2008-06-28 Good but not Great

Glancing across at my bookcase, it strikes me that the observer could be forgiven for thinking that I am a little linear in my interests. It's almost solely devoted to dog-related books.

The latest book to join my already expansive collection of shelf-benders is 'A Dog Year' by Jon Katz. For my copy, the book is subtitled with the phrase: "Rescuing Devon, the most troublesome dog in the world".

Anyone who has ever read and enjoyed the immensely popular 'Marley & Me' by John Grogan, will be right at home with this title. It is certainly based upon the same recipe, though there is no mistaking that the authors have very different styles. I, for one, was thankful for that, as I found John Grogan's style to be a little too rich on sentiment, and I felt that he took too many liberties with his audience, not even bothering to describe the appearance of his family, even though they were crucial to the entire story. Jon Katz does not make these same mistakes. He is careful to keep the story focused on what his audience wants to read about - him and his dogs. In fact, let's face it, it's the dogs we're really interested in.

As is typical with this genre, the story starts with Jon obtaining his dog, Devon, a two year old Border Collie, to add to his family of two loyal and trusted retrievers.

We are then taken, sometimes quite slowly but never uninterestingly, through the inevitable bonding and training processes that all dog owners will be familiar with, as well as the highs and the lows that form part of everyday dog-ownership.

It's all very interesting, that is for certain. It's even heart-breaking in places, particularly when the time comes for him to have to put his ageing and trusty retriever down. I feel little shame in telling you that I had to fight back the tears while reading that particular part of the book.

But, here's the rub... All through reading, I found myself constantly waiting to see evidence that qualified the subtitle "... the most troublesome dog in the world". It just wasn't the case. I can almost guarantee that each reader will know at least one dog which is far worse than Devon. Far, far, worse.

In most respects, he was just a typical Border Collie, a herder with a penchant for tyres, but that really was about it. He stole a chicken from the fridge, but hey, we've all had that happen at some point. We have, right? Interestingly, I noted on the Amazon website, while writing this review, that the subtitle has been changed from the copy that I have to: "A Dog Year: Twelve Months, Four Dogs, and Me". Perhaps I wasn't alone in my feeling that the previous subtitle just didn't accurately reflect the story. Perhaps it was changed for the UK audience? I really don't know. All I know is that he is certainly not the most troublesome dog in the world.

I was happy that the author didn't rely too much on the American geography, something which I feel John Grogan was guilty of in Marley & Me, and so I didn't feel as alienated from the story as I did when I read the latter. I was also happy that the book remained true to its description, telling a story about Jon and his dogs. His family members being mentioned only in passing.

It was a good read, but not a great read. The truth is that, despite all of the failings of Marley & Me, it remains the better read of the two books, as, quite simply, more happens. However, for a British audience, I would still recommend "Walking Ollie" by Stephen Foster above both of these, as we can identify with the specific cultures of the counties mentioned, the landscapes, and the people. It makes for a much more engaging read.