7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A keen, clear-eyed outsider's insight on human foibles, good and bad, April 3, 2008
Crises of faith are not new subjects for fiction. But what's surprising about Matt Haig's novel, THE LABRADOR PACT, is the protagonist undergoing that crisis: a dog. Not just any dog, but Prince, the eternally faithful companion of the Hunters, a family in crisis. Prince knows that it's his job to preserve the integrity of his Family at all costs, thereby helping to maintain the integrity of all human families everywhere.
Prince's family, however, seems bound and determined to test the abilities of their Labrador. Adam and Kate, the father and mother of the Hunter clan, have been married for years but find themselves drawn by desire to new neighbors, figures from the past who suddenly turn up in their relatively comfortable lives and wreak havoc with the sanctity of marriage. Then there's Charlotte, a 13-year-old Goth girl whose desire for freedom clashes tragically with her father's fears for the safety of his little girl. And there's Hal, whose plans to ace his A levels and go on to university might be permanently derailed by his tendency to experiment with drugs.
What's a lowly Labrador to do? In Prince's case, every new, perplexing turn of events in his human family raises more questions. Why do humans behave as they do? Is it really possible for a family dog to preserve the sanctity of the nuclear family? Prince and his fellow Labs certainly think so --- at least at first. Prince's mentor, a golden Lab named Henry, introduces Prince to the finer points of the so-called Labrador Pact --- a solemn vow that places Duty foremost and offers its adherents their Eternal Reward: "If we protect human Families on earth, we will be united with our own in the afterlife." But as Prince grows increasingly entwined with his humans' fates, he begins to question everything, not only his Family's peculiar behavior but also Henry's motives and his own unflinching belief in the Pact. Again, what's a lowly Labrador to do?
Haig's previous adult novel published in the United States, THE DEAD FATHERS CLUB, was a clever, insightful retelling of the story of Hamlet from the point of view of a contemporary child. Astute readers will recognize Haig's affinity for Shakespeare in THE LABRADOR PACT as well, but they will also observe the author's nearly uncanny ability to use a naïve narrator to shed surprisingly sophisticated light on adult concerns and relationships.
Fiction about animals can tread an uneasy line between fantasy and sentimentality. Matt Haig toes that line brilliantly, resulting in a novel about animals that not only sheds light on that most sacred of all relationships --- the one between man and dog --- but that also offers a keen, clear-eyed outsider's insight on human foibles, good and bad. Readers fortunate enough to inhabit Prince's point of view for a while will walk away from THE LABRADOR PACT humbled, thoughtful and deeply affected --- and with a whole new perspective on their own relationships with man's best friend.
--- Reviewed by Norah Piehl
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8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Hated the ending, January 5, 2009
One of the most frustrating endings of all the books I've read! The book was, to me, mildly interesting for most of the book. As the book tells you up front that the dog is put to sleep at the end, I was curious enough as to how a good, caring dog like this Labrador obviously was could be driven to do something so bad that he would be put to sleep, so I read the whole book, but I'm sorry I did.
SPOILER ALERT
The dog did nothing more serious (as far as the humans know) than try to defend himself from another dog who was trying to kill him and accidentally biting one of his family when they tried to separate the dogs. And for that, this beautiful dog is put to sleep. It made me wish I'd followed my first instincts and quit reading much earlier on.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Loved the book, not the ending :(, December 14, 2009
Labrador Pact starts with the ending but you SO WANT the book to end differently. All along you are hoping something will change.
Prince is the family dog doing his best to uphold the "Labrador Pact". You really want Prince to succeed in his mission.......which as you learn is not an easy task. I can usually figure out some "stuff" in books but this one really throws some zingers in there.
Enjoyable book overall (but I don't know ANYONE who liked the ending). I almost wish authors would give readers multiple choices of how the book ends..... It's my first book by Matt Haig & it won't be my last.
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