The Dogs of Babel

Wow. I finished reading this novel last night, The Dogs of Babel, by Carolyn Parkhurst, and it was incredibly well done. A very unique book. I’m definitely on the lookout for her next novel.

It’s basically about this guy Paul, dealing with his wife’s death. You go through all the stages of grief with him as he intersperses anecdotes about their life together with his current search trying to figure out how his wife died (his dog is the only witness to her strange death, but he also begins to find odd things she’s left behind for him). It’s one of the most vivid, accurate, and haunting portrayals of human emotion and the struggle to find meaning in life that I’ve ever read. Highly recommended.