Product Description

In early 1998 I went to Perth in Western Australia in order to attend the literature festival, and part of the arrangement was that I should go to Karratha to do their first ever literary dinner. Karratha is a mining town a long way further north. The landscape is extraordinary, being composed of vast heaps of dark red earth and rock poking out of the never-ending bush. I imagine that Mars must have a similar feel to it. I went exploring and discovered the bronze statue to Red Dog outside the town of Dampier. I felt straight away that I had to find out more about this splendid dog. A few months later I returned to Western Australia and spent two glorious weeks driving around collecting Red Dog stories and visiting the places that he knew, writing up the text as I went along. I hope my cat never finds out that I have written a story to celebrate the life of a dog.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #33905 in Books
• Published on: 2002-10-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 128 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Readers familiar with the epic sweep of Louis de Bernières' previous novels, and especially his phenomenally successful Captain Corelli's Mandolin, might be shocked by this small volume of (literally) shaggy dog stories. But those who have enjoyed the humour of those same novels will appreciate this sleeker, slimline de Bernières.

In 1998, de Bernières visited the mining towns of Western Australia and stumbled across a bronze statue of Red Dog (1971-1979) outside Dampier. Inspired by this legendary canine, he made another visit, collecting the stories of his life and gently fictionalising them. We follow Red Dog, the itinerant, resourceful, if flatulent hero ("a real dag of a dog") as he seduces all who meet him at Hamersley Iron Transport. After his early residence with New Zealander John is cut short by John's untimely death, however, Red Dog undertakes "his greatest adventures" with "absolute liberty", criss-crossing the country with amazing ease, becoming the "Pilbara Wanderer, the Dog of the North-West, who belonged to everyone because he couldn't find the one he loved the most, and wouldn't settle for less".

Whether undermining the Hitlerian trailer-park managers, or hitch-hiking from Perth, Red Dog always comes up trumps. Dealing with his hero's inevitable decline, de Bernières manages to secure real empathy for the dog, without declining into mawkishness--perhaps because we all know a Red Dog, canine or otherwise. As one character points out: "Everyone's got a Red Dog story. Someone ought to write them down." Louis de Bernières thankfully has. --Alan Stewart

About the Author
Louis de Bernieres is the best-selling author of Captain Corelli's Mandolin, which won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize, Best Book in 1995. His most recent novel is A Partisan's Daughter

Excerpted from Red Dog by Louis de Bernieres. Copyright © 2001. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
THE STINKER

‘Strewth,’ exclaimed Jack Collins, ‘that dog’s a real stinker! I don’t know how he puts up with himself. If I dropped bombs like that, I’d walk around with my head in a paper bag, just to protect myself.’
‘Everyone likes their own smells,’ said Mrs Collins. Jack raised his eyebrows and smirked at her, so she added, ‘Or so they say.’
‘Well, it’s too much for me, Maureen. He’s going to have to go out in the yard.’
‘It’s his diet,’ said Maureen, ‘eating what he eats, it’s going to make smells. And he gulps it down so fast, he must be swallowing air.’
‘Tally would let off even if you fed him on roses,’ said her husband, shaking his head, half in wonder. ‘Shame it’s a talent you can’t be paid for. We’d all be millionaires. You know what I think? We should hire him out to the airforce. You could drop him in enemy territory, he’d neutralise it for three days, more or less, and then you could send in the paratroops. It’d be a new era in airborne warfare.’
‘Don’t light any matches, he’s done it again,’ said Maureen, holding her nose with her left hand, and
waving her right hand back and forth across her face. ‘Tally, you’re a bad dog.’
Tally Ho looked up at her with one yellow eye, keeping the other one closed for the sake of economy, and thumped his tail on the floor a couple of times. He had noted the affectionate tone of her voice, and took her words for praise. He was lying on his side, a little bit bloated after gnawing on one of his oldest bones. He was only a year old, so his oldest bone was not too old, but it certainly had plenty of flavours, and all the wind-creating properties of which Tally Ho was particularly fond.
Tally was the most notorious canine dustbin in the whole neighbourhood, and people delighted in presenting him with unlikely objects and encouraging
him to eat them. With apparent relish he ate paper
bags, sticks, dead rats, butterflies, feathers, apple peel, eggshells, used tissues and socks. On top of that, Tally ate the same food as the rest of the family, and at this moment carried in his stomach a goodly load of yesterday’s mashed potato, gravy and steak and kidney pie.
This is not to say that Tally ever raided dustbins or browsed on garbage. That would have been very much beneath his dignity, and in any case, he had never found it necessary. He had never lacked success in obtaining perfectly good food from human beings, and ate odd things in good faith, just because human beings offered them to him. He made up his own mind as to what was worth eating again, and whilst he would probably be quite happy to eat more eggshells, as long as they still had some traces of egg in them, he probably wouldn’t try another feather.
‘I’m going to take him to the airport,’ said Jack, ‘he can work off some energy, and get some of that gas out.’ He went to the door and turned. Tally Ho was looking up at him expectantly, both yellow eyes open this time. His ears had pricked up at the magic word ‘airport’.
‘Run time,’ said Jack, and Tally sprang to his feet in an instant, bouncing up and down with pleasure as if the floor was a trampoline. The caravan shook and
the glasses and cutlery in the cupboard started to rattle. Tally Ho seemed to be grinning with pleasure. He was shaking his head from side to side and yelping.
‘Get him out before he demolishes the whole place,’ said Maureen, and Jack stood aside for Tally Ho to
shoot out of the door like the cork from a bottle of champagne. He bounded out of the small garden, and did some more bouncing up and down outside the car. Jack opened the back door, said ‘Hop in’ and Tally Ho jumped onto the back seat. In an instant he hopped over and sat in the front seat. Jack opened the front
passenger door and ordered ‘Out!’
Tally looked at him coolly, and then deliberately looked away. He had suddenly gone deaf, it appeared, and had found something in the far distance that was terribly interesting.

Customer Reviews

Charming
Louis De Bernieres has written some marvelous literature. "Red Dog", is a wonderful true story about a dog that befriended a good portion of Australia, and has been memorialized with a bronze statue as well as other books. Faithful readers of this author will likely be disappointed if they expect another sweeping novel. This short story does not appear to have been planned, as it unfolds with crisp episodes in the remarkable life of this canine. It is extremely unusual in that the book has been illustrated with what appear to be etchings. Illustration has sadly become the domain of primarily very expensive, limited edition, and small press books.

This is not a child's book, perhaps for young readers in Junior High, but not for young children. This is a book about adults and how a remarkably charismatic canine changed their lives. This is not a fairly tale, it includes the realities of very trying circumstances and the people who pioneer the way in this extremely difficult environment. When it gets hot in the USA warnings suggest certain groups stay indoors. When it gets hot down under, warnings are issued for gas tanks that are prone to explode when exposed to the sun!

I think it is great that an author who has established himself as an accomplished literary writer would have the courage to step well away from what has worked for him repeatedly. I was reminded of some of John Steinbeck's work that centered on animals, both his own and fictional. If John Steinbeck can make the change I believe it is safe for other accomplished authors to explore unfamiliar genres, and they do not deserve to be punished for doing so. This is especially the case when the results are so worthwhile. I was going to give this 4 stars but I stepped it up to 5. The book was punished and I wanted to even out what is a brief but entering read.

What a dog
This is about an amazing four legged free spirit ; a roving rascal owned by no one but loved by all, or nearly all ,who met him. In return for kindly giving him a lift he kindly leaves behind a disgusting fart with a look which says aren't you so very lucky that I shared that with you. " Tally Ho " epitomises that irreverent , mischievous but at the heart decent Aussie outlook on life. After reading this short, but worthwhile book I wish I had a dog to discuss these adventures with.
It is also about a way of life in the remotest parts of Western Australia.The rugged, red landscape becomes real and you can almost feel the blistering noonday heat.There is nothing for it ; I must go to Dampier to pay my respects to Red Dog !

A beautiful little book
This is the sort of book you should read on a rainy, Sunday afternoon, in front of a roaring fire, with a dog leaning against your legs. If, like me, you live in a titchy flat with central heating, it will make you feel as good as sitting by a roaring fire would. It's a heart-warming little gem of a comfort read.