Watched the film first (as I'm sure everyone did) and I must say, they did a great job of adapting the novel. I've been trying to get over my hatred of audiobooks and this one was fairly short so I had a pretty good time.

Sabia muito pouco sobre este livro antes de o ter iniciado, e foi já durante a leitura que descobri que se baseia em factos reais. Pelos vistos, na década de 1970, viveu um cão muito singular na Austrália Ocidental. Cão Vermelho, assim era chamado, era um cão de raça Kelpie australiana que ficou famoso pelo seu gosto pelas viagens e pela empatia que criava com as pessoas com quem se ia cruzando. O Cão Vermelho apanhava boleia de conhecidos e, assim, ia explorando as várias localidades a seu bel-prazer. Ficou também conhecido pelo seu apetite voraz e pelo mau cheiro que partilhava com os seus companheiros de viagem.

Este pequeno livrinho é composto por vários capítulos onde o autor nos vai dando conta das várias aventuras conhecidas do Cão Vermelho, complementadas com ilustrações que, na minha opinião, dão ao livro um toque juvenil de forma muito apropriada. É quase impossível não simpatizar com o Cão Vermelho, com a sua perspicácia e com o espírito livre que encarnava, simbolizando certamente algumas das principais características dos australianos.

A grande maioria das situações relatadas dão verdadeiramente a ideia da sigularidade deste animal e da forma como conseguiu unir uma comunidade. É um livro fofinho, com algumas lições pelo meio, mas sem ser nada de absolutamente extraordinário. Parece-me uma boa história para partilhar em família.

A story about a famous Australian stray dog and his "adopted" owners and friends and his adventures in Australia. This novella is a short and powerful read (with some animal cruelty scenes, just be warned) about an incredible dog who lived as a vagabond and was accepted in a small mining town by (most of the) locals, even having his own bus seat. A really powerful story about how animals and people can bond and how a small community can be the found family of a stray.

A simple heart-felt story, that captures the essence of Australian story telling.

Quite randomly grabbed this in the bookswap, and I'm very glad I did now! Although with this book, Beth has now witnessed just how much I really can sob my heart out over a book... jeez, this easily got me as bad as Thunderwith did - twice over! I was crying so hard by the time Bill was unable to put Red Dog down that I couldn't see anymore. When I managed to return to the book, I barely made it through the next (and last) like, six pages before once more being blinded. It makes it worse that this was a true story and that really happened. I hope that the men found out who was responsible and went and performed a little vigilante justice of their own. Justifiable homicide for sure. People make me so upset sometimes, especially where animals are involved. :(

This was a gorgeous book - basically the tale of a dog who, in his short life, becomes famous pretty much throughout the entire of WA. This was in the 70s and the outback towns were small, where everyone knew each other and knew the Red Dog. It was simply amazing to read, such a joy and delight! And though the author was not Australian, he did a pretty good job at writing a book about Australians, set in Australia. There were a couple of misuses of the word 'dag', and maybe one or two other things that weren't natural or were a bit too OTT, but apart from that it was really well done and just the sort of thing I needed to read. A beautiful dog and the beautiful outback - even if the ending did damn well destroy me.

I seriously need to go and find the most cheerful book on my shelf right now after that!

If you wanted to understand Australia and Australians, and specifically rural Australia, and even more specifically the north west of WA, you probably couldn't do any better than reading this book.

Something about a dog that decides to choose his own master and then become a dog of the commons is so decidedly Australian. Along with his indestructible, laid-back, and lovable roguish nature, this dog roams an area larger than most countries. Red Dog is the best of Australia.

Just let me cuddle my dog first...

About a real dog that lived with a community in Australia - the stories told about it are either twee or just boring

I loved this little book. I read it in one day. It's a true story about a dog that lived in Australia and belonged to everyone. It is hard to believe this dog did the things that people say he did, but being a dog lover I believe every word of it. If you ever looked at a dog and wondered what he would say if he could talk, then you should read this book.

Lovely story. De Bernieres has done a good job of weaving the legends into a sweet tale.

I enjoyed a little insight into a tough pioneering style of life too.

This is the reason Australian stories shouldn't be written by non-Australians. This collection of awkwardly phrased sentences - which relied on a plethora of unnecessary drawings to reach the page numbers required to be published as a book - is an insult to anyone who considers themselves Australian. The book is populated with caricatures and offensive stereotypes that make Australians look mentally deficient.

The movie was a heartwrenching look at the loneliness of Northern WA mixed with down to earth humour and a message of mateship. The book is, in a single word, disappointing.

Plain tales, simply told, based on true stories of a dog who lived in the Pilbara area of Western Australia in the 1970s. Red Dog obviously touches a chord with the iron ore mining community among whom he lives: defiant, self-sufficient, obstinate, and thoroughly undomesticated, he embodies the pioneer spirit, the mongrel mentality, the sense of independence of that far-flung community. It's funny what heroes we memorialize with statuary:



Oh, and there was a film too:



Funny, too, what will keep our little minds fairly amused while gently recuperating from a double whammy bug. This has been on my shelves forever, if I remember right my Mum pressed it on me in return for passing on to her my copy of Corelli's Mandolin (not a keeper). Thus it didn't actually cost me anything, but I do wonder about the price that publishers will demand for something that provides no more than 90 minutes of entertainment.