Dog Narrators: The Nation within the Nation
Posted by Erin Brown in books on February 10, 2010
Thanks to a review on Galley Cat by P.E. Logan, I am now on a mission to read Thereby Hangs a Tail, the second title in Spencer Quinn’s “Chet and Bernie” mystery series, about a dog and man (in that order) case-cracking team in the Southwest. (The first installment was 2008’s Dog on It.) Quinn is actually the pseudonym of author Peter Abrahams, who is regarded as a master of the psychological thriller, even by Stephen King.
Bernie Little is the human face of Little Detective Agency, but Chet is an indispensible partner, not to mention the novel’s narrator. (No, Chet doesn’t actually speak; he only thinks out loud.) As one who is constantly speculating about the interior monologue of my own most charismatic canine friend, I am curious to see how Quinn/Abrahams makes the leap from human to dog suspense. A visit to Chet’s blog will tell you that the author (”Spence,” as Chet calls him) has developed a credible, funny, and highly endearing voice. Here’s his very first post from 20 January of last year:
Inauguration Day. Don’t know what that means, exactly, but Bernie’s been glued to the TV all day. Bernie and I run the Little Detective Agency. I’ll get into that some other time. The only interesting thing I picked up from the TV is that those two little girls want one of my guys to join their family, my guys meaning a member of what Bernie calls the nation within the nation, namely dogs. Anyway, a great idea! I can’t join their family myself, of course – much too busy and besides, we’re a team, me and Bernie – but I’ve spent some time in the pound and know there are plenty of good candidates there. By the way, just in case you got the idea I can talk, I can’t (and wouldn’t even want to). But I can think, better believe it!
(If you’re wondering whether there’s a market for this, just check out some of the comments posted by Chet’s growing list of friends.)
Categories: books | No Comments »
Comments