I am writing this review 1.5 months after I've finished it. Yep, it's another of those kinds of books, I kind of have no idea what I thought of it. But let me start off by saying that I love A.S. King. She's an extraordinary YA writer who deserves every single bit of recognition and acclaim she has received so far. If this weren't written by a beloved author that I trust and adore I probably would never have given this book a second look, it just didn't sound like my kind of read. And it wasn't, but that doesn't mean I didn't like the book - it's just my least favourite of hers so far.
I'll just come right out and say it. I loved this book hardcore. I devoured it, one of those nothing-else-exists-until-I-finish-this-book kinds of books. Of course, I expected nothing less of A.S. King. I kind of have a golden track record with her novels (see below).
(The Dust of 100 Dogs | Please Ignore Vera Dietz -- still haven't reviewed because there were too many things to say that I was overwhelmed and now I'd have to reread it so there. | Everybody Sees the Ants) Ask the Passengers was insightful and felt wholly unique and fresh in this glorious way that only A.S. King seems able to achieve. The writing is raw and punchy; if you're no stranger to King's writing you'll know what I'm talking about. The main character, Astrid, reminded me of Daria from the MTV show Daria: smart, kickass, sarcastic, kind of an oddball but awesome in her own ways, and most importantly she takes it upon herself to not give a damn what other people think because they're all morons.
Everybody Sees the Ants is written by A.S. King which automatically means that I had to own a copy (with the intention to one day read it). Of all of her novels to date this was probably the one that instilled the most doubt in me, as in, I wasn't sure if this would be my kind of book. Male protagonist? Strange POW/MIA-themed lucid dreams? "Everybody Sees the Ants"? But I need not have worried; as far as I'm concerned A.S. King can do no wrong.
Lucky Linderman has a problem and his name is Nader McMillan. He just won’t leave him alone, and hasn’t since he was seven. That’s when the bullying started. But when Nader goes a little bit too far at the local swimming pool, it’s time to get away. Lucky physically escapes Nader by going to Arizona with his mum for two weeks, but he also mentally escapes his parents in his dreams where he rescues his MIA grandfather. And then there are the ants in his mind, they understand him, they keep him company… Everybody Sees the Ants is a brilliant coming-of-age following a teenage boy who needs to discover who he is, face his demons and make sense of this messed up life of his.
Source: Bought Age: 17+, heavy sexual scenes, language and violence (animal abuse included).
Pages: 320
My Rating:
Summary:
In the late seventeenth century, famed teenage pirate Emer Morrisey was on the cusp of escaping the pirate life with her one true love and unfathomable riches when she was slain and cursed with "the dust of one hundred dogs," dooming her to one hundred lives as a dog before returning to a human body-with her memories intact.
Now she's a contemporary American teenager and all she needs is a shovel and a ride to Jamaica.
My thoughts:
King threw me on a wild ride with The Dust of 100 Dogs--her debut novel is insane, original, palpable, and full of disaster and excitement and adventure and is just one of those books that needs to be read. King is such a highly regarded author, with her recent novel, Please Ignore Vera Dietz, and after reading her debut, it's easy to see why.
The Dust of 100 Dogs follows the story of Emer Morrisey's trials and tribulations in life, and what happens after her death. Just before her last dying breaths, she is cursed to live out the life of a hundred dogs. At the end of what could only be seen as a mad rush, Emer is reborn as a human--Saffron Adams. At her core, she is still Emer, and she wants what is hers, what she lost 300 hundred years ago along the shores of Jamaica, lying underneath the dust of 100 dogs. It was extremely difficult to pin-point exactly how I should summarise the novel without spoiling anything important.
The story was intricately woven, told in a form of dual perspective, both clever and original. At first, I was a bit confused and kept frantically trying to remember all the characters and events that happen, and at first, the novel felt very jumpy. Every few chapters, Emer/Saffron divulges in a doggy moral attached with personal story during one of her lives as a dog. This felt a bit irrelevent to the novel as a whole, but allowed some form of believability to the protagonist's living out those dog lives. The novel seems extremely simple, but when I finished those last pages, I realised WHY King set everything out the way she did. And it works.
Although I said that this is a book that people should try, I also feel the need to warn people: this book is not for the faint-hearted. There are strong sexual scenes, several of them involving rape. Swear words abound. Violence, really graphic descriptions that really protrude in the deep recesses of my mind, even after I've finished the last page. Perhaps all of this (except for the sexual scenes--those I could have gone without, Amy!) only helped to encourage what would be the troubled loving feeling I hold towards this book now.
The characters . . . seriously, there are WAY too many characters to think of. I'll discuss the most plot-centric figures. Emer begins as a meek and shy girl from Ireland, who has to endure the pain of losing her friends and family at the hands of war. She ends up a pirate: strong, determined, fearless, abbrasive and proud. My opinion of her is mixed, but she was admirable in many ways. Saffron is smart, calculative and struggles with dealing with her home life. She leaves to seek what she left behind in her last life as a human (Emer). Saffron is essentially Emer, but with reincarnation, while her memories are kept intact, Saffron has assumed a unique personality separate to Emer's. She seemed more like a narrator than the protagonist to me.
I feel that if I discuss this book too deeply, I may spoil the whole thing. So, I guess I'll just say that the characters were complex and realistic. Although not likeable at all times.
I think the deciding factor for me is the fact that this novel is so well thought out that everything falls together in the end--even with all its ambiguities and mysteries that remain unsolved in the end. I really enjoyed the reincarnation elements to the story. All in all, The Dust of 100 Dogs is a solid debut that seems to stretch out the YA genre in its originality and complexities.
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.
Grab the book you are currently reading and randomly post a couple sentences.
I haven't done a meme in ages! Hope you enjoy.
"When the smoke cleared, Emer kicked him to make sure he was dead. Bent on one knee in the moonlight, holding his head with her left hand, she took a marlinspike and removed his right eyeball with relative ease." (pg 1: prologue)
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The Dust of 100 Dogsby A.S. King
Pages: 300
Release date: 2009
Genre: YA, contemporary, fantasy, historical, action, adventure, romance
Ages: 14+
Blurb (Goodreads):
In the late seventeenth century, famed teenage pirate Emer Morrisey was on the cusp of escaping the pirate life with her one true love and unfathomable riches when she was slain and cursed with "the dust of one hundred dogs," dooming her to one hundred lives as a dog before returning to a human body-with her memories intact.
Now she's a contemporary American teenager and all she needs is a shovel and a ride to Jamaica.
