Give a Book, Take a Book
Recently, I've cultivated a nice friendship with one of my coworkers, who I have wonderful and entertaining conversations with!
We talk about subjects that sometimes start small, but then we build up to the greater context that surrounds The Thing, and linger a lot on the "why's" and the "how's".
Why does Fox Hunting feel similar to Golf feel similar to American Football?
How does a guest at a museum completely misinterpret an artwork? How do they lack the critical skills to absorb the information on a placard, or to bypass the information completely?
Lines of questioning similar to that, where we end up making our own conclusions, following our individual lines of logic that we lay out for the other.
It then makes sense that after my joking about seeing Goody Proctor at The Black Sacrament - which my coworker did know this reference fairly well, but had never actually read "The Crucible" - it was a no-brainer for me to lend my copy of the book to him.
It's one of my favorites, after all. I'm always gratified to get more people reading The Crucible!
I insisted on it, and how I'm just happy as long as he returns it upon finishing it.
Well, about two or less weeks later, it comes back to me - along with a surprising second book!
"I think you'd like this one, it's more of a romp than something plot-driven. It's about these group of dogs who are bestowed human intelligence by some gods, because of course the gods are making wagers!"
I'm immediately excited at this prospect, and thank my coworker.
"Fifteen Dogs" by André Alexis.
I didn't get to properly begin reading it until last night. I was excited by the quality of the paper used for this book. Something that felt closer to a linen-styled cardstock.
The dog characters were listed out in one of the first pages, along with brief one sentence descriptions. Their breed, and any notable traits. A handmade map of some specific areas of Toronto, Canada immediately follows, which I briefly look over.
It was about 11:30pm when I had started the book, and I put it down by about 12:10am. It's really fucking good.
It immediately captures interest with its introduction, and every page I want to learn more about what these dogs are thinking and feeling, as well as the two gods who have taken to watching over their adventures - until all fifteen might perish.
And immediately, the book reminded me of something else similar and just as intriguing, although a bit slower to hook on. The strange, alien circumstances of Fifteen Dogs reminded me a lot of the strange, alien circumstances of "I Who Have Never Known Men" by Jacqueline Harpman.
I wasn't sure if this was a book that my friend had already read, but I insisted on pulling it out from my bookshelf and bringing it to work, along with my coworker's lent book. I might not finish Fifteen Dogs so quickly, but it wouldn't be bad to continue the exchange, I think.
I only hope that if it is something he already owns, he may humor me by reading it again, and we might more freshly compare and contrast our thoughts on both of these books.
It's certainly a better feeling than blind bookdates from bookstores, or book clubs where everyone needs to finish a text by a certain date, or where a book is read through oh-so s-l-o-w-l-y.