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A Dog's Purpose

Book Review: The Dog Master: A Novel of the First Dog by W. Bruce Cameron

The Dog Master: A Novel of the First Dog (2016, Forge Books, paperback, 416 pages, $21.83) by W. Bruce Cameron is as much about early human survival as it is the evolution of the dog species. Cameron summarizes his book as follows: “At the dawn of the last Ice Age, our species was in danger of extinction, threatened by starvation, by vicious predators, and competing for scarce resources with another humanoid—the Neanderthal, who were stronger and faster and had bigger brains. Yet it is mankind that prevailed—and I believe it was all because we made partners of our former mortal enemies, the wolves.”

The focus of the novel is on the Kindred and Wolfen clans, but the fierce Cohorts who paint their faces black, the timid Frightened loners, and the placid Blanc people contribute to the storyline. Within the Kindred tribe, Mal, a young man with a malformed leg, and his brother, Dog, the inspiration for the tamed wolf’s name, and their mother, Calli, are key to the story. The tapestry of supporting Kindred characters include the beautiful Bellu, Urs, the Kindred Hunt Master, Grat, a young bully, Albi, the power-hungry and punitive council mother, and her hapless son, Palloc. Within the Wolfen, the romance between the clan leader, Silex, and Fia sizzles. But after unfortunate events, Silex is forced to marry his lackluster sister, Ovi.

Cameron creates a world where the quest for food forms the basis for social structure. As might be expected, men are meat hunters, while women and children tend the fire and gather nuts and berries. The Kindred tribes survival strategy is to establish a summer and winter base camp, while the Wolfen are nomadic but settle into gathering sites, following game and modeling their behavior after wolves.

Fans of Jean M. Auel’s Clan of the Cave Bear series will enjoy this book. From a tense lion-hunting scene and violent encounters with the Cohort, to the myriad of romantic relationships, to the mystery as to how a man ends up living in a cave with an injured wolf and her pups, this novel is a page-turner. It is bound to resonate with readers beyond the typical lover of dog books.

W. Bruce Cameron’s most well-known dog-related book is the New York Times and USA Today bestseller: A Dog’s Purpose. His NYT bestseller, 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter, was turned into an ABC series in 2002.

Click here to purchase the novel:

https://amzn.to/3F0o9nN

Note: I receive a small commission if you purchase from this link.

Filed Under: Book Review, Books, books to read, Reading Tagged With: #bookishlove #booksbooksbooks #bookreader #bookstagram, #bookrecs, #bookreview, A Dog's Purpose, bookish, dog books, favorite dog books, reading community, W. Bruce Cameron

A Dog’s Viewpoint: Breaking the Rules and Getting Away with It

Certiain rules are not meant to broken.  Or are they?  I never considered making the canine character, Shadow, the narrator in my book.  Even if I hadn’t heard that novels told from the dog’s point of view were unpublishable, my novel focuses on a young girl’s unfortunate circumstances rather than the dog’s special talent.  Yet, now that I know it is not only possible to get these types of books into print, I wouldn’t rule out experimenting to see if I could write in a dog’s voice in the future.

One great example of successfully capturing a dog’s mindset  is demonstrated in Garth Stein’s The Art of Racing in the Rain.  And Stein isn’t the only author to overcome this supposed insurmountable publishing hurdle either.  W. Bruce Cameron also broke the forbidden barrier in his novel, A Dog’s Purpose.  Clearly, readers are not nearly as biased against watching the world through a dog’s eyes.  Both Stien’s and Cameron’s books made it to the New York Times bestseller’s list. 

The lesson learned?  A good story trumps all.  Write what you love and, with a little luck, readers will follow.

Filed Under: Dogs, Publishing, Reading, Writing Tagged With: A Dog's Purpose, Art of Racing in the Rain, Cameron, dog narrator books, Garth Stein

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May 10th Speaking Event: Mount Diablo California Writers Club Writer’s Table

SF Bay Area Writers: Please come join me at the May 10th Meeting of the Mount Diablo Branch of the California Writers Club. Writer’s Table starts at 11:15 am and goes until noon. The featured speaker, Allison Landa will follow from 1 to 2 pm and will speak on What Can We Learn About Writing […]

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