My book was Red Dog. I think it was one of the most emotional I have ever felt reading a book. If you are looking for a good heartfelt laugh or cry, this is the book for you. Usually I don't get too emotionally invested with humans, but with this dog it was a different story. He had so many good things in his life, like the people who treated him like his best friends. No matter what the towns he traveled from and too, he always had a good meal and a place to sleep. This book also shows how many bad people there are in this world. Sometimes, Red Dog had to go through really bad stuff, like beatings and even gunshots, when Red Dog didn't do anything. One of the worst things to me is abusing an animal who does no harm to you. It makes absolutely zero sense to me. That is why this book had me on an emotional rollercoaster. I recommend this book completely.

Red Dog actually existed; the author notes in the author's note that the stories he tells in the book are all based in reality, and that all he invented were the characters. He first came across mention of Red Dog in 1998 when he went to Perth to attend a literature festival; part of the program was that the author would make his way to Karratha, a mining town to the north. There he came across a bronze statue of Red Dog, and wanted to find out more. To write the book, he later returned to the area, and just drove around & collected stories about Red Dog. He got some of his info from newspaper cuttings as well as two other books published about the dog in Australia.

The book is only 119 pages long of which the last three contain a brief glossary of Aussie terms. I read that part first and I would advise you to do the same. The story itself isn't one long narrative, but rather short little glimpses of Red Dog's life and adventures. Red Dog was loved by many people, didn't really have an owner, and was independent and assertive enough so that people let him have his way, and eventually, a majority of the people who came in touch with Red Dog ended up loving him.

The book is at times laugh-out-loud funny & you actually begin to feel that you are getting to know this dog while you're reading the book. The story is heartwarming yet a little sad at the end, but what a great story it is!

To be quite honest, I don't normally like stories about animals, and I picked this up only because it was recommended to me as a choice for novels set in Australia or by Australian authors, but I ended up absolutely loving this book. I would simply recommend it to EVERYONE, dog lover or no. For you cat people, there are some funny bits about a cat in here.

I read this book because I really liked the movie adaptation. This short novel does not really expound on the film. I read it in 2-3 days but it could easily be read in one. It is simple and sweet and does not try to be anything other than what it is—a collection of little anecdotes about a beloved community member. It was perfect for reading on family vacation when there was a lot of other activity going on.
I loved the heavy use of “Australianisms,” as the glossary calls them. The rural Australian setting itself was described in vivid detail, easy to immerse in. Long live Red Dog!

Σίγουρα αν έχεις αγαπήσει πολύ ένα σκύλο στη ζωή σου μπορείς να αγαπήσεις αυτο το βιβλιο. Κάποιες στιγμές αστείο , κάποιες στιγμές φιλοζωικό να αναδεικνύει την απανθρωπιά κάποιον , κάποιες στιγμές παιδικό και περιπετειώδες , ενδιαφέρον το κομματι της κατανόησης ενός τετράποδου και της ανάδειξης μιας ιδιοφυούς φύσης σε ένα ζώο . Οχι κάτι μοναδικο σαν βιβλιο μου θύμισε λίγο κατοικίδιο Κίπλινγκ αλλά καταλήγοντας ένα γλυκό ευκολο βιβλιο που ομως σίγουρα δεν είναι το καλύτερο βιβλιο που θα διαβάσει ποτέ κάποιος .

Esta é uma história muito bonita. Sem grandes profunidades, a leitura deste livro leva-nos longe. Os nossos olhos são guiados pela vida animal, num percurso simples e rico de fantasia e imaginação.

Assistimos à humanização de uma animal que realmente existiu - o que é fantástico. O livro é bem interessante e vale a pena para qualquer idade. É cheio de magia-viva: magia-animal.

Fica na cabeça a história e as peripécias do cão vermelho, fazendo deste livro algo de muito bom para se ler. Envolve-nos gradualmente até que o cão-personagem, é nosso. O cão vermelho é o nosso cão, quer o nosso cão-imaginário, quer aquele/aqueles que cerdadeiramente temos em nossas casas. Resumidamente: quem não gostar e sentir a vida animal, não gosta e não sente a vida deste livro.

3,5 dan 4

Louis is a master of making simple things beautiful and I thought this was a strong 3 stars. Red Dog made me smile - because oooooooo, he’s a cheeky ickle boy! - and I love that it’s based on true stories from Western Australia.

Red Dog was a Red Cloud kelpie, full of character with an insatiable appetite and an even larger appetite for a wandering life, always managing to find any action to be found. I can see why Louis de Bernieres became obsessed with Red Dog's story and the massive impact he made on countless people and other animals. He became renowned throughout North-Western Australia ensuring his legend remains. Very few dogs get such literal and figurative mileage out of life.

I love my dogs above all else and I love, love Red Dog for his intelligence, friendly companionship, and above all his indomitable spirit.

Haven't read, but seen the movie, upon a high recommendation. (Noela, you have a lot of making up to do.)

I see that in the book the dog's only 'master' is half-Maori. In the movie they have made him American, played by an actor of some note, presumably because Americans don't watch movies that don't have an American connection. Cringe. I do wish Australians and English movie-makers would stop doing that. For me it spoilt the movie, if it had been made for an Australian market, as most of those sorts of films are locally, I imagine it would have been a much better thing. More like The Castle, for example, which made no effort whatsoever to appeal to non-Australians and is far superior.

Red dog,

If this author didn't have a bestseller or five already under his belt, I'd like to have heard him try and pitch this book to a publisher- "Well, it's a collection of true stories about a flatulent red dog in Western Australia, and, along the way, we all learn something about human nature, the immigrant experience and the incipient stirrings of a new culture in the Southern hemisphere." Luckily, Louis DeBernieres has enough money to do whatever he pleases these days and as a result we have this book of mythic vignettes from the life of one `Red Dog'.

Written in a style and vocabulary that wouldn't challenge your average 12-year-old, Red Dog relates stories as told to the author by people who actually knew the titular beastie. The Aussie dialect jumps off the page like a colourful episode of Neighbours as swagmen, kookaburras and `strewthing' all put in regular appearances and bring the warmly described characters to life.

It won't take you more than a couple of hours to read the whole book, but even so, I'd recommend reading it a chapter at a time over several days as its effects are subtle and you'll be sorry you finished it so quickly. I can't think of another book that covers this kind of ground so well.

it’s remarkable that this is one of the only books that has ever brought me to tears, spanning only just over 100 pages