Fifteen Dogs

Apologue (ap·o·logue \ˈa-pə-ˌlog, -ˌläg)
— noun: 
an allegorical narrative usually intended to convey a moral

Two Greek gods walk into a Toronto bar...and after downing a few Sleemans and riffing on the farce that is human language, Hermes and Apollo decide on a wager: They will grant human intelligence to a random group of animals, and if even one of them is happy at the moment of death, Apollo would owe his brother a year's servitude. Passing by a veterinary clinic, they bestow the “gift” to fifteen dogs that are overnighting, and nearly immediately, the animals' misery begins; with existential crises layered upon their innate behaviours like a teetering jenga tower.

The most obvious result of the gods' gift is that those dogs who decide to pack together in High Park develop a language with which to communicate with each other, and straightaway, this language is used for jokes and puns, and most significantly, one dog discovers poetry. While some of the pack become introspective when they hear Prince's poems, the dominant dogs become confused by the threat that these strange word combinations pose to their status. Like in any decent Greek apologue, tragedy ensues.

The reader understands that we must watch all fifteen dogs die – and that at least the first fourteen must die miserable – or else there is no point to the wager or the book. And so we see much violence – from humans and between the dogs themselves – along with deprivation and the particular heartbreak of watching a dog's loyalty betrayed. The gods continue to meddle, with even the Fates and Zeus himself intervening in the wager, and it becomes fairly clear that human intelligence is no gift at all. (Although, really, the biggest problems arise due to the dual nature of the dogs – they have human intelligence, yes, but retain all their dogness as well.)

Andre Alexis is a really interesting writer, and as I've seen in his earlier works, he likes to use unusual literary frameworks in his books that I, at any rate, need to have spelled out for me. Fifteen Dogs was turned on its head for me when I got to the endnotes (and so the following might be spoilery for those who haven't read it yet):

The poems in Fifteen Dogs are written in a genre invented by Francois Caradec for the OULIPO. It was invented after Francois Le Lionnais, a founder of the group, wondered if it were possible to write poetry that has meaning for both humans and animals. In Fifteen Dogs, each poem is what Caradec called a 'Poem for a dog'. That is, in each poem the name of a dog will be audible – to the listener or to the dog – if the poem is said aloud, though the name is not legible.

For instance, the name of Prince, the poet dog himself, can be found here:

Longing to be sprayed (the green snake
writhing in his master's hand),
back and forth into that stream –
jump, rinse: coat slick with soap

And this information about “poems for dogs” served to highlight the following from Hermes:

Hermes's thoughts turned to Prince. How odd that such a perceptive creature had imagined the death of a language would mean the death of its poetry. For the immortals, all true poetry existed in an eternal present, eternally new, its language undying. Having once been uttered, Prince's verse would live forever.

And so, is that the true gift of human intelligence (and, therefore, the moral)? That language leads to art which leads to immortality? At any rate, this was a highly interesting and enjoyable read (if you can “enjoy” the deaths of fifteen doggies) that gave me much to think about.

How glib he is who

declaims on

the workings of a mind

that covets naught

but its warm spot

at the side of frail mankind

And, no, I don't think  Alexis was "glib" in this book, but this is the best I could do to write my own wee doggy a Caradec-style poem of her own.

*****

I'm pretty excited that this year I was able to find and read the entire Giller Prize longlist before the winner is announced (with weeks to spare). If I were in charge, I'd give the prize to Martin John, and here is my ranked order of the contenders:

The longlist for the 2015 Scotiabank Giller Prize in my order of ranking is:


Anakana Schofield - Martin John 
Marina Endicott - Close to Hugh
Patrick deWitt - Undermajordomo Minor
Heather O’Neill - Daydreams of Angels
Connie Gault - A Beauty 
André Alexis - Fifteen Dogs
Clifford Jackman - The Winter Family
Alix Hawley - All True Not a Lie in It
Rachel Cusk - Outline
Russell Smith - Confidence 
Samuel Archibald - Arvida 
Michael Christie - If I Fall, If I Die

*Won by Fifteen Dogs. 

The 2015 Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize nominees:

André Alexis - Fifteen Dogs

Elizabeth Hay - His Whole Life

Pamela Mordecai - Red Jacket 

Russell Smith - Confidence
John Vaillant - The Jaguar's Children

*Won by André Alexis, a good result in my opinion

Individual reviews of Alexis' Quincunx:

Pastoral

Fifteen Dogs

Ring

The Hidden Keys

Days by Moonlight

And with a new doggy at my side, I'll add:

Apples serve as fall’s great gift

The hanging fruit that gives a lift

Core Macintosh for apple tart

Served a la mode or a la carte

T’will disappear as soon as whiffed