Woodstock - RAM

The Dogs of Babel     Amazon US HC Amazon Canada HC
Carolyn Parkhurst
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Fantasy   Romance

A very unusual debut novel. My local library has classed this one with mysteries, and the story does begin with an unexplained death, but there's a lot more here than just a mystery. Lexy Ransome has fallen from a tree and died. The injuries she sustained make it clear that she did not jump, her limbs and internal organs have been damaged in a way that would not have occurred if she jumped feet first. Her dog has alerted the neighborhood to the tragedy by barking in distress. In addition to his shock and grief Lexy's husband Paul is determined to learn as much as he can, and he realizes that the dog Lorelei was a witness to what happened. He determines to unlock the communication barrier between man and beast to have Lorelei tell him what happened.

This determination makes him an object of ridicule, gets him into deep trouble with his friends and at his job, and eventually places both himself and Lorelei in genuine physical danger.

Interspersed with his experiments with modified typewriter keyboards, reward therapy, and other tests of Lorelei's abilities, we travel back in time and learn of his life with Lexy, of her unusual artistic skill, and of their somewhat uneasy happiness together. The novel becomes a study of one man's bereavement. To make it even more poignant, there are some scenes which will simply break the heart of any reader who has ever loved a dog.

Woodstock - RAM

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Woodstock - RAM