Tamon, a large shepherd dog, is wandering lost after the earthquake and devastating tsunami that hit the Japanese islands. A young man spots him looking hungry on the street, and this begins our story. THE BOY AND THE DOG is written by an author who is normally a yakuza-crime novelist, so this fiction is not a gentle story and is suited to adults or mature teens.
The account of Tamon’s journey brings him to six homes, to people who, for one reason or another, need his companionship for a time. Sometimes the dog leaves because he is fed and rested; other times, the person cannot care for him anymore or has met an abrupt end. The name Tamon is drawn from a guardian deity, and so the dog brings luck or peace while he is present. He also makes people rethink their lives: is their marriage working, should they live alone and widowed, or is their occupation compatible with the responsibility of a pet?
Throughout, the dog steadfastly knows which way he is headed. As he gets older, he also gets thinner and more worn, but he never stops trying to find the boy of the title, someone we begin to think he may never see. While I like the insights into Japanese life and a decaying society after the earthquake and ensuing damage, it’s disappointing. We’ve seen photos of roadways mended in days. Disaster insurance provides for this to happen. But the loss of family, work, and homes; doesn’t get mended. Crime is becoming prevalent, and violence accompanies the change. The kind dog wants a loving home with the right person. In this, he represents all of us.
Seishū Hase has won several awards, and his adoption of a different theme has brought him to new readerships. The work is translated by Alison Watts, and I found the story flowed easily. THE BOY AND THE DOG is worth a read for those who love dogs, and enjoy crime stories or travel adventures. The specific genre of a series of short stories within a frame, like The Canterbury Tales, has gained a significant new addition. I’m delighted to add THE BOY AND THE DOG to my Asian bookshelf, and I learned a lot about modern Japan.
Following a devastating earthquake and tsunami, a young man in Japan finds a stray dog outside a convenience store. The dog’s tag says “Tamon,” a name evocative of the guardian deity of the north. The man decides to keep Tamon, becoming the first in a series of owners on the dog’s five-year journey to find his beloved first owner, Hikaru, a boy who has not spoken since the tsunami. An agent of fate, Tamon is a gift to everyone who welcomes him into their life.
At once heart-rending and heart-warming, intimate and panoramic, suspenseful and luminous--and deepened in its emotion by the author’s mastery of the gritty details and hardscrabble circumstances that define the lives of the various people who take Tamon in on his journey--this bestselling, award-winning novel weaves a feel-good tale of survival, resilience, and love beyond measure.
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