the one with the Dog

“I sing of a woman with ink on her hands and pictures hidden beneath her hair. I sing of a dog with skin like velvet pushed the wrong way.I sing of the shape a fallen body makes in the dirt beneath a tree, and I sing of an ordinary man who is wanted to know things no human being could tell him.This is the true beginning.” 


Caroyln Parkhurst's novel, The Dogs of Babel begins with the end; well almost. The novel opens to what we know is the end of the tale: Lexy's death. Paul, the grief stricken widower, begins to suspect is not just an accident. Lexy wasn't the kind to climb apple trees and several things around the house don't seem to add up(the rearranged books, the steak that Lexy fed Lorelei out of the blue). So, Paul turns to the only witness to the incident: their dog, Lorelei.
Paul begins a series of attempts to teach Lorelei to speak or sign so that she'll be able to tell him what really happened. Pronounced as mad by his friends, colleagues and everyone, Paul stumbles upon clues and finds the end to the tale and his peace.
A non-linear narrative, it shifts between Paul talking about the aftermath of Lexy's death(his attempts to teach Lorelei, the way his colleagues and friends teach him, his own attempt to peace together the entire tale) and their story together(how they met and their little slice of happily ever after). Lexy's moulded for the reader without ever being alive throughout the tale; she grows through the story, her character becoming stronger through out until in the end we see her for who she really is.
Woven into the tale is a story with a group of people who really do believe that dogs can speak and perform surgeries on them to 'enhance' their vocal chords and Paul, initially a believer, realizes the truth of things.
This book is absolutely brilliant; every book has its flaws and so does this one but it more than makes up for it with its lyrical writing and the emotions it induces in the reader.You grieve along with Paul as he suffers through the five stages of grief and you're reeling too when you finally realize the truth along with him. This book is also for dog lovers; Paul depends on Lorelei while he is grieving and he realizes just how much she means to him(she is his last gift from Lexy).
Lexy wanes in front of our eyes and it's all we can do(just like Paul) to hold onto the memory we have of her; the strong, beautiful woman that she began as and not the emotionally turbulent, troubled person she was.
The ending is satisfying; Paul comes to terms with himself and Lexy and takes several steps forwards, treasuring only the good times and leaving behind the back.
A first timer, Carolyn Parkhurst produced a great book that deserves all of its accolades. It's not a book well known here in India(its barely known at all) and that's a shame because when people are reading all those Nora Roberts and those Danielle Steeles, they could be picking up this book and realizing just how beautiful a book really can be.
The Dogs of Babel is about love, trouble, grief and finding out how blind you can be about the person you love more than anything. Paul and Lexy were no super couple; they had fights, problems, disagreements and their moments of happiness. And that's what makes this book amazing.


"I remember my wife in white. I remember the red dahlias she held during our wedding. I remember her turning away, her body stiff with anger. I remember the sound of her breath while she slept. I remember the feel of her body when I held her. I remember, always I remember that she brought solace to my life as much as grief. I remember that for every moment of darkness between us, there was a moment of such brightness, that I almost couldn't bear to look at it headlong.  I try to remember my wife for the person she was and not the woman I had created from spare bits and parts to help me in my mourning. As the time passes by and the balm of forgiveness soothes the parched pieces of my heart, I realize remembering my wife this way, is a gift I can give us both."