Dogsbody (novel)

Dogsbody

First edition
Author	Diana Wynne Jones
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Genre	Children's Fantasy novel
Publisher	Macmillan Publishers
Publication date	1975
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages	191
ISBN	0333187911
OCLC	47813078

Dogsbody is a 1975 children's novel by Diana Wynne Jones.

Plot summary

Sirius, guardian luminary of the Dog Star, has been convicted of murdering a fellow "luminary" and of losing the Zoi, an extremely powerful cosmic tool that he has allowed to fall to a minor planet. He is sentenced to spend one lifetime in the form of dog, an animal native to this planet: if he can recover the Zoi within that dog's lifetime, he will be allowed to return to his former status as Sirius. If he does not, he will simply die at the end of his dog's life. Sirius accepts the sentence and is born into a litter of puppies.

Discovered as mongrels, the puppies are thrown into the river in a sack. This is just the beginning of Sirius's problems. Although adopted by the loving Kathleen, he learns that she is "low dog" everywhere because she is Irish. Struggling with his limitations as a dog and his perceptions as a star, coping with the bigotry in the household, trying simply to get out on the street so he can begin his search for the Zoi, Sirius is battered by one setback after another. How he - with help from Kathleen, the luminary Sol (our sun), and his own quick wits - uses his canine and stellar wisdom to track the lost cosmic tool, is an intricate and intriguing tale.

Many references are made to mythology, particularly Welsh mythology in the appearance and actions of the dogs (see Cŵn Annwn) and several later characters such as Arawn.

Reception and Reviews

SF writer Orson Scott Card, reviewing several DWJ reissues in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, wrote:

Yet even with a dog hero, Jones does not overload us with cute animals. Instead they are dangerous and, by and large, rather stupid. Of course, so are the humans, so the struggle between human and animal isn't entirely one-sided. Dogsbody has become, deservedly, a classic, not despite but because of its completely nontraditional cosmology.^[1]

Kirkus Reviews wrote "Jones sees clearly and writes effectively and the girl-and-dog story is a sure, and never sticky, heart-tugger. But the cosmic trappings are merely ridiculous."^[2] while Publishers Weekly found it "among the most rewarding novels available for readers of all ages"^[3]

References