17. Timbuktu

by Paul Auster

Being a big reader, I find it a somewhat common phenomenon to get books handed to me on loan by various people in my life. As a general rule, I tend to put other things on hold and read them as soon as I can get to them. Otherwise I end up with a lot of books floating around that I know don't belong to me but I can't remember who they belong to. (If I have any of your books hostage, dear readers, please let me know and I'll organize a release and the first possible opportunity.)

This book came to me by way of my mother and, since she admonished me against walking off with it, I settled down and read it almost immediately. I freely admit that I tend to take a dim view of animal POVs (Point of View) outside of kids books. Generally, animal POVs end up overly sentimental and saccharine. No matter how smart a pooch is, it doesn't understand string theory or the content of Paul's letters. It can't think as abstractly as we do and, while I know my cats love me in their own furry little ways, I don't make the mistake of thinking they wouldn't abandon me for the promise of a kitty treat next Tuesday. Trying to write a book from an animal's POV is extraordinarily difficult to pull off.

So, when I realized that the book my mother handed me was completely in doggy POV, I sighed a little on the inside and resolved to slog through it for my Mom's sake. Paul Auster was already on my greater list of authors to eventually check out anyway.

Given my views, I cannot express how shocked I was to enjoy Timbuktu. Auster made his protagonist, Mr. Bones, a believable doggy character while still sympathetic. While I don't necessarily like how the story ends I have to concede that it's a good ending. Mr. Bones's first owner is a guy named Willy. Willy is not what one would call mentally stable. In fact, at a guess, I'd say he's a manic depressive with extreme paranoid tendencies. However, the reader gets to see Willy through the filter of Mr. Bones's eyes. Although often bewildered by Willy, Mr. Bones was devoted in a way that only a dog could be. When Willy dies, Mr. Bones tries to adjust to a world without his protector.

It's a sweet story of devotion that stops just shy of cavity land. Auster pulled off the pooch-centric POV with aplomb. I remain an official unfan of the ending but the story as a whole is worth a read.