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review 2015-06-22 16:21
Mexican Mutts, Tequila Pups & Chili Dogs- David Gordon Burke

    This is a very engaging mix of short doggy stories from one of dogs' very best friends, David Gordon Burke. Most of these short stories lean towards the sad and tragic with some nice yappy endings. However, Burke's raison d'être is exactly that dogs are being mistreated, in Mexico in these cases, and we humans need to do a lot about it. The problem may be acute in Mexico though hopefully improving, but that is certainly not the case in all corners of the world.
    Burke makes very good use of newspaper reports between his conventional short stories, which greatly add to the ambient feel of seriousness behind his reflections. All the stories are based on general truths from real incidents, though some have been lightly fictionalised to make them more engaging and rounded.
    The stories are well written, though the version I read had a few very inconsequential typos. There is always danger in not mentioning this, as grammar fiends seem to so enjoy destroying great writing, like this, on such thin pretences and especially if they feel 'conned' into buying.
    As one of those people that actually prefers the average dog to the average human, I am bound to empathise deeply with this book, however, I feel even strange folks such as cat lovers and rodent fanciers will find plenty here to grab their attentions, stories drawn from the street-life of Mexico.

AMAZON LINK

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review 2014-07-12 16:04
Lobo- David Gordon Burke
Lobo - David Gordon Burke

It is rare that I struggle to put a book down, with Lobo I really let my life outside the book slip. I'm a slow reader- so my list of 'must do yesterday' got very long.
This is a well written book that oozes with the author's passion for his subject. The backdrop is the recent past of Monterrey, in Mexico, which like so many cities has deep divisions of class, income and expectation. The characters are deeply drawn, and well painted into the wide panorama over which I as the reader was made to feel I had an omnipresent view. The characters are as much the dogs as the people. Both species seem to almost mirror each other, except that the evil in the dogs is generally driven by man.
This is not a 'Four Paws into Adventure' (Claude Cénac), or another, often copied, 'The Incredible Journey' (Sheila Burnford) though the dog is the true star, and the quality of the story is as high. Lassie didn't live in Monterrey, in an often violent, all too real world, in which the real highs and lows of human character are displayed in all their vivid colours. Lassie couldn't have won many battles on Lobo's streets.
The copy I read had a smattering of typos, which is frustrating, but not because they spoil the read. They really don't. Rather, I'm frustrated, because DGB is such an excellent writer that achieving flawless just has to be so worthwhile. I love the rich descriptive style of writing that has so much to tell us about Mexico and its people whilst the plot steadily boils above.
I am a total fan of the first person narrative and so was totally absorbed by DGB's use of the form to write first person straight from the heads of nearly all his rich tapestry of characters. I particularly respect his writing because Burke has torn up the modern 'fashion' manual on writing in order to do his own thing. In the process he has produced a really good fact-based fiction book.

http://www.amazon.com/Lobo-David-Gordon-Burke-ebook/dp/B00HS3MDKM/

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