(Three Wild Dogs – and
the Truth. Review by Margaret von Klemperer, courtesy of The Witness)
Shakespeare wrote: “If you have tears, prepare to shed them now”, and it is advice well worth remembering if you decide to pick up this book. My first ones came on Page 6.
Marcus Zusak had a huge success with The Book Thief, but here he is moving into non-fiction territory with this memoir of his and his family’s life with three dogs – not cuddly lap dogs but three rescued monsters.
The first two were Reuben, described by Zusak as “like a wolf at your door with a hacksaw”, and Archie, “a pretty boy assassin”. Like many dog owners, the Zusaks wanted their children to grow up with dogs, but I have to say, while I applaud the motives that made them go for rescue dogs, the Zusak family were not great pickers.
The two did damage – usually inadvertently – to their owners, beat up other dogs on walks, ate books and packets of pills and generally caused mayhem. But there were moments when they did worse things, forcing Zusak to consider whether it was safe to keep them. They even caused a visit from the police, not in fact because of anything the dogs had done that time, but because a neighbour was alarmed by the admittedly sinister-looking goings on.
Reuben cost the family a small fortune in vet’s bills, but dog lovers know that however expensive maintaining your dog is, however much they may hurt you, or embarrass you, or upset you, they still love you and, for better or worse, you still love them, sometimes to distraction. And one of the most tragic things about dog ownership is that you will almost inevitably outlast your dog – and saying that final goodbye is heart-breaking. So many of us have been there.
When Reuben and Archie were finally gone, the family rescued Frosty – they obviously had not absorbed the lessons of how to choose a dog. Even the lady from the pound who brought him on an introductory visit fully expected him to be rejected. But, at the end of the book, he is still there, and deeply loved.
Despite the inevitable episodes of tragedy, and the tears, there are plenty of moments in the book that are laugh-out-loud funny and Zusak is a skilful writer who knows how to balance the various moods that he is describing.
Short, often charming and sometimes a little horrifying, Three Wild Dogs is one for committed dog lovers – and there are plenty of us out there. - Margaret von Klemperer
Three Wild Dogs is published by Macmillan: ISBN 978-1035062935
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