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30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sit. Stay. Read., May 26, 2004
Rumor has it that the number one least appreciated and fantastic fantasy writer of the English language in the United States is Diana Wynne Jones. Rumor also has it that one of her best written works (little known) is the delightful "Dogsbody". Truthfully, I hadn't heard anyone give this book any credit until I decided to work my way through all the great unknown children's books. This book falls squarely into the slightly more adult kids fare (as will be explained) but that doesn't stop it from being a really wonderful work of art. This is one of those book gems one often wishes they could find but so rarely do. Beautifully written, it's a classic. The great Dog Star Sirius is on trial for his life. Though we puny humans don't know it, the stars, planets, and even satellites have their own distinct lives and actions. When Sirius finds that he has been falsely accused of murder, he is sentenced to live out his days as a real honest-to-goodness dog on Earth. If he can locate a weapon of mass destruction belonging to the Luminaries that has fallen to earth and retrieve it in his doggie state, he will be returned to his original form. This is not only a story about learning to control one's own actions, but a touching tale of a girl and her not so ordinary pup. Originally published in 1975, the book is one of those stories that make you sit up and say, "huh?". Where did Diana Wynne Jones even get this idea? Reading through this book I got the same feeling I received as when I saw the movie, "Being John Malcovich". Mainly, a sense of "how could a person think this up?". As it is, the book could easily have fallen victim to its fantasy elements. Instead, it's a wonderful tale of pet love. Both dogs AND cats get a fair amount of attention in this tale, so don't fear. Just because the hero is in a dog's body, that doesn't mean felines are naturally made out to be the villains. What's really a joy about this book is the amount of time the author spends on Sirius's dog nature verses his luminary nature. From interesting smells to a female dog in heat (nothing graphic occurs, so qwitcherbelliaking) we truly understand what a canine must go through every day of its life. Jones is just as canny with her human subjects as she is with her animal or ethereal ones as well. Sirius is rescued as a puppy from a river by a young Northern Irish girl named Kathleen. The girl lives with her aunt, uncle and two cousins (all of whom are English). Though her cousins act as boys are wont to do (they're neither villains nor saints, that's for sure) and her uncle is kindly but distant, Kathleen's aunt is the real terror in her life. A prejudiced mean Irish-hating creature, she takes a special delight in tormenting her unwanted charge. Only Sirius's presence keeps Kathleen happy and sane, though the threat of being put to sleep hangs over his head as long as Aunt Duffie is around. What I loved about all the people in this story was their capacity for change. Basil, the elder of Kathleen's two cousins, appears to be a real beast at first. He teases Sirius and occasionally lashes out at him, but it's clear that this is just the boy's misguided way of showing affection. No one is irredeemable in this book (though two rougue luminaries hunting for Sirius in his dog-form come close). Even the mythical being that appears at the end of the tale (Earth's darkest son) inspires more pity than fear. If you want a good dog story and you don't mind a bit of fantasy as well, then I just can't recommend "Dogsbody" enough. Somebody ought to film this book. Better yet, author Jones should seriously consider writing a sequel. Though to the best of my knowledge no sequel was ever written, this book leaves itself wide-open for future furry adventures. For any kid who has ever loved an animal, this book is a standout, a knockout, and a sure-fire crowd pleaser. The best I've read in a long long time.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A wonderful girl and dog story, and a unique fantasy., November 15, 1999
Kathleen's mother is dead, and her father, an Irish terrorist, is in prison. She is living with her father's brother's family, in England. Despised by her peers for being Irish, despised by her aunt as an unwanted burden, she is a modern-day Cinderella. Sirius is a star. We know of it as the dog star. In this fantasy, Sirius is a living being, that lives in the sphere of the star. He is in big trouble, accused of murdering a lesser star by using a celestial weapon to cause his sphere to go nova. Wrongly convicted of the murder, Sirius is condemned to a dog's life - and death - on Earth, unless he can find the missing weapon and return it to the stars. The story of Kathleen and Sirius' relationship, and Sirius' quest to return to the skies is touching, funny, and amazingly believable. The tale is filled with adventures and trials, and has action enough to engage any kid. It also deals with poignant human relationships, and touches on legend in a manner guaranteed to engage most adults. This is a wonderful story, and a great read for nearly anyone.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dog Star sentenced to a dog's body, November 28, 2002
In this universe, every celestial body is inhabited by an intelligent entity; in the case of stars, they're called luminaries. A luminary is not a solemn, grand tutelary angel as in Lewis' _Out of the Silent Planet_; on the other hand, a luminary isn't just another mortal entity, as with the Thinking Planets of some Star Trek novels. Luminaries have as much variation of personality as humans do, and in the case of stars, the star is merely the sphere that the luminary inhabits and is responsible for, not its physical body. Sirius is notorious for his fiery temper; when he's accused of killing another luminary in a fit of rage for hanging around Sirius' Companion, he contaminates his own defense by losing his temper yet again, and as the story opens, a tribunal of other major luminaries is passing sentence on him. As Sirius is the viewpoint character (though not in first person), we're given the impression that his wrath is that of outraged innocence, but at first, we only learn that he's withholding facts that would make things look worse, and that the Judges are hoping to get a fuller story out of him. He's found guilty on 3 charges: murder; misusing a Zoi to commit the murder; and negligence (the Zoi was lost, thrown away to fall somewhere on Earth). But in view of his former high standing (and on grounds of temporary insanity), he's given a special suspended sentence of death: to be bound into a mortal body on Earth, where he must retrieve the Zoi to be reinstated. (We're given details about exactly what a Zoi is much later in the story: it's a very dangerous, sophisticated tool.) When next Sirius wakes up, he's in the body of a newborn puppy in England. (Clever: Sirius is still himself, but he can't think properly until the puppy's body is more mature, so his viewpoint becomes that of an unusually bright dog for quite awhile.) He and his siblings are mutts born of a purebred, valuable dog; shortly after Sirius' arrival, the puppies are thrown into the river to drown. (Each is rescued and comes to live with a different person, meeting again only when they're half grown.) Sirius' savior is Kathleen, a young Irish girl sent to live with distant English relatives while her father serves a prison sentence for terrorist activities. The Duffields aren't cardboard villains. They provide for Kathleen and don't physically abuse her, but Duffie (the mother) pours out continual verbal abuse on the laziness of the Irish while simultaneously loading most of the housework on Kathleen (holding her to a promise she made in exchange for keeping 'Leo', her new puppy - named for his fiery green eyes). Kathleen's too young and inexperienced to do everything well - and Duffie heaps more scorn on her rather than teaching her properly. The father is an anything-for-a-quiet-life type; he won't stand up to his wife but isn't unsympathetic. The older boy is picking up his mother's bigotry, but the younger boy, Robin, is a decent little kid. Sirius, at first, is most concerned with avoiding trouble caused by Duffie's cats, who object to sharing the most affectionate person in the house with a dog. (He, in turn, feels that Kathleen is *his*, and is worried that she doesn't understand this and encourages the cats.) He gradually picks up human words and tries to avoid making trouble. Then one day the sun speaks to him...and although his body is still too young to let him remember properly, Sirius now has a powerful ally - Sol is rather annoyed at Sirius' sentence being passed without a word to *him*, as well as suffering from Sirius' incompetent replacement.
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