5 memorable dogs from literature

 

Monsta

Disclaimer: Monsta Reader is affiliated with bookshop.org and Waterstones. If you should make a purchase through any of the links in this blog, I might earn a small commission from the sale. However, this does not affect the price of the items, and it does not influence the content of this blog.

In 2019, just before Christmas, Monsta, my dog, my best friend, got sick. At first, I wasn't too concerned. She was still interested in her food and still had a light in her eyes. However, after a couple of days, and little change, we made a visit to the vets.

Over the course of days, she got worse. That light in her eyes dimmed. She stopped eating, and she was tired all the time. She didn't want to leave the bed or the sofa. I had to resort to carrying her about, and more vet visits followed.

As I write this, I feel the sadness blooming in my chest, wanting to burst behind my eyes.

Two years and two months later, I still miss the light in her eyes. I miss the strange sounds she'd make, like the high-pitched keening noise when she was anxiously excited by some silly thing. I miss the click of her claws behind me as she would follow me from one room to another. I miss the softness just behind her ears. I miss how she would look up at me when she walked beside me . . . I miss it all.

With Monsta in mind, I write this little list of memorable literary dogs, because they add a little something to the books in which they can be found, as they do our lives . . .

1. Bullseye, from Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

Oliver Twist has asked for more!

When he flees the workhouse, Oliver Twist finds himself taken under the wing of the Artful Dodger and falls in with a group of pickpockets in London.

Bullseye is the long-suffering companion of the cruel criminal, Bill Sykes, who mistreats his poor dog. The image of Bill Sykes and Bullseye, stalking dismal Victorian London, amongst the criminals and the wretched, is one that remains with the reader.

You can purchase a copy of Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens here.

2. Montmorency, from Three Men in a Boat (to Say Nothing of the Dog!) by Jerome K. Jerome

Three hypochondriacs, believing they are suffering from almost any malady you could care to mention, decide upon a restful holiday on the Thames, with Montmorency, the fox terrier, as companion.

This humorous novel depicts probably the worst holiday in literature, still providing laughs today, over one-hundred-and-thirty years after its original publication.

Montmorency shares the spotlight with the three men, and there are some comedic passages about the mischievous little fox terrier to be found within.

You can purchase Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome here.

3. Charley, from Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck

In 1960, there was an itch in Steinbeck's feet that he couldn't ignore. Travelling America, through woods and forests, dirt tracks and highways, cities and wildernesses, he witnessed America and Americans with a humorous and sometimes sceptical eye. There is warning and prophecy in these pages, from one of the greats of twentieth-century literature.

And Charley, Steinbeck's French poodle, accompanied the great writer on his travels across America.

Actually his name is Charles le Chien. He was born in Bercy on the outskirts of Paris and trained in France, and while he knows a little poodle-English, he responds quickly only to commands in French. Otherwise he has to translate, and that slows him down.

You can purchase Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck here.

4. Toto, from The Wizard of Oz by  Frank L. Baum

Follow the yellow brick road . . .

Dorothy seems lost when a tornado picks up her and her little dog, Toto, from Kansas, and drops them in the wonderful world of Oz. Along the yellow brick road, she meets the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion. 

Toto is another loyal and goodly companion, a dog that has found his way firmly into literary history.

You can purchase The Wizard of Oz by Frank L. Baum here.

5. Cujo, from Cujo by Stephen King

Once upon a time, not so long ago, a monster came to the small town of Castle Rock, Maine . . .

Cujo is a two-hundred-pound Saint Bernard, and the best friend that Brett Camber has ever had. After Cujo is bitten by rabid bats, he becomes a horrifying vortex, drawing in all the people around him, and is one of King's most memorable creations.

You can purchase Cujo by Stephen King here.

Thank you for reading. Just before you go, can I ask that you please consider supporting this blog with a coffee from ko-fi.com - the support really is a great boost!

If you can, please consider supporting, and, dog dads and mums, give your dog a hug. They aren't here long enough, and they are a gift.

I still bloody love you, Puppy Dog!

The Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow by Jerome K. Jerome - a Review and Analysis

 

Disclaimer: If you make a purchase through links in this blog, I may earn a commission from the sellers, but that has no impact on the content of this blog or the cost to you as consumer.

If you enjoy this piece, please consider following/supporting me over at ko-fi - it is very much appreciated, and it keeps me writing.

Jerome K. Jerome was born in 1859, in Walsall, Staffordshire. Leaving school at fourteen he took up work as a railway clerk, this being the first of a number of jobs he was to have, jobs that included acting, teaching, and journalism. His first book was published in 1885, On Stage and Off, and is a collection of humorous pieces about the theatre. This being well received, he followed the work with another collection of pieces - The Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow. This time around Jerome had turned his pen to such disparate subjects as the weather, memory, and furnished apartments - those little things that make up the day-to-day of life. Jerome was a humorous writer of note. He went on to write Three Men in a Boat - which I wrote about here, and Three Men on the Bummel - which I wrote about here.

Though some of Jerome's attitudes would today be considered outdated, lazy, or even offensive, but his writing of humour can still be considered top notch! As I'm sure many writers can attest to, writing humour is not easy, and writing humour well can be an agonising task. But, Jerome wrote humour very well, his most famous work - Three Men on a Boat - influencing humorists afterward. As I said, some of Jerome's attitudes might make the reader of the twenty-first century raise an eyebrow now and then. But, he was a writer of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, and, personally, I can forgive writers from centuries gone by if their attitudes do not match contemporary thought and feeling. After all, society progresses incrementally, so you might expect, as you look further and further into the past, that society becomes incrementally less and less progressive.

What readers ask now-a-days in a book is that it should improve, instruct and elevate. This book wouldn't elevate a cow. I cannot conscientiously recommend it for any useful purpose whatever.

- Jerome K. Jerome, from the preface to Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow

Whilst it is true that your life may not gain some deeper meaning from reading Jerome's thoughts on being idle, on being in love, or on being in the blues, when you're looking to idle away a little time you could do worse than flick through the pages of Idle Thoughts . . . As far as works from the Victorian era go, this book probably isn't going to outshine Middlemarch or Tess of the D' Urbervilles any time soon, but it is a very well written and humorous little gem. And, though the bulk of the book doesn't concern itself with the highbrow, you might just find yourself reading a few very quotable paragraphs. And, for some, one of the benefits and pleasures of reading is finding those passages and paragraphs that speak to you, that put into words what you already feel.

Jerome tells us that idleness is really only pleasurable when it is stolen, taken between the hectic demands, expectations, and tasks levelled at us by life and the characters that we share the stage with. And, he, in this book, is great company for one of those evenings when you just want to sneak away some where quiet and cosy, maybe with a glass or two of something, and get a little lazy. Maybe you'd even fancy a pipe or two!

We do not hate, nor grieve, nor joy, nor despair in our thirties like we did in our teens.

- Jerome K. Jerome, from On Being in Love, The Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow

Though, as you might expect, some of Jerome's considerations and cogitations are not really the concerns of the modern reader, but some of the ponderings are ponderings that we have always pondered, and will likely ponder until our pondering days are done.

Half an hours' indulgence in these considerations works you up into a state of savage fury against everybody and everything, especially yourself, whom anatomical reasons alone prevent your kicking.

- Jerome K. Jerome, from On Being in the Blues, The Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow

Jerome touches on truths, and he writes with warm humour, and, in his best moments, he does both at the same time. I have much time for this book, and his others that I have discussed elsewhere in this blog.

If you enjoyed this post, please do consider sharing it on your favourite social media platform, and heading over to ko-fi to follow/support me there. Thank you. Keep reading good books, be kind, and get out in the sunshine when you can.

Three Men on the Bummel by Jerome K. Jerome - an analysis

 

Disclaimer: towards the end of this post is a link to purchase this book. If you make a purchase through links in this blog, I may earn a commission from the sellers, but this does not impact the cost to you or the content of this blog.

'A "Bummel",' I explained, 'I should describe as a journey, long or short, without an end; the only thing regulating it being the necessity of getting back within a given time to the point from which one started.'

In this follow up to Jerome's Three Men in a Boat (which I discussed here), we find ourselves again in the company of J., George, and Harris. This time around they hit upon the idea of a bicycle trip in Germany, and we follow these three affable English chaps as they navigate their tour. As in its predecessor, J., a thinly fictionalised version of Jerome, casts a humorously insightful eye upon his travels, his companions, and their encounters.

Their travels in a foreign land mean the obvious observations with regard to cultural differences, language barriers, and the misunderstandings that follow. However, Jerome's observations are rarely cruel or pointed, instead his humour is more a gentle and warm poking in fun. In fact, Jerome writes of Germany and its people with warm regard. He describes the country so fondly that I found myself wondering how the book was considered in Britain only fifteen years after its original publication, when the first world war was heading into its second year - perhaps this is one of the reasons that this novel never achieved the popularity of Three Men in a Boat.

Three Men on the Bummel is just as well written and humorous as its predecessor, but it does lack the unifying thread that . . . in a Boat has, and hangs together a little more loosely because of that. However, in my opinion, this novel is still worth a read if you enjoy well written humorous books. As I said with regard to . . . in a Boat (see above for the link to previous blog post), there are parts of . . . on the Bummel which are outdated, but overall Jerome is a warm and humorous writer.

The Germans are a good people. On the whole, the best people perhaps in the world; an amiable, unselfish, kindly people. I am positive that the vast majority of them go to heaven. Indeed, comparing them with the other Christian nations of the earth, one is forced to the conclusion that heaven will be chiefly of German manufacture. 

As I mentioned, it could very well be that passages such as these are what have kept this novel from achieving the recognition and success of Three Men in a Boat. Just fourteen years after publication, the first world war had commenced. And, before unease with all things German could settle very much, Britain was engaged in war with Hitler's Nazi Germany only twenty-one years after that. Jerome's warm regard for the country and its people couldn't stand up to that.

The only real problem with the novel is that it has to be compared to Three Men in a Boat. As stated already, the book is just as well written as its predecessor, it only lacks the unifying thread. Basically, the Thames provides a common thread throughout the first book, and the second hangs a little more loosely together without that. But, Jerome is a good writer, and delivers a novel otherwise as well written as . . . in a Boat.

If you would like to join J., George, and Harris on their tandem plus one, as they cycle the Black Forest, you can purchase Three Men in a Boat and Three Men on the Bummel here, from Bookshop.org, who support independent bookshops.

If you found this piece interesting, or at least enjoyable, please consider supporting me over at ko-fi, it keeps me writing and blogging. And, it's very much appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Read lots of books, go for long walks, and be good. See you soon.

Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog!) by Jerome K. Jerome - a Review and Analysis

 

If you enjoy this post, there is a link at the end where you can purchase this book. 

Disclaimer: If you make a purchase through links in this blog, I may earn a commission from the sellers, but that impacts neither how much you are charged, or the content of this blog.

Feeling that they are suffering from almost any upset that you might care to mention, three affable chaps - Harris, George, and J. - decide that what they need is a nice and relaxing little holiday. Settling on the idea that they, and J.'s dog (Montmorency), ought to set off on a little fortnight trip along the Thames in a boat, the reader follows along on their comical adventure.

J. (a fictionalised Jerome K. Jerome), Harris, and George are all thoroughly pleasant English chaps, the sort that you might think typical of the late Victorian era. Some of the book is outdated now, but the humour and the warmth is still fresh and witty, and the three warm and comic characters we follow along the Thames are a joy to read. They are just exactly the kind of chaps that one might hope to have as friends and holiday companions. There isn't really a pragmatist amongst them, but that just means they are definitely romantic and idealist enough to make the journey enjoyable!

They really are a bit of a mess in there execution of the whole thing sometimes (therein lies the entertainment!) but they are an unforgettable crew. I really have enjoyed tagging along on their trip along the Thames.

Let your boat of life be light, packed with only what you need - a homely home and simple pleasures, one or two friends, worth the name, someone to love and someone to love you, a cat, a dog, and a pipe or two, enough to eat and enough to wear, and a little more than enough to drink; for thirst is a dangerous thing.

- Three Men In a Boat, Jerome K. Jerome, chapter 3

If the above quote ignites a little flame of pleasant appreciation within you, I think you just might have time and appreciation for our three river-faring protagonists. It speaks to me. But then, I am a bit of a dreamer too, for whom a lazy wending and winding along an English river in summer sounds an absolute joy. And, I would also fail comically in some of the practical requirements of such a trip so . . .

The three men of the title anticipate a journey filled with peace and quiet. However, they come up against the joys of the glorious English weather, having to endure their own cooking, and roughing it in the outdoors. Amongst other things. Jerome's humour is warm and his insights never mean-spirited. There may be the odd passage where you find yourself raising an eyebrow at the odd outdated idea or attitude, but other than that Three Men in a Boat is a warm and funny book with an appeal that has endured for one-hundred-and-thirty-two years for good reason!

If you've enjoyed this post, or any of the others, then please consider supporting me through my ko-fi page - it keeps me pursuing my writerly endeavours, and is very much appreciated.

If you would like to purchase a copy of Jerome K. Jerome's hilarious story of one of probably the worst holidays in literature, Three Men in a Boat, you can do so here, with bookshop.org, who support independent book shops.

Read plenty of books, be good, be nice to dogs, feed the birds, drink something nice. And, see you soon.