The Dogs of Babel

by Carolyn Parkhurst

Book Overview

A poignant and beautiful debut novel explores a man's quest to unravel the mystery of his wife's death with the help of the only witness -- their Rhodesian ridgeback, Lorelei.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0316778508
• ISBN13: 9780316778503
• Release Date: June 2004
• Publisher: Back Bay Books
• Length: 264 Pages
• Weight: 0.63 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Gorgeous

This a beautifully written book about a man searching for answers about his wife’s death.

Fantastic Read!

I love this book! I'm on my second copy now. It's got love and mystery, art and books, and a secret society, as well as humor and grief. I highly recommend it!

An achingly sad and beautiful story of one man's love and loss

When I first heard of this novel, I couldn't imagine being able to suspend my disbelief to the extent that I could tolerate the far-fetched concept: a grief-stricken widower decides to teach his dog, the only witness to his wife's death, to talk. But to my pleasant surprise, this was nothing like the outlandish tale I was dreading. Rather, in author Parkhurst's skillful hands, the decision of the main character, Paul--who happens to be a linguist--to teach his dog, Lorelei, to talk, seems not only plausible but completely understandable. Parkhurst shines in her ability to describe the pain and confusion that results from the sudden loss of a loved one as well as the one survivor's seemingly irrational efforts to make sense of a death that appears to be senseless. In searching for answers to his wife Lexy's death, Paul reconstructs their relationship, bringing the reader along with him to their first date (which lasted a week), their marriage, and their life together; this reminiscence, not Paul's work with Lorelei, forms the bulk of the story. Slowly, a more complete picture of Lexy begins to emerge, yet the exact reasons for her death do not become clear until the very end of the novel. I found myself to be genuinely surprised by the details which Paul uncovers, and although I have never experienced a similar loss myself, I empathized with Paul more and more as the book wore on. Twice in the final pages I found myself sobbing: when Paul finally figures out Lexy's last clue, and when he describes their relationship in the very last paragraph. Like life itself, this novel is both sad and beautiful, and I highly recommend it. Note: This book is also published under the title The Dogs of Babel.

Magical

This beautiful book reads like a fable, so please don't be too literal-minded reading it. It's a story of blinding love, grief, and memory. I loved this author's ability to see beauty in sadness.It's also about taking someone's full measure. Yes, I found the descriptions of dog mutilation scary, but I thought it served a metaphorical purpose; Loralei is a dog and Paul (the narrator)eventually finds his love for her in what she is, not what he wants.The narrator's deceased wife is another fully realized character, smart, funny, talented, ... and depressed. In so many ways their relationship is ideal, yet he never betrays to the reader the difficult parts of loving her. He cannot change either of them.If you enjoy parables, myths, and fairy tales this book is especially for you. The parellels between his story and that of "Janet and Tamlin" are clever and heartbreaking.This is the first book since "Everything is Illuminated" that I took out the library, then went out and bought after I read it because I needed to own it. I highly recommend it.

Surprisingly fabulous!

Prior to reading this novel, I wasn't sure if I wanted to or not. I had heard good things about it, but I didn't think I'd find it very interesting. Boy was I wrong! The Dogs of Babel is officially on my list for the best books I've read this year.Paul Iverson's wife, Lexy, is found dead after an apparent fall from an apple tree in their yard. The only witness is their dog, Lorelei, who cannot relay the answer to Paul's most important question -- did Lexy fall on accident, or was it suicide? As a linguistics professor, Paul does a lot of research and work with the spoken word. Why couldn't he teach Lorelei to talk? So Paul takes a sabbatical and embarks on the process of teaching Lorelei to say what she knows about that fateful day.I loved every minute of this book. The Dogs of Babel is beautifully written and I commend Carolyn Parkhurst for writing this story. However, it is more about teaching a dog to talk. The flashbacks of Paul and Lexy's life together are the best parts of the book. Lexy is a free-spiritied and troubled character, and their courtship and marriage was incredibly romantic and tragic at the same time. And despite some sensitive material about dog abuse, I still found The Dogs of Babel an exquisite read.

Beautiful and tragic

5 stars"The Dogs of Babel" is about Paul Iverson, a linguist at a local university who meets and quickly marries a young artist named Lexy Ransome. She is everything to him- she brings light and color to his dull, academic life. The two have a seemingly happy and passionate marriage until one day Lexy mysteriously falls from a tree and is mortally injured. The only witness to the incident is the couple's dog, Lorelai and Paul, in his grief and desperation, decides he is going to make Lorelai communicate in order to reveal the secrets of his wife's last day. He abandons his friends, family, and career in order to work with Lorelai, and in doing so finds out much more (both about himself, Lexy, and the nature of desperate people) than he bargained for.When I read the premise for "Dogs of Babel" I had no idea how Carolyn Parkhurst was going to make it come together. But she did, and did so beautifully and tragically. Although the concept sounds bizarre, what it really does is provide a meaningful way for Paul to retell all the events and emotions of his marriage to Lexy.This is a wonderfully written book. The narrative weaves in and out of the past and present with no effort at all. Normally, I can't take stories of grief and loss too often because they make me fear for the fate of my own loves ones. But this was different- it's not a book about grief, or sadness, it's a book about the thing we do in desperation to move on from the pain. It's an honest story about the cruel secrets of human nature. Note: I must warn you- there are some situations dealing with animal abuse in the book. While Paul is doing research on the ability of animals to communicate, he runs into a bizarre underground group that is determined- in any way possible- to get dogs to speak. I am *very* sensitive to issues of animal neglect and abuse, and while it was hard for me to get through some of the brief passages in the book dealing with these topics, it was not enough to get me to put the book down or turn me off from it. But if you are sensitive to it, you should be aware it comes up in the book.