Title: A Dog’s Purpose
Series: A Dog’s Purpose, #1
Author: W. Bruce Cameron
Pages: 320
Genre: Animals, Dogs, Fiction
Story Perspective: First-Person
Themes: Friendship, Love, Loyalty, Purpose
Publication Date: July 6, 2010
Publisher: Forge Books
Over living several lives, this one dog looks for meaning and purpose in his life. Will he able to find it?
This is a book that I’ve been trying to read for years, literally. Now, we are all home-bound, it was a great opportunity to give this book a read, and I’m so happy that I did. I’ve read one other book from W. Bruce Cameron, A Dog’s Way Home, and really liked it, so I was looking forward to this one. Happy to say that I wasn’t disappointed!
There is something so beautiful to view the inside of a dog’s thoughts, and understand the simplicity of these wonderful animals’ minds. W. Bruce Cameron does a nice job in capturing what I imagine a dog’s mind would be like and yet giving enough detail for the reader to understand what is happening even if the dog does not.
I found the pacing of the book to be well done, and I was intrigued the entire length of the book. Whether I was following Toby’s beginning with his siblings, Bailey’s loyalty to one boy, Ellie’s devotion to her “work”, or even when Buddy needed to find his true purpose in life, I kept wanting to read more.
Each life that the protagonist dog experienced, I found him or her to be endearing, loyal, and observant. With each life, he or she was likable, and I found myself wanting to adopt him or her.
The only criticism I have is the clarity of when exactly does a dog reincarnate into another one? It seemed like this dog started as Toby and he had no recollection of a prior past, but with each new dog life, he could remember his previous ones. So, my question is when does a dog in this world start a whole new life without a previous one and how is he/she chosen to reincarnate?
Overall, I loved this book and even with its small criticism, I could not help but look forward to picking up A Dog’s Purpose every time I did.
I would highly recommend this book to those who enjoy dogs and their loyalty to people.
