Beloved Dog
There's something quietly radical about a book that argues dogs make us better people, and Maira Kalman makes that case with both warmth and surprising philosophical weight. Known for her vivid illustrated works, Kalman turns her attention here to the animals who have shaped her life and her art, producing something that's as much personal memoir as it is visual celebration. The result is charming, funny, and occasionally quite moving. Familiar faces appear throughout: Max Stravinsky, the poetry-loving hound from her children's book Oh-La-La (Max in Love), gets his due, as does Pete, her Irish Wheaten Terrier (nearly christened Einstein, until his personality made that name rather implausible), who previously trotted through the pages of What Pete Ate: From A to Z. Then there's Boganch, her in-laws' 'big black slobbering Hungarian Beast', a character in his own right. Short, punchy observations sit beside longer, more contemplative passages, giving the writing a pleasing rhythm. Kalman's central idea is simple but worth sitting with: dogs pull us into the present moment and invite a kind of love that asks for nothing back. 'The most tender, complicated, most generous part of our being blossoms,' she writes, 'when it comes to the love of a dog.' For anyone who has ever felt inexplicably understood by an animal, this book will feel like recognition.
- Author: Maira Kalman
- Publisher: Penguin Books
- Genre: Pet Care & Training
- ISBN: 978-0143109884
- Pages: 160 pages