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lararomano's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
alisonjfields's review against another edition
3.0
I'm not a huge fan of dog stories (or for that matter novels about pets in general), but this extended tale of canine-custody is exceptionally funny and slightly sinister. Good stuff.
deadwolfbones's review against another edition
dark
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
scops_xyz's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
If this was written today, it would be considered a dark satire on the way jealousy, relationship hierarchies, non-monogamy, queerness and gender intersect. Except it was written in the 50s, so it's an elliptical tale of an uptight man caught in a messy custody dispute with his lover's wife and family, over a dog. Pretty much everyone in this is an a**hole, and it's great.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Classism
Minor: Homophobia and Misogyny
owlette's review
5.0
[edited for clarity 2022-04-25]
I loved this book, which says more about me than the book and not in a good light.
Much of the story in the first half of the book takes place in the parlor of his lover's mother's, Millie's, home. While the narrator is a middle-aged, single bureaucrat, the rest of the characters featured in this book are working class. I admit that the privileged, bougie bitch inside me made it easy to relate to the narrator's disgust at Millie's house and even chuckle at his acerbic remarks ("Is it because the working classes fill our prisons with thieves like Johnny that they in particular seem so often to suppose that their own miserable property requires protection? (62)").
But unlike the narrator, I do not like dogs. In real life, I would find Evie's behavior and temperament obnoxious. So it's a testament to J.R. Ackerley's writing when I say that my favorite moments in the book were all about Evie. These passages are full of intimate imageries most likely inspired by Ackerley's observation of his own Alsatian german shepherd. Take for instance this moment when the narrator first meets Evie:
I love that description about the sunlight seeping through the thin ears. It's one of those images that you've seen before in real life but could be difficult to put into words. Later, there is a detailed study of Evie's face:
It's as if the author is drawing a still life of Evie except in words.
Lastly, I want to commend whoever at the New York Book Review wrote the back cover blurb. Misleading descriptions are more common than you’d think, and I have been bitten more than once by blurbs written by misleading blurbs. Fortunately, that is not the case with this edition of We Think the World of You. Just read this sentence for instance:
What a wonderful phrase, "guardian of one's inner world"! This is the phrase that intrigued me and thought about when I finished the book. I did not expect a book about a dog to have a dark, happy ending. 5 out of 5 stars, one of the best fictions I’ve read this year.
I loved this book, which says more about me than the book and not in a good light.
Much of the story in the first half of the book takes place in the parlor of his lover's mother's, Millie's, home. While the narrator is a middle-aged, single bureaucrat, the rest of the characters featured in this book are working class. I admit that the privileged, bougie bitch inside me made it easy to relate to the narrator's disgust at Millie's house and even chuckle at his acerbic remarks ("Is it because the working classes fill our prisons with thieves like Johnny that they in particular seem so often to suppose that their own miserable property requires protection? (62)").
But unlike the narrator, I do not like dogs. In real life, I would find Evie's behavior and temperament obnoxious. So it's a testament to J.R. Ackerley's writing when I say that my favorite moments in the book were all about Evie. These passages are full of intimate imageries most likely inspired by Ackerley's observation of his own Alsatian german shepherd. Take for instance this moment when the narrator first meets Evie:
"Its light gray vulpine head was long and sharp, and surmounted by extraordinarily tall ears. The winter sun sinking behind shone through the delicate tissue of these remarkable erections, turning them shell-pink (32)."
I love that description about the sunlight seeping through the thin ears. It's one of those images that you've seen before in real life but could be difficult to put into words. Later, there is a detailed study of Evie's face:
"... perhaps her ducking in the river had exposed detail which coal-dust had hitherto obscured; the black caste mark was diamond-shaped still, but deep shadows had now developed upon either side of it, stretching across her brow, so that in certain lights the diamond looked like the body of a bird with its wings spread, a bird in flight. These dark markings on her chalky-face--the diamond with its wing-like stains, the oblique black-rimmed eyes with the small jet eyebrow tufts set like accents above them, the long sooty lips--symmetrically divided it up into zones of delicate pastel colors, like a stained-glass window. The skull, bisected by a thread, was two oval pools of the palest honey, the center of her face was stone gray, her cheeks were silvery white and upon each a patte de mouche had been tastefully set. Framed in its soft white ruff, this strange face with its heavily leaded features and the occasional expression of sadness imparted to it by some slight movement of the brows, was the face of a clown, a clown by Rouault (99)."
It's as if the author is drawing a still life of Evie except in words.
Lastly, I want to commend whoever at the New York Book Review wrote the back cover blurb. Misleading descriptions are more common than you’d think, and I have been bitten more than once by blurbs written by misleading blurbs. Fortunately, that is not the case with this edition of We Think the World of You. Just read this sentence for instance:
"And it is [Evie], in the end, who becomes the improbable and undeniable guardian of Frank's inner world."
What a wonderful phrase, "guardian of one's inner world"! This is the phrase that intrigued me and thought about when I finished the book. I did not expect a book about a dog to have a dark, happy ending. 5 out of 5 stars, one of the best fictions I’ve read this year.
staticdisplay's review against another edition
5.0
so beautiful and sad. it was incredibly painful to read. initially, I was interested in what would happen between Frank and Johnny, whether Frank would win his struggle with Megan, how Frank and Tom would duke it out. but none of those things happened or mattered. in loving Evie, Frank slowly alienates himself from people, although he also develops an intense understanding, even empathy, for them, while remaining entirely detached. he finds Johnny in a little bar and knows exactly what Johnny and Megan are thinking, how they've fought and how they will reconcile, and how he can use this knowledge to get what he wants - no longer Johnny's company, for Frank has realized that neither he nor Evie nor, in fact, anyone, will ever really matter to Johnny. as Evie frightens everyone away from Frank, he knows that it's happening, and why, just as he knows what his cousin is trying to do when she forces him to discipline Evie (and as he knows that his cousin will capitulate as he did with Johnny and Megan). it's very bleak. for such a short novel, and with such broadly drawn characters, Ackerley succeeds nonetheless in evoking real people whose real problems and real worlds are, as Frank realizes, not as flimsy as they seem to other people.
louanna's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
cupidcove's review
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I found this book to be a unique experience in terms of queer historical literature- it is not often that a gay relationship is treated so casually in a text and I found that treatment so interesting. I wasn't expecting the text to focus so strongly on a dog character, but I found Frank's relationship with Evie to be interesting throughout most of the text. Despite this, the book did have some deep flaws - the treatment of women (and female dogs) is blatantly sexist and while one could argue that it is a result of the protagonist's views rather than the author's, it is quite uncomfortable to read over an extended narrative. ALSO, while it is only a couple of lines in the text the weird sexualization of and sexual interactions of humans with their dog made me EXTREMELY uncomfortable. As did the frequent abuse of a dog. Please be wary if that is something that would upset you because it pervades the entire text. Overall, while I do think there are some interesting things to be gleaned from this text, the deeply flawed portrayal of women and abuse of dogs made the text impossible to recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty
oakfield's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25