Genre Fiction

There are some books that should never be read. Somewhere along the line an editor approves the author and their idea, without realizing that the story is no good.

The Dogs of Babel (2004) by Carolyn Parkhurst is one of these novels.

I had heard of the book when it was first released. It struck an interest with me, but not enough to pick it up. But when Wal-mart had a copy for only $5, I grabbed it.

The story is explained as such: When his wife dies unexpectedly, and suspiciously, in the backyard, with only the dog as a witness, Paul becomes obsessed with trying to teach his dog to speak and reveal the mystery behind her death.

In the process however, Paul accidentally discovers an underground cult of animal-abusing linguists who slice and dice dogs’ throats and vocal chords to try and mimic human anatomy. The scenes are gross, disturbing, and unfortunately memorable. Sure, the ideas are original, but there is a reason for that: no one wants to read about grotesque abuse.

Parkhurst starts with a quirky tale of sorrow and tragedy reminiscence of The Lovely Bones. But where Alice Sebold was able to keep the reader hooked into a mystery, Parkhurst looses sight of her original plotline and goes for shock and disgust instead of cohesion, suspense, and mystery-solving.

Even Amazon.com’s review of the book - printed on the same page where the book is for sale - condemns the novel:

“Unfortunately, the second half of The Dogs of Babel takes too many odd twists and turns–everything from a Ms. Cleo-like TV psychic to an underground sect of abusive canine linguists–to ever allow the reader to feel any real sympathy for the main characters.”

Obviously, some people enjoyed - the Today Show made it part of their book club. But there are so many other great novels out there, that The Dogs of Babel is not worth the time and will leave you with haunting memories of brutal scenes.