getinkshedtears's review against another edition
I loved the narrative conceit of the fragmented, semi-omniscient collective ghost consciousness -- or whatever it is -- from the start, but it took me maybe 1/3 of the book, before which I had a hard time distinguishing the various characters, to shift from "I should like this more" to "This is excellent." By the end I was sobbing. It's not in any way an enjoyable read, but I'm giving it four stars for being one of those novels that will stick with me for a while, and that I might even read again at some point to get a better feel for the beginning with the extra context of the end.
hanne_eerdekens's review
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
annagrac's review
4.0
I picked up this book after having read Reservoir 13 and thoroughly recommend it. I'm not generally into literary fiction, but Jon McGregor does something really quite special in both books that set them apart.
In this book you *feel* the separation between the court system and the people it is supposed to serve in the very structure of the sentences used. The court is set out like a play - formal, scripted, precise & logical. Real life is set out as a stream of consciousness - fluid, complex, episodic & unstructured. The contrast between the two raises more questions than it answers, but makes this an intriguing read.
Reservoir 13, incidentally, feels rather like a book length poem/song with repeated "choruses" and themes emphasising how life continues after tragedy. The use of language in both books is very different, but in both cases languages is being used to make quite a profound point.
If you have enjoyed either of these books by McGregor, you may also like [b:Solar Bones|29773751|Solar Bones|Mike McCormack|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1459779562s/29773751.jpg|50139645] which has a similar feel to it.
In this book you *feel* the separation between the court system and the people it is supposed to serve in the very structure of the sentences used. The court is set out like a play - formal, scripted, precise & logical. Real life is set out as a stream of consciousness - fluid, complex, episodic & unstructured. The contrast between the two raises more questions than it answers, but makes this an intriguing read.
Reservoir 13, incidentally, feels rather like a book length poem/song with repeated "choruses" and themes emphasising how life continues after tragedy. The use of language in both books is very different, but in both cases languages is being used to make quite a profound point.
If you have enjoyed either of these books by McGregor, you may also like [b:Solar Bones|29773751|Solar Bones|Mike McCormack|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1459779562s/29773751.jpg|50139645] which has a similar feel to it.
jackiefranklee's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
iainakemp's review against another edition
3.0
There were parts of this book that I really enjoyed. There were parts that I really struggled with. The opening was gripping; the ending was poignant. I felt a little bored in the middle.
There is some beautiful writing. There is some jarring, confusing, mystifying writing.
In the end, it is a book that I am glad I read and some parts of it will stay with me. But it was a bit of a struggle.
There is some beautiful writing. There is some jarring, confusing, mystifying writing.
In the end, it is a book that I am glad I read and some parts of it will stay with me. But it was a bit of a struggle.
ptrmsschrs's review against another edition
2.0
not at all what I expected
To be honest, I was in the mood for some bleak, depressing, realistic novel, when I started reading "Even the dogs". But I was sorely disappointed, although the book does have all the ingredients for a disturbing read:
- the death of a middle aged man, probably due to a combination of liver cirrhosis and heart failure
- his estranged and drug-addicted daughter
- his so-called friends whose lives revolve around finding the next 'fix'
However the author never made an emotional impact on me. I found it hard to relate to the characters or to even find some sympathy for them. At times I found the story to be tedious, except at the end of the novel, when the ghosts of his dead friends follow his corpse to the coroner and then to the incinerator.
I was also annoyed by the author's style of writing. To give you an example: "All that. Did he say all. Did he climb in the flat and. Was he talking on the phone taking instructions and. .... But these things he comes out with. Could have been but. Was it. And what did Robert say. If Mike was stood over him like. Was it." (sic). The book is littered with unfinished and broken sentences, that added nothing to my reading experience; on the contrary.
To be honest, I was in the mood for some bleak, depressing, realistic novel, when I started reading "Even the dogs". But I was sorely disappointed, although the book does have all the ingredients for a disturbing read:
- the death of a middle aged man, probably due to a combination of liver cirrhosis and heart failure
- his estranged and drug-addicted daughter
- his so-called friends whose lives revolve around finding the next 'fix'
However the author never made an emotional impact on me. I found it hard to relate to the characters or to even find some sympathy for them. At times I found the story to be tedious, except at the end of the novel, when the ghosts of his dead friends follow his corpse to the coroner and then to the incinerator.
I was also annoyed by the author's style of writing. To give you an example: "All that. Did he say all. Did he climb in the flat and. Was he talking on the phone taking instructions and. .... But these things he comes out with. Could have been but. Was it. And what did Robert say. If Mike was stood over him like. Was it." (sic). The book is littered with unfinished and broken sentences, that added nothing to my reading experience; on the contrary.
tashreads2manybooks's review
3.0
When I began reading this book the characters disgusted me. The world McGregor portrays is so foreign and sinister to what I am used to (thank goodness I suppose) that I found it quite unsettling reading. It is a world of drug users, alcoholics and delinquents; where the most urgent and important need is to make enough money for the next score. By the end of the novel, i can't say i liked any of the characters, but they became more human. I pitied them. I hoped for something positive amongst the ashes and squalor.
I found it to be a rather cautionary tale; nothing good comes from this lifestyle, and most of the characters come to a rather gristly end. Yet it gives the addicts; the homeless; the forgotten people in society a face and a voice - even if what that voice says is something that makes us uncomfortable, and we would rather be deaf to it.
Well written and thought provoking.
I found it to be a rather cautionary tale; nothing good comes from this lifestyle, and most of the characters come to a rather gristly end. Yet it gives the addicts; the homeless; the forgotten people in society a face and a voice - even if what that voice says is something that makes us uncomfortable, and we would rather be deaf to it.
Well written and thought provoking.
guiltyfeat's review
4.0
Dismal, bleak and mercifully short. This was like Melvin Burgess's [b:Junk|98973|Junk|Melvin Burgess|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1171430616s/98973.jpg|2756729] crossed with Jim Crace's [b:Being Dead|92559|Being Dead|Jim Crace|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1362225657s/92559.jpg|1239782]. Cut off sentences add urgency but also stand for muddled minds unable to focus. I thought this was a powerful work about loneliness, addiction and people living beyond the borders of society. Impressive.
deedireads's review
4.0
All my reviews live at https://deedispeaking.com/reads/.
TRIGGER WARNINGS:
Drug abuse and alcoholism; Suicidal thoughts and attempt
TL;DR REVIEW:
Written in gutting prose with experimental form and raw emotion, this book is a haunting but incredibly human look at severe drug and alcohol abuse.
For you if: You like to read incredibly written, sad novels (like I do).
FULL REVIEW:
The lovely folks at Catapult reached out to me last month to see if I’d like to read an early copy of this book because they thought it would be perfect for me, and described it thus: “Jon McGregor’s Even the Dogs suspends you in an ocean — if an ocean were a chorus of spirits who carry your grief in a wave. With the exquisite prose that you loved in Reservoir 13 and The Reservoir Tapes, this short novel explores how our stories are connected by something as incidental as a shared emotional experience. Ultimately as hopeful as it is fierce, Even the Dogs is a daring and humane exploration of homelessness and addiction that bears witness to the forgotten and overlooked.”
Obviously I instantly said yes! And they were right: It was perfect for me, because I’m a sucker for beautifully told novels that rip my heart out. Written in gutting prose with experimental form and raw emotion, this book is a haunting but incredibly human look at severe drug and alcohol abuse.
The book is narrated in the second-person plural (“we”) by a chorus of dead former drug users. They follow the progression of another friend’s body as it’s discovered in his home, taken to the morgue, autopsied, and investigated. Throughout, they zoom in and out of the present, also looking at the recent lives of several other friends who knew the dead man, as well as the dead man’s past.
What’s really unique about this book is McGregor’s daring to trust the reader as he switches narrators, jumps to different moments of time (often mid-sentence), leaves sentences hanging in the middle, and otherwise really just behaves like an untethered chorus of spirits lost in time and space. I read the opening chapter twice, to solidify my bearings and get used to the style, but after that, I incredibly never felt lost; he brought me with him with every jump.
This is a group of people who are not looked at often in real life; in fact, most people actively look away. This was even more true ten years ago, and literature was (and is) no different. This book does big work of making us look, and making us look closely. It brings these people to life even in death.
TRIGGER WARNINGS:
Drug abuse and alcoholism; Suicidal thoughts and attempt
TL;DR REVIEW:
Written in gutting prose with experimental form and raw emotion, this book is a haunting but incredibly human look at severe drug and alcohol abuse.
For you if: You like to read incredibly written, sad novels (like I do).
FULL REVIEW:
“The two of them smoking together then, and later, once she’d left, the two of them smoking apart, in rooms a hundred miles away, their fingers yellowing and the memory of each other flaring to life each time they lit up, no matter what they did to avoid it, the drinking and whatever else. The way memories like that end up a part of you, and then pop out again with some movement or some bang on the bone.”
The lovely folks at Catapult reached out to me last month to see if I’d like to read an early copy of this book because they thought it would be perfect for me, and described it thus: “Jon McGregor’s Even the Dogs suspends you in an ocean — if an ocean were a chorus of spirits who carry your grief in a wave. With the exquisite prose that you loved in Reservoir 13 and The Reservoir Tapes, this short novel explores how our stories are connected by something as incidental as a shared emotional experience. Ultimately as hopeful as it is fierce, Even the Dogs is a daring and humane exploration of homelessness and addiction that bears witness to the forgotten and overlooked.”
Obviously I instantly said yes! And they were right: It was perfect for me, because I’m a sucker for beautifully told novels that rip my heart out. Written in gutting prose with experimental form and raw emotion, this book is a haunting but incredibly human look at severe drug and alcohol abuse.
The book is narrated in the second-person plural (“we”) by a chorus of dead former drug users. They follow the progression of another friend’s body as it’s discovered in his home, taken to the morgue, autopsied, and investigated. Throughout, they zoom in and out of the present, also looking at the recent lives of several other friends who knew the dead man, as well as the dead man’s past.
What’s really unique about this book is McGregor’s daring to trust the reader as he switches narrators, jumps to different moments of time (often mid-sentence), leaves sentences hanging in the middle, and otherwise really just behaves like an untethered chorus of spirits lost in time and space. I read the opening chapter twice, to solidify my bearings and get used to the style, but after that, I incredibly never felt lost; he brought me with him with every jump.
This is a group of people who are not looked at often in real life; in fact, most people actively look away. This was even more true ten years ago, and literature was (and is) no different. This book does big work of making us look, and making us look closely. It brings these people to life even in death.