carolinevogt's review against another edition
5.0
If I ever thought I understood the human/animal boundary, this book made me reconsider my beliefs. Disgusting at times, but overall an intriguing tale of society failing. Or is it?
pustulio's review against another edition
3.0
Libro raro...
No sé porque sentí que son como 3 libros en uno. Siento que el autor cambia de estilo con cada capítulo. Inició bien y terminó muy mal me parece. Siento que a veces resuelve todo muy rápido y se clava en cosas que no necesitarían explicación. No es malo, pero no me gusto tanto como pensé que lo iba a hacer.
No sé porque sentí que son como 3 libros en uno. Siento que el autor cambia de estilo con cada capítulo. Inició bien y terminó muy mal me parece. Siento que a veces resuelve todo muy rápido y se clava en cosas que no necesitarían explicación. No es malo, pero no me gusto tanto como pensé que lo iba a hacer.
jenno's review against another edition
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
scytale's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
skyreader's review against another edition
5.0
Don’t expect the Disneyfied version of the urban “Jungle Book.” This is a shocking and horrifyingly believable story of an abandoned boy, rescued from the Russian winter and brought up by a pack of feral dogs. He survives with his new “family” through the many challenges imposed at them by the weather, society, gangs of homeless, rival packs of dogs, and authorities – police and medical crews. There are a few positive characters sympathetic to the dog boy, but mostly there are dangers, which he survives and takes in stride, with a dog-like resilience.
Also, heed my advice—don’t let your guard down. Every time I relaxed carried by the story, something terrible happened, something at the same time inconceivable and frighteningly logical from the perspective of pure survival. I can’t remember if ever a novel shook me to the core so many times during the course of the story, until the very end. Fortunately, there is a hint of hope throughout, and all is not doom and gloom. A fascinating story!
Also, heed my advice—don’t let your guard down. Every time I relaxed carried by the story, something terrible happened, something at the same time inconceivable and frighteningly logical from the perspective of pure survival. I can’t remember if ever a novel shook me to the core so many times during the course of the story, until the very end. Fortunately, there is a hint of hope throughout, and all is not doom and gloom. A fascinating story!
lamusadelils's review against another edition
3.0
Este libro narra la historia de un niño ruso que queda huérfano y termina viviendo con una 'familia' de perros ferales.
Desde el primer capítulo fué bastante diferente de lo que esperaba. Está contado desde el punto de vista del niño, en un estilo que me recuerda bastante a [b:Room|7937843|Room|Emma Donoghue|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1344265419s/7937843.jpg|9585076] de Emma Donogue: Al estar contado desde la perspectiva del niño podemos experimentar su historia de una manera muy íntima y comprender su forma de percibir el mundo, lo que implica que en ocasiones uno termine leyendo entre líneas y descubriendo una historia mucho mas cruda y difícil que la que aparenta ser para un niño.
La dinámica entre el niño y los perros es muy interesante. Incluye descripciones muy viscerales, así como vínculos, roles y conductas establecidas entre todos ellos. Pero además hay interacciones muy complejas con otros grupos, tanto animales como humanos, que me parecieron igual o incluso mas interesantes.
Hay varios cambios drásticos que hacen que cada sección del libro parezca una historia diferente. Por una parte es efectivo, ya que aunque la primera parte del libro es fascinante, hubiera sido muy difícil mantener la dinámica por mucho tiempo, pero al final siento que algunos personajes no funcionan muy bien.
Me parece que hay muchas cosas interesantes en el libro, que provoca reacciones intensas y soprende en varios puntos y que en general es una historia de las que se siguen pensando tiempo después de leerlas.
Desde el primer capítulo fué bastante diferente de lo que esperaba. Está contado desde el punto de vista del niño, en un estilo que me recuerda bastante a [b:Room|7937843|Room|Emma Donoghue|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1344265419s/7937843.jpg|9585076] de Emma Donogue: Al estar contado desde la perspectiva del niño podemos experimentar su historia de una manera muy íntima y comprender su forma de percibir el mundo, lo que implica que en ocasiones uno termine leyendo entre líneas y descubriendo una historia mucho mas cruda y difícil que la que aparenta ser para un niño.
La dinámica entre el niño y los perros es muy interesante. Incluye descripciones muy viscerales, así como vínculos, roles y conductas establecidas entre todos ellos. Pero además hay interacciones muy complejas con otros grupos, tanto animales como humanos, que me parecieron igual o incluso mas interesantes.
Hay varios cambios drásticos que hacen que cada sección del libro parezca una historia diferente. Por una parte es efectivo, ya que aunque la primera parte del libro es fascinante, hubiera sido muy difícil mantener la dinámica por mucho tiempo, pero al final siento que algunos personajes no funcionan muy bien
Spoiler
Los científicos, en general, son interesantes por que aparentan ser complejos y ambivalentes, pero personalmente siento que no están desarrollados hasta todo lo que pueden dar y terminan siendo algo caricaturescos y muy desagradables de leer. Al cambiar a su punto de vista esperaba una visión mas simpática de su lado de la historia pero todo el tiempo me parecieron personajes muy acartonados y poco inteligentesMe parece que hay muchas cosas interesantes en el libro, que provoca reacciones intensas y soprende en varios puntos y que en general es una historia de las que se siguen pensando tiempo después de leerlas.
busdjur's review against another edition
3.0
The book caught me right away with the vivid descriptions and the interesting setting. It held me in a grip until half way through but then it slowly became less interesting and I had a hard time actually finishing it. I rated it on some kind of average (so the good parts were way better than "liked it" and the bad parts were a lot worse)
rhubarb1608's review against another edition
3.0
Romochka, four years old, wakes up one morning to find that the apartment he lives in is totally empty. His mother seems to have been dead for a short time, and his uncle has disappeared -- along with everyone else in the building. There is no running water, electricity, or heat. Romochka goes to bed, but things are worse when he wakes up, not better. When no one has returned for him after several days, he puts on all the clothes he can and ventures out onto the street, where he becomes one of Moscow's two million homeless and abandoned street children.
Or rather, he almost does. Something remarkable happens to him within hours of setting out. See, I did not know when I picked this book up that the street dogs of Moscow are in fact a big deal. Mostly what made me pick it up is the fact that I have a long-standing fascination with feral children, presumably sparked by repeated readings of The Jungle Book and My Side of the Mountain when I was a kid. I didn't realize just how close to being a 20th century Mowgli in Moscow the book actually is, though. As Romochka sits huddled against a water pipe for warmth is that one of Moscow's 35,000 feral dogs passes by and ends up letting him follow her "home."
Mamochka, as he ends up calling her, is a wily yellow dog who has already raised two pups to adulthood and has a small litter of four in her den. Despite the horrible stink of the place, it is warm, and there is food (of sorts) -- Ramochka helps himself to the dog's milk and makes brothers and sisters of the four puppies. With the provision of Mamochka and her two grown pups, the abandoned four-year-old is able to survive the freezing Russian winter, though that is only the very beginning of his story.
Eva Hornung keeps the plot moving by slightly changing perspective in each of the book's four parts, gracefully blending the passage of time so that we scarcely notice that four years of Ramochka's life go by in the process. He quickly finds himself dominant to these feral dogs in many ways, much as young Mowgli discovers he alone has the ability to stare into their eyes unblinking without looking away. And while the youngster laments his lack of hair and very poor sense of smell, by age six he has learned how to beg food for them in the metro stations (a popular haunt of wild dogs) and carry his own weight in his pack.
Like Mowgli, Ramochka discovers that he is between the world of the pack and the world of the humans, but not truly welcome in either. Imaginative and clever, he is able to lead them and order them as no human could have done before -- but due to his wild appearance, he is hated and feared by the other homeless that live around "trash mountain." He has some harrowing adventures, getting lost in the metro with his favorite White Sister; being captured by police, who rather than help him, sell tickets to see the wild child; and being tortured by a gang of skinheads. He is not without friends though, including the sweet cook at an Italian restaurant, who helps him survive one of Moscow's worst winters by giving him blankets, clothes, and a coat, as well as food. Conversing with her keeps him in touch with his humanity, keeps it in his mind that the ways he is different from his dogs are not shortcomings.
Things take a surprising turn when Mamochka brings home another human, this one a baby who fills Ramochka with jealousy as well as strong feelings of love and protectiveness. But the reader understands what the youngster cannot, that this lifestyle -- horrifying and fascinating -- cannot last. And that's when the directors of a children's clinic take notice of these "dog boys."
It's not a book for anyone with a sensitive stomach. Dogs, if you have never noticed, are disgusting. Feral dogs are like a million times worse. And while those in the picture look completely fluffydorable, there's so much filth, bodily fluids, carcasses, and general blood and muck in this book that Kipling so graciously skipped in his. It adds a layer of realism, but I still don't recommend reading it over lunch.
Still, for the most part, I really enjoyed it and was not disappointed at all. In fact, I found the ending one of the best I've read, with all the pieces fitting just perfectly to a resolution that is somehow both distressing and yet right. Hornung has a strong voice, a sharp sense of place, and I was completely fascinated by Ramochka's dogventures, in spite of all the viscera.
Or rather, he almost does. Something remarkable happens to him within hours of setting out. See, I did not know when I picked this book up that the street dogs of Moscow are in fact a big deal. Mostly what made me pick it up is the fact that I have a long-standing fascination with feral children, presumably sparked by repeated readings of The Jungle Book and My Side of the Mountain when I was a kid. I didn't realize just how close to being a 20th century Mowgli in Moscow the book actually is, though. As Romochka sits huddled against a water pipe for warmth is that one of Moscow's 35,000 feral dogs passes by and ends up letting him follow her "home."
Mamochka, as he ends up calling her, is a wily yellow dog who has already raised two pups to adulthood and has a small litter of four in her den. Despite the horrible stink of the place, it is warm, and there is food (of sorts) -- Ramochka helps himself to the dog's milk and makes brothers and sisters of the four puppies. With the provision of Mamochka and her two grown pups, the abandoned four-year-old is able to survive the freezing Russian winter, though that is only the very beginning of his story.
Eva Hornung keeps the plot moving by slightly changing perspective in each of the book's four parts, gracefully blending the passage of time so that we scarcely notice that four years of Ramochka's life go by in the process. He quickly finds himself dominant to these feral dogs in many ways, much as young Mowgli discovers he alone has the ability to stare into their eyes unblinking without looking away. And while the youngster laments his lack of hair and very poor sense of smell, by age six he has learned how to beg food for them in the metro stations (a popular haunt of wild dogs) and carry his own weight in his pack.
Like Mowgli, Ramochka discovers that he is between the world of the pack and the world of the humans, but not truly welcome in either. Imaginative and clever, he is able to lead them and order them as no human could have done before -- but due to his wild appearance, he is hated and feared by the other homeless that live around "trash mountain." He has some harrowing adventures, getting lost in the metro with his favorite White Sister; being captured by police, who rather than help him, sell tickets to see the wild child; and being tortured by a gang of skinheads. He is not without friends though, including the sweet cook at an Italian restaurant, who helps him survive one of Moscow's worst winters by giving him blankets, clothes, and a coat, as well as food. Conversing with her keeps him in touch with his humanity, keeps it in his mind that the ways he is different from his dogs are not shortcomings.
Things take a surprising turn when Mamochka brings home another human, this one a baby who fills Ramochka with jealousy as well as strong feelings of love and protectiveness. But the reader understands what the youngster cannot, that this lifestyle -- horrifying and fascinating -- cannot last. And that's when the directors of a children's clinic take notice of these "dog boys."
It's not a book for anyone with a sensitive stomach. Dogs, if you have never noticed, are disgusting. Feral dogs are like a million times worse. And while those in the picture look completely fluffydorable, there's so much filth, bodily fluids, carcasses, and general blood and muck in this book that Kipling so graciously skipped in his. It adds a layer of realism, but I still don't recommend reading it over lunch.
Still, for the most part, I really enjoyed it and was not disappointed at all. In fact, I found the ending one of the best I've read, with all the pieces fitting just perfectly to a resolution that is somehow both distressing and yet right. Hornung has a strong voice, a sharp sense of place, and I was completely fascinated by Ramochka's dogventures, in spite of all the viscera.
exurbanis's review against another edition
5.0
Winner of the 2010 Australian Prime Minister’s Literary Award, Dog Boy is a marvel of experience and of emotion.
Four-year-old Romochka is abandoned in Moscow at the beginning of winter. Hungry and cold, he follows a feral dog to her lair – and so starts Romochka’s life as a dog. The premise sounds preposterous, but Hornung makes it work. Every time I start thinking that it couldn’t possibly have been as good as I remember, I read my notes – and I believe again.
I can’t understand why this book didn’t win more awards. Hornung has previously published novels as Eva Sallis – she is one author I will be reading more of.
Shannon over at Giraffe Days has written an articulate, passionate review . Sue at Whispering Gums beat us all to it with her review in 2010. All I can add to these two is: READ THIS.
Warnings: a half-dozen uses of that four letter word, and a brief torture scene.
Read this if: you’re breathing. 5+ stars
Four-year-old Romochka is abandoned in Moscow at the beginning of winter. Hungry and cold, he follows a feral dog to her lair – and so starts Romochka’s life as a dog. The premise sounds preposterous, but Hornung makes it work. Every time I start thinking that it couldn’t possibly have been as good as I remember, I read my notes – and I believe again.
I can’t understand why this book didn’t win more awards. Hornung has previously published novels as Eva Sallis – she is one author I will be reading more of.
Shannon over at Giraffe Days has written an articulate, passionate review . Sue at Whispering Gums beat us all to it with her review in 2010. All I can add to these two is: READ THIS.
Warnings: a half-dozen uses of that four letter word, and a brief torture scene.
Read this if: you’re breathing. 5+ stars