Fifteen Dogs by André Alexis

From Goodreads:
"I wonder", said Hermes, "what it would be like if animals had human intelligence."
"I'll wager a year's servitude," answered Apollo, "that animals – any animal you like – would be even more unhappy than humans are, if they were given human intelligence."
And so it begins: a bet between the gods Hermes and Apollo leads them to grant human consciousness and language to a group of dogs overnighting at a Toronto vet­erinary clinic. Suddenly capable of more complex thought, the pack is torn between those who resist the new ways of thinking, preferring the old 'dog' ways, and those who embrace the change. The gods watch from above as the dogs venture into their newly unfamiliar world, as they become divided among themselves, as each struggles with new thoughts and feelings. Wily Benjy moves from home to home, Prince becomes a poet, and Majnoun forges a relationship with a kind couple that stops even the Fates in their tracks.

Two Greek gods sit at a bar in the Distillery District near downtown Toronto and make a wager about dogs. No, really. That's how this book starts. Fifteen Dogs has been on my radar for a while. It's consistently recommended to me on Amazon and Goodreads, and it's on the longlist for CBC's 2017 "Canada Reads". It's won the Scotiabank Geller Prize, and it was met with critical acclaim when it was released. This book is a prime example of good Canadian writing, and proof that, yes, good writers do exist in Canada besides Alice Munroe (whose work is amazing) and Margaret Atwood. 

The premise of this novel is kind of nonsensical on the onset: Greek gods making bets about dogs and how they would behave with human intelligence? But it works. Really well, too. It not only shows why limitations between humans and dogs are in place, but also shows how different dogs react and process this new intelligence. It speaks a lot to human nature and how the world can literally be a "dog-eat-dog" world. For others, they think this is the greatest thing that's ever happened. Of the fifteen dogs that this book follows, they each have completely different, personal, journeys, which works well. Alexis is a talented writer that really understands not only human interactions, but also human-dog interactions, and portrays excellent dog-dog interactions. I wonder if Mr. Alexis himself has had dogs in his life. 

This is also one of the most unique books I think I have ever read. It's told mostly from the point of view from the dogs, changing perspectives with each chapter. While it does focus mostly on Majnoun, Benjy, and my personal favourite of the dogs Prince, it goes through the processes that each of the dogs has in regards to this new intelligence. This is a rare book. There are not many other books like this out there that are both original like this, and also well-written. It's completely whimsical, but it also packs an emotional punch, especially to dog-owners or dog-lovers. While I do not have a dog myself, I have loved dogs my entire life, so this book really affected me, especially towards the end of the book. As I mentioned, Mr. Alexis really got into his characters in this book, and eloquently portrays the different parts of humanity, the good, the bad, and the ugly, and what it means to be human (or dog, living in a human world). 

This book is doggone great, heartbreaking and original. For that I am giving this book 5/5 and wish it and André Alexis luck at Canada Reads.