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kiwisandtea's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
anni_in_wonderland's review against another edition
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
Since this is a volume that contains book, the rating should probably be the average out of two. However, in this case I find that particularly difficult. The One Hundred and One Dalmatians, albeit it not without its flaws, it's mostly a nice and well-writte children's book. The Starlight Barking is an experience that is simultabeously an utterly bewildering and bizarre trip and also really, really boring. It's one of the most... unique books I've ever read for sure though.
The One Hundred and One Dalmatians: 3/5
As a toddler I was beyond obsessed with the Disney cartoon. I hadn't watched the film in a while and never read the book yet until I picked it up as an adult more than 25 years after my initial infatuation. It was a nice enough read and the story is quite fast-paced. I really enjoyed reading about the dogs' journmey and all the different animals that they encounter on the way but I also noticed the gentle and at times not-so-subtle promotion of what one may best describe as "Christian family values". One of the more obvious instances sees Perdita (who - unlike in the movie is not Pongo's wife but a unrelated Dalmatian, whose puppies are also take by Cruella De Vil) breeds with another dog she meets out and about but we are assured they quickly got married before they did the deed. At the same time the book tries to be super realistic about some other elements, such as going at lengths to explain why Misses can't feed all her puppies, why she chooses to have them in a broom cupboard and why the father should normally not be with the puppies after birth (of course, Pongo is "Not Like Other Dogs"). There is also a quite stereotypical division of roles between the male and female dogs. Pongo is brainy, strong and brave. Misses is nurturing, caring cautious and her smartness comes out of intuition. The male puppies, Patch and Lucky, are also smart, brave and daring. While the female puppy, Cadpig, is also clever and incredibly kind - and the only dog that feels a special connection to spirituality when entering a church, supposedly showing her excellent intuition - she is also physically weak.
Another review mentioned that dogs' journey back from Hell Hall is reminiscent of Jewish refugees in the Nazi rule and I think the reviewer is spot on with this. I also saw some parellels here and many ways I realised the story has quite a lot of very dark and serious elements, which is not a bad thing though. I think children's stories absolutely can and should contain these aspects and these would make for a good discussion material between parents that read this books with their kids.
I rewatched the movie after finishing the book. The film holds up incredibly well and while I missed some of the characters that I loved in the book, this is one of the rare occasions where the movie is actually better. Both the darkness and the humour were translated so well to the screen but Cruella - who is quite one-dimensional in the book - truly became one of the most iconic villains in Disney's portrayal.
The Starlight Barking 0.5/5
I've never done drugs but this is what I imagine a bad trip must feel like. This book is utterly bizarre. Other reviews have said similar and they were not exaggerating. The main characters have the same names but don't be fooled. This is a very different story from The One Hundred and One Dalmatians. The characters are flat and undimensional - they even end up repeating the same sentences or dialogue. It's tedious to read. The book is the shorter of the two but felt much longer. I forced myselfc to finish it as I did want to know the solution behind the "mystery" (there is no way od guessing it because it's so utterly out there that it could be anything) and also because I felt I can't leave a terrible review to a book I did not finish.
Honestly, don't bother with it or read a summary if you are that curious. The summary will probably sound better than the actual book but please don't feel fooled by it. Giving 0.5 stars rather than 0 to this as it's not like it was outright offensive or anything.
The One Hundred and One Dalmatians: 3/5
As a toddler I was beyond obsessed with the Disney cartoon. I hadn't watched the film in a while and never read the book yet until I picked it up as an adult more than 25 years after my initial infatuation. It was a nice enough read and the story is quite fast-paced. I really enjoyed reading about the dogs' journmey and all the different animals that they encounter on the way but I also noticed the gentle and at times not-so-subtle promotion of what one may best describe as "Christian family values". One of the more obvious instances sees Perdita (who - unlike in the movie is not Pongo's wife but a unrelated Dalmatian, whose puppies are also take by Cruella De Vil) breeds with another dog she meets out and about but we are assured they quickly got married before they did the deed. At the same time the book tries to be super realistic about some other elements, such as going at lengths to explain why Misses can't feed all her puppies, why she chooses to have them in a broom cupboard and why the father should normally not be with the puppies after birth (of course, Pongo is "Not Like Other Dogs"). There is also a quite stereotypical division of roles between the male and female dogs. Pongo is brainy, strong and brave. Misses is nurturing, caring cautious and her smartness comes out of intuition. The male puppies, Patch and Lucky, are also smart, brave and daring. While the female puppy, Cadpig, is also clever and incredibly kind - and the only dog that feels a special connection to spirituality when entering a church, supposedly showing her excellent intuition - she is also physically weak.
Another review mentioned that dogs' journey back from Hell Hall is reminiscent of Jewish refugees in the Nazi rule and I think the reviewer is spot on with this. I also saw some parellels here and many ways I realised the story has quite a lot of very dark and serious elements, which is not a bad thing though. I think children's stories absolutely can and should contain these aspects and these would make for a good discussion material between parents that read this books with their kids.
I rewatched the movie after finishing the book. The film holds up incredibly well and while I missed some of the characters that I loved in the book, this is one of the rare occasions where the movie is actually better. Both the darkness and the humour were translated so well to the screen but Cruella - who is quite one-dimensional in the book - truly became one of the most iconic villains in Disney's portrayal.
The Starlight Barking 0.5/5
I've never done drugs but this is what I imagine a bad trip must feel like. This book is utterly bizarre. Other reviews have said similar and they were not exaggerating. The main characters have the same names but don't be fooled. This is a very different story from The One Hundred and One Dalmatians. The characters are flat and undimensional - they even end up repeating the same sentences or dialogue. It's tedious to read. The book is the shorter of the two but felt much longer. I forced myselfc to finish it as I did want to know the solution behind the "mystery" (there is no way od guessing it because it's so utterly out there that it could be anything) and also because I felt I can't leave a terrible review to a book I did not finish.
Honestly, don't bother with it or read a summary if you are that curious. The summary will probably sound better than the actual book but please don't feel fooled by it. Giving 0.5 stars rather than 0 to this as it's not like it was outright offensive or anything.
linnylionheart's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Racism, and Sexism
pipfromspace's review
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
aotora's review
3.0
I liked the first part of this book - The one hundred and one dalmatians was a cute story with dogs and adventure, but the second story in this book - The starlight barking made me not like this book as much. It was waay too fantastical and it strayed soo far off from the first book. Dogs can suddenly fly and telepathically communicate with each other and it just went way off the rails for me to enjoy it. It's still an okay story... but it's not as good as the first one was.
crankylibrarian's review against another edition
3.0
I first read 101 Dalmatians as a 9 year old on a European bus tour, and its canny insights into midcentury British culture (notably dog worship) stuck with me. Discovering its surreal sequel, The Starlight Barking 50 years later was a bit of a shock, since it questions the assumptions of the original. In Smith's original conception, dogs see humans as their "pets", gently humoring them in their delusion of being in charge. The sequel abruptly reverses course, pointing out that it is the dogs who are deluded, and offering them an escape to a world where they would truly be in control of their own destinies.
This is a bit of a shocker, and made me take a new look at 101 Dalmatians . At the risk of sounding melodramatic, I began to see darker elements in this wholesome story of loving canines and there beloved humans. Though the Dearlys (Darlings in the movie) are devoted and trustworthy "pets"; the heartbreaking story of Perdita, forcibly separated from her mate and puppies, resembles a slave narrative. While Pongo assures Missis that the Dearlys will never sell their own puppies, it's clear that the dogs have absolutely no control here and are dependent on on the goodwill of these "kind masters" to keep their children from being sold away from them.
Even more disturbing are the novel's evocations of the Holocaust. Pongo and Missis struggle valiantly to get the puppies to safety, escorted from safe house to safe house by an underground canine resistance network, eventually disguising themselves to escape detection by brutal killers. The callousness of Cruella and her henchmen towards nonhuman children (Cruella also routinely drowns kittens) is about as poignant an indictment of Nazism as I've ever seen in a children's book. Cruella may be the epitome of evil, yet her assumption that her dogskin coat will only be a problem "until people forget abut the Dealry's pups" suggests the overall human indifference to animal suffering.
This is a bit of a shocker, and made me take a new look at 101 Dalmatians . At the risk of sounding melodramatic, I began to see darker elements in this wholesome story of loving canines and there beloved humans. Though the Dearlys (Darlings in the movie) are devoted and trustworthy "pets"; the heartbreaking story of Perdita, forcibly separated from her mate and puppies, resembles a slave narrative. While Pongo assures Missis that the Dearlys will never sell their own puppies, it's clear that the dogs have absolutely no control here and are dependent on on the goodwill of these "kind masters" to keep their children from being sold away from them.
Even more disturbing are the novel's evocations of the Holocaust. Pongo and Missis struggle valiantly to get the puppies to safety, escorted from safe house to safe house by an underground canine resistance network, eventually disguising themselves to escape detection by brutal killers. The callousness of Cruella and her henchmen towards nonhuman children (Cruella also routinely drowns kittens) is about as poignant an indictment of Nazism as I've ever seen in a children's book. Cruella may be the epitome of evil, yet her assumption that her dogskin coat will only be a problem "until people forget abut the Dealry's pups" suggests the overall human indifference to animal suffering.
madelonpaige's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs