There Is No Dog by Meg Rosoff
May. 23rd, 2011 11:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
In the beginning there was Bob.
And Bob created the heavens and the earth
and the beasts of the field,
and the creatures of the sea,
and twenty-five million other species
including lots and lots of gorgeous girls.
And all of this, he created in just six days.
Six days!
Congratulations, Bob!
No wonder Earth is such a mess.
Imagine that God is a typical teenage boy. He is lazy, careless, self-obsessed, sex-mad – and about to meet Lucy, the most beautiful girl on earth.
Unfortunately, whenever Bob falls in love, disaster follows.
Let us pray that Bob does not fall in love with Lucy ....
When Mona wins the earth in a poker game, she gives the job of God to her 17 year old son Bob, who’s feckless, careless, self-obsessed, lazy and sex-mad. Instead of thinking through creation, he throws it together in 6 days and has a lie-in on the seventh because it’s all been a bit much. The results are left to Bob’s assistant, Mr B. to deal with, helped and hindered by Bob’s pet eck, Eck. Mr B. is a solid middle manager who’d been hoping to get the God job for himself. Eck is the last of his species - a penguiny creature with a prehensile nose and voracious appetite who has the best tasting meat in the universe.
Together they’ve managed to muddle through the millennia but cracks are beginning to show. The last thing they need is for Bob to fall in love with the beautiful and Christian Lucy because Bob’s love affairs tend to end in fire and brimstone and this time, the earth can’t take it ...
Meg Rosoff’s novel is a funny, thought-provoking and satirical look at the world we live in that’s ultimately very human. It would be a real shame if it got bogged down in anti-religion accusations because for me it’s more about the importance of showing consideration and kindness and love to others than it is a polemic about God per se (although it isn’t above poking fun at certain beliefs).
The characters are depicted in broad-brush strokes, but they’re none the worse for that. Bob is something of an anti-hero, his occasional flashes of genius serving to make up for his whiny self-involvement. As the only teenager in the book, I wonder if there’s enough there for YA readers to relate to – especially as there’s a tongue in cheek approach to his dilemmas and issues. Mr B is a more staid character, aware that he’s not making the difference he wants to make. The real star though is the unfortunate Eck, who stole every page for me – I loved the tiny hints as to his appearance and his growing sadness at realising he’s not in control of his own life.
I’m not sure whether this is strictly speaking a YA book because there seems to be more there for adults, but it’s still a thoroughly enjoyable read that had me chuckling every page.
The Verdict:
Meg Rosoff’s YA novel is a tongue-in-cheek imagining of God as comprising a teenage boy, middle-manager and the lovable Eck. I’m not sure whether it will appeal to YA readers because some of the story is a nod and a wink about teenage behaviour, but there’s enough there to make it worth checking out and I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end.
THERE IS NO DOG will be released in the UK on 4th August 2011. Thanks to Penguin for the ARC of this book.
And Bob created the heavens and the earth
and the beasts of the field,
and the creatures of the sea,
and twenty-five million other species
including lots and lots of gorgeous girls.
And all of this, he created in just six days.
Six days!
Congratulations, Bob!
No wonder Earth is such a mess.
Imagine that God is a typical teenage boy. He is lazy, careless, self-obsessed, sex-mad – and about to meet Lucy, the most beautiful girl on earth.
Unfortunately, whenever Bob falls in love, disaster follows.
Let us pray that Bob does not fall in love with Lucy ....
When Mona wins the earth in a poker game, she gives the job of God to her 17 year old son Bob, who’s feckless, careless, self-obsessed, lazy and sex-mad. Instead of thinking through creation, he throws it together in 6 days and has a lie-in on the seventh because it’s all been a bit much. The results are left to Bob’s assistant, Mr B. to deal with, helped and hindered by Bob’s pet eck, Eck. Mr B. is a solid middle manager who’d been hoping to get the God job for himself. Eck is the last of his species - a penguiny creature with a prehensile nose and voracious appetite who has the best tasting meat in the universe.
Together they’ve managed to muddle through the millennia but cracks are beginning to show. The last thing they need is for Bob to fall in love with the beautiful and Christian Lucy because Bob’s love affairs tend to end in fire and brimstone and this time, the earth can’t take it ...
Meg Rosoff’s novel is a funny, thought-provoking and satirical look at the world we live in that’s ultimately very human. It would be a real shame if it got bogged down in anti-religion accusations because for me it’s more about the importance of showing consideration and kindness and love to others than it is a polemic about God per se (although it isn’t above poking fun at certain beliefs).
The characters are depicted in broad-brush strokes, but they’re none the worse for that. Bob is something of an anti-hero, his occasional flashes of genius serving to make up for his whiny self-involvement. As the only teenager in the book, I wonder if there’s enough there for YA readers to relate to – especially as there’s a tongue in cheek approach to his dilemmas and issues. Mr B is a more staid character, aware that he’s not making the difference he wants to make. The real star though is the unfortunate Eck, who stole every page for me – I loved the tiny hints as to his appearance and his growing sadness at realising he’s not in control of his own life.
I’m not sure whether this is strictly speaking a YA book because there seems to be more there for adults, but it’s still a thoroughly enjoyable read that had me chuckling every page.
The Verdict:
Meg Rosoff’s YA novel is a tongue-in-cheek imagining of God as comprising a teenage boy, middle-manager and the lovable Eck. I’m not sure whether it will appeal to YA readers because some of the story is a nod and a wink about teenage behaviour, but there’s enough there to make it worth checking out and I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end.
THERE IS NO DOG will be released in the UK on 4th August 2011. Thanks to Penguin for the ARC of this book.
