The stand-out dog for me was Majnoun, who develops a close relationship with a woman who takes him in. The relationship is not of owner and dog, or even of human and dog but more of equals and I reached a point where I wept for Majnoun: the gods can be very cruel. You can read ''Fifteen Dogs'' as a story about, well, fifteen dogs, but I found it difficult not to recognise the allegorical nature of the book, to see the way in which humans interact and organise ourselves - and even more difficult to avoid the thought that the dog in his natural state is far superior to the human being.
The writing is superb. ''Fifteen Dogs'' is a slim book, but only in terms of physical size. It took me a surprisingly long time to read as there was so much to think about, so much to absorb. Frequently it was heart -wrenching and I had to take a break, but I'm delighted to have read it: it's probably the book which will stay with me the most in 2015.
I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy of the book to the Bookbag.
If you'd like to understand ''your'' dog better then we can recommend [[Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell and Know by Alexandra Horowitz]]. You might also appreciate [[Waiting for Doggo by Mark B Mills]].
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