Customer Reviews

Flawed Dogs: The Novel: The Shocking Raid on Westminster

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

When I heard that Berkeley Breathed was making the jump to novels, I was tickled. I have been a huge fan of Breathed's work for years, back when he was doing the newspaper strip Bloom County. I have followed his characters over the years, from Bloom County to Outland and finally on to Opus. I have picked up his childrens books and am now anxiously awaiting the release of the first volume in a collected edition of his Bloom County newspaper strips.

When I heard about Flawed Dogs, the Novel, I assumed that it was simply an extension of his children's book Flawed Dogs: The Year End Leftovers at the Piddleton "Last Chance" Dog Pound, maybe telling the story of the riot at Westminster that was mentioned in the book. While this is partly true, basically Flawed Dogs, the Novel takes a mirror image of the original story, using characters from the original (mostly the dogs), and slightly altering others (Heidy Strüdelberg, former Westminster judge becomes Heidy McCloud, young niece to Hamish McCloud, owner of McCloud Heavenly Acres, and a famous dog shower in his own time), to make an entirely new and refreshing story of the love between a dog and their human. I firmly believe in the idea that there are "dog people" and "not dog people" out there; dog people have a dog and will understand what this story is all about. Not dog people simply won't get beyond that it's a fun little story.

The story revolves around Heidy McCloud and her dachshund, Sam the Lion. Sam is going to be a show dog, living only to make his owner happy. Heidy McCloud is an orphan who has been sent to live with her reclusive uncle Hamish McCloud. Through a chance encounter at the airport, Heidy and Sam become best friends (this chance encounter results in a taxiing 737 following Sam driving an electric airport cart who is following Heidy in a cab - trust me, in Berkeley Breathed's world, this works). Heidy and Sam make themselves a new home with her Uncle Hamish, secure in the knowledge that Heidy has found her dog and that Sam has found his human. However, Sam eventually is framed by the housekeeper's poodle, Cassius, when it becomes clear to Cassius that Sam will win Best in Show at the next Westminster Dog Show, a prize that Cassius feels has every right to go to him.

Uncle Hamish sends Sam away after he has been framed, and Sam eventually winds up at the National Last-Ditch Dog Depository, a dog pound for the most unloved, un-adoptable dogs. Sam decides that this is not the place for him, decides to leave, knowing that if he could make it back to Heidy, he could make her understand what has happened. When he reaches the McCloud estate, Cassius heads him off, and Sam finally understands that it was Cassius who framed him. Sam is injured in a scuffle with Cassius, and is left to die when he is found and sold to the New England University Research Labs. After several years imprisoned there, Sam organizes a mass breakout with all the other animals kept there. He then finds himself living with the Rough Handed Man, who has a kind heart but is in need of money and enters Sam into a dog fighting contest for money. It is here that Sam sees the poster for the upcoming Westminster Dog Show, with Cassius' picture prominently displayed, and it is here that Sam realizes that Cassius is to blame for his years of torment. He escapes the dog fights, returns to the Dog Depository, convinces the other dogs there that they must help him overthrow the Westminster and take revenge on all the other perfect, pampered dogs in the world. This is where the book really takes off.

Breathed's unique flavor of humor really shines through in the assault on Westminster. The lengths the dogs go to to sabotage the show are hysterical, especially when they try to get into the show disguised as a woman. My favorite scene in the entire book occurs here, and while most of this won't make much sense to anyone until they read the entire sequence, I have to share this bit:

"...As the small curly-haired dog tried to regain traction, he slid around toward the rear, giving the full appearance to the observing crowd that below the coat, Mrs. Nutbush's left bosom had gone rogue and begun a migration to better shores.

The club secretary watched this without expression beyond a single perfectly arched eyebrow.

'Madam,' he said, 'Your bits are restless.'"


I kept having to go back and reread this bit, because it kept making me giggle each and every time. In continuing Breathed fashion, the story eventually loops right back around to become a touching story of friendship and the love between a dog and human, as Heidy and Sam are finally reunited. I am always surprised by how Berkeley Breathed is able to make something that can in turns be so ridiculous and funny and absurd, yet still bring it around to become a story that has true heart and soul.

This book was wonderful, but I had purchased it as a bedtime read to my daughters (age 7 & 5). I was very excited because I love Berkley Breathed and the cover sounded like a very silly, wonderful romp. This book is good, but I'm so glad I read it first before reading to my girls. The hero dog suffers horrible, torturous events in his life and from the first chapter, where he's being dropped into a dog fighting ring, the terror this pup endures is heartbreaking. For kids who love their dogs or are at all sensitive, this book will likely be far too graphic and upsetting for them. As an adult, it was powerful and emotional book that made me cry through much of it, but I think parents should be careful that their child is ready for the violence in this novel. It presents itself as much funnier than it actually is.

Don't know a thing about Berkeley Breathed. I was raised on Alternative Weekly Comix. And as a parent of a < 1 yr old - don't know much about children's books yet. Last week at the Corporate Chain & Ball book store I started reading this book by complete accident (look at the cover!)and spent the next hour trying not to frighten other shoppers. Roaring one minute, nearly weeping the next, having my mind basically blown. It took another visit the following day to finish the book, without family this time. I might want to say I was doing some recce for my daughter in a few years, but in truth, this book grabbed me and wouldn't let go. This is children's literature today?! A little different from Box Car Kids of my youth. I can't wait to legitimately get this book. Bravo Breathed whoever you are. Maybe you are the Jane Goodall of dogs. You are an amazing storyteller and artist. Keep these things coming.

Everybody loves an underdog, especially one that triumphs in the end. And Sam, the big-hearted dachshund and star of Pulitzer Prize-winning comic strip creator Berkeley Breathed's debut novel, FLAWED DOGS, is no exception. He's loveable (try scratching him behind the ears), impeccably good-looking (check out his glistening coat) and charming almost to a fault. But if you cross him, look out! You'll never meet a dog with a more entrenched (and unwavering) taste for revenge.

In the beginning, Sam was a dog to be envied: his owner, Heidy, adored him; he had the run of the house and sprawling countryside; and he was on the fast track to win top marks in the country's most prestigious dog shows. But when Cassius, a jealous poodle jockeying for Heidy's affection and the "Best in Show" title, frames Sam for a crime he didn't commit, the once-cushy, now-scorned pooch is forced to go on the run or suffer the deadly consequences.

Over a series of tension-mounting chapters, Sam finds himself in a variety of disastrous situations (hint: evil animal-testing medical research lab, gruesome dog fighting ring, and depressing homeless animal shelter), where he is called upon to win back his freedom. With cunning and grit that only a true underdog can muster, Sam proves his prowess all the way to the Westminster Dog Show where he stages a hilarious coup in a rematch with Cassius, the likes of which canine-lovers have never seen.

Breathed's vibrant, larger-than-life illustrations are an added bonus throughout the book, and his storytelling is infused with adrenaline. And although the writing is fast and upbeat, there are still moments that will stop to touch your heart, especially if you're a dog owner. Moments like the aforementioned dog fighting and animal shelters are tinged with real-world drama, and the reader can't help but feel for these vulnerable pooches.

You loved"Bloom County." You couldn't get enough of "Opus." And Edwurd Fudwupper of EDWURD FUDWUPPER FIBBED BIGfame? He may have been a liar, but he sure was entertaining. Now, do yourself a favor and pick up FLAWED DOGS. Get to know Sam. Then take a trip to your local animal shelter and adopt a Sam of your own. They don't call them man's best friend for nothing.

--- Reviewed by Alexis Burling

Review by Haley. I admit, some parts of the story bothered me, but that does NOT make me dislike the book! There are millions of homeless dogs in the U.S.A alone that enter shelters every year, but only around half of them make it out. Even though that this story is fiction, I believe that it will raise awareness about all of the dogs that are euthanized just because there are not enough homes for them. The reason there are not enough homes is because too many people breed dogs and too many people choose to buy bred puppies when there are shelter dogs just waiting for someone to save their lives. Everyone wants puppies, but they only stay little and puppy looking for about a year. Everyone who reads this review answer a question for me: What would you rather have, a little puppy who has had no time to experience cruelety or an abused adult dog in a shelter who has never been loved before? Take time to think about it. Now I'm not saying that all the puppies who have already came into this world deserve to be homeless. I'm saying to not bring any more into this world. Always spay and nueter your pets, micro chip them, and make sure they have collars with tags that have your name, number, and address on it. And next time you decide to bring a dog into your family, adopt. Follow these four things, and you can help make a difference.

Flawed Dogs by Berkeley Breathed

A fairy tale illustrating that everyone or every dog should have it's day. That regardless of size, shape or breed overweening ambition can corrupt and unconditional love can console. A perfect dachshund becomes flawed, despondent, abandoned and maligned. He conquers all and returns in triumph. It is a story of acceptance and redemption.

You may not recall Opus the penguin or Billy and the Boingers but Berkeley Breathed has been around for quite awhile. I admit to being a fan and having reveled in his skewed look at politics, computers and society in general. I lust for a Banana 2009 computer. The illustrations were classic Breathed and added to the flavor of the book. I enjoyed the characterizations and the anthropomorphic nature of the characters. The cover may lure parents into thinking it is for young children. I don't feel it is appropriate for young kids. It has a dark side that may be more revealing and intense for any kid under 10. I am giving the book to my 11 year old grandson, who I feel is age appropriate for the story. I will make sure that I am available to discuss it as it has things that lead to discussion. Regardless of it being labeled for young readers, I enjoyed it. I am sure my grandson will as well with oversight.

I recommend the book.

I got this book for nightly reading for my children 6&8 thinking it would be a good animal story. It came highly recommended at the school book fair. I found the things that happened to the little dog were too much for my kids and very sad and scary. The dog is setup, then shot by its owner - on purpose. Then caught in a wild animal trap before being sent off to be experimented on! I had lots of explaining to do! Id say it is better suited for older kids, middle school maybe. But it is a well written page turner.

I've been a Berkeley Breathed fan since "Bloom County" became the daily highlight of my newspaper reading in the 1980s. As the quirky wonderment of his Bloom County characters found their way into some of Breathed's post-comic strip pursuits, his evocative artwork and pathos-based writing have delighted two generations of readers in our house.

Breathed sustains these in the novel "Flawed Dogs, The Shocking Raid on Westminster", his narrative "sequel" to the 2003 picture book, "Flawed Dogs: The Year End Leftovers at the Piddleton "Last Chance" Dog Pound.

At the center of the book, is Sam the Lion, a show-quality Dachshund in possession of the "Duuglitz Tuft", a shock of legendary upright hair signifying Dachshund perfection (readers of the original picture book will recognize Sam from the cover, the niblick that graced the original cover as a substitute for a missing rear leg now replaced with a ladle).

A series of abrupt changes in Sam's circumstances --each more dire than the last-- take on a number of issues familiar to advocates for better treatment of animals: dog shows, animal research laboratories, dog fighting, shelters and indifferent owners.

The transparency of an advocacy-driven theme here is the book's biggest drawback. And even though clearly a farce, Sam's worsening predicaments become as tiresome as the hero tied to the log in the sawmill or the woman tied to the railroad tracks as the story unfolds. And while the language is simple and the approach is whimsical, this is NOT a book for young kids: some of the things that happen to Sam are very much adult themed, including losing a rear leg and being placed in a dog fighting arena.
These are the things that keep it from reaching five stars...

But read it anyway: the book begins with belly laugh in the author's note, and will have you reaching for a tissue at the conclusion of Chapter 1 ("Scent"), a mere nine pages later. The writing is charming, the interspersed monochrome and full color prints are up to his usual standards.

And if you have a dog in your life: at the end, you'll be glad they trust you completely and love you unconditionally...and feel a pull for those dogs not similarly blessed.

This book is head-and-shoulders better than Mark Levin's "Rescuing Sprite" (a book I liked, by the way.) It is fiction, has a few Bloom-County-esque illustrations, and is a tear-jerker when it comes to human-dog relationships. I haven't enjoyed a revenge scene this much since "A Fish Called Wanda's" famous "Look! It's K-K-K-Ken c-c-c-coming to k-k-kill me!"

Memorable and enjoyable. Very special story.

This is a children's book that you should think twice about before giving it to your child. If you do decide that your wee one can handle it, or if you're one of those lucky adults without kiddos cutting into your reading time, this little novel is one that is worth pulling down from the shelf again and again. Flawed Dogs is hysterical, sad, heart-wrentching, and triumphant.

I'm not the kind of mom who frets over main stream media corrupting little minds. My kids aren't watching the Saw series, but if they enjoy the Nightmare Before Christmas or find Futurama funny, so be it. We began reading Flawed Dogs to our five-year-old, and after the first few chapters I had to read ahead to make sure that this was a book we could finish reading to him. For the first time in my parenting career I thought hard about restricting access to something my kid enjoys. I was afraid he is simply too young for it. Classic childrens books, however, aren't concerned about pulling punches. James and the Giant Peach, Willa Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, even the Harry Potter series, all dark, dark, dark. Childhood is not the goodship lollipop. So, onwards,and we'll answer the hard questions as they may come.

This book broke my heart several times; I knew this was going to be a problem when the book opened in a dog fighting ring. Sam the Lion is a prized dachshund, but, as so often happens, how we begin our lives is not a guarantee on how they will be lived. Sam finds love in the form of orphaned Heidy McCloud when they both experience a series of mischances that land them at the estate of her Uncle Hamish. Uncle Hamish, his housekeeper, and her dog Cassius take the two in but this act of kindness covers something darker -- Sam is eventually betrayed and rejected, leaving him to make his way through a world that is not kind to its strays. Take a peek at the front cover to ogle Sam's leggle. Leggle! It's so awful, and yet so hilarious all at the same time. Sam eventually finds resolution at the great Westminster Dog Show. The ending is so very satisfying, especially for us Bill the Cat fans.

I have loved anything that Berkeley Breathed has cared to put out there. I'm dissappointed in his recent turn towards children's literature, but only because I'm selfish and I want his work to be monolithic; War and Peace epic even. I ached for Sam the Lion. When you are dreading turning a page because you are afraid of what is going to happen next, you are in the midst of reading a good book.