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hannahaa23's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
desterman's review
3.0
Set in the outer suburbs of a large Australian city (it's never made totally clear, but seems to be Canberra), 'Here Come the Dogs' focuses on three young ethnic men, trying to forge their way and find their place. The novel plays with form in an interesting and challenging way - the use of prose and hip hop/rap poetry throughout is fresh and engaging. The themes explored are wide ranging and relevant - essentially the darker side of multiculturalism. It's about being homeless in your home, marginalised and ostracised in the most subtle of ways without any real understanding of how to change it. It's a powerful look at masculinity, ethnicity, racism, culture, relationships and hope. Musa offers a raw and powerful insight into the lives of these men. Unfortunately, despite their many good qualities, I found the flaws of these men meant they are difficult to like and ultimately affected my ability to empathise with them. It's a challenging book, but still worth the journey.
claire_melanie's review
5.0
A great book written in a really innovative and evocative style. An unromatacised portrayal of modern, suburban Australian life.
rnmcfarlane's review
challenging
dark
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
5.0
tasmanian_bibliophile's review
4.0
‘Where are these c---s?’
Thus begins Omar Musa’s novel. It’s written in a combination of poetry and prose, and examines the alienation, disempowerment and dislocation of three young men on the fringes of Australian urban society. The three young men, Solomon Amosa, a Samoan, his ‘beige’ coloured half-brother Jimmy and Solomon’s best friend Aleks Janeski, a Macedonian, attend a local greyhound race meeting. The men talk about dog racing (it will be the last race for a dog called Mercury Fire), about women, about hip-hop. Solomon, who went to a private school on a basketball scholarship is both the most personable and the most self-aware. Jimmy, who doesn’t know who his father is, doesn’t know where he belongs. Aleks, married with a small daughter, is trying to improve their situation. He does a bit of graffiti (‘graff’), but ends up in prison in association with drug trafficking.
‘This has always been a land of fire.’
So, what makes this story work? Does the poetry fracture the prose, or unify it? What forms will their individual struggles for identity take? And how does hip-hop work as a unifying force? There’s constant movement in this novel, the rhythm of the poetry, the beat of the music underscore the activity, and the environment itself is not passive. There’s sense of foreboding, of possibility and of danger.
‘The day hot and strange and flattened, almost monochrome.’
Although in many ways Solomon was the most likeable and articulate of the characters, it was Aleks I felt most sympathy for. I could sense his loss: trying to provide for a family, lost between the Macedonian culture of his youth and the Australian culture of his adoption. Jimmy has even less of a clear identity, and sense of belonging, and this is going to erupt somewhere. Somehow.
At times I found the blend of poetry and prose dislocating: different languages, differing ways of communicating. But it worked well as a vehicle of telling the men’s stories and for grounding the hip-hop culture which unites them. This, for me, is a different way of exploring alienation and dispossession. One in which I am an outsider and have to work hard to understand. One in which I hope for positive new beginnings. This book is well worth reading.
Omar Musa is a Malaysian-Australian rapper and writer. He has released three albums, published two poetry books, and this is his first published novel.
‘No worries. I’ll be back.’
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Thus begins Omar Musa’s novel. It’s written in a combination of poetry and prose, and examines the alienation, disempowerment and dislocation of three young men on the fringes of Australian urban society. The three young men, Solomon Amosa, a Samoan, his ‘beige’ coloured half-brother Jimmy and Solomon’s best friend Aleks Janeski, a Macedonian, attend a local greyhound race meeting. The men talk about dog racing (it will be the last race for a dog called Mercury Fire), about women, about hip-hop. Solomon, who went to a private school on a basketball scholarship is both the most personable and the most self-aware. Jimmy, who doesn’t know who his father is, doesn’t know where he belongs. Aleks, married with a small daughter, is trying to improve their situation. He does a bit of graffiti (‘graff’), but ends up in prison in association with drug trafficking.
‘This has always been a land of fire.’
So, what makes this story work? Does the poetry fracture the prose, or unify it? What forms will their individual struggles for identity take? And how does hip-hop work as a unifying force? There’s constant movement in this novel, the rhythm of the poetry, the beat of the music underscore the activity, and the environment itself is not passive. There’s sense of foreboding, of possibility and of danger.
‘The day hot and strange and flattened, almost monochrome.’
Although in many ways Solomon was the most likeable and articulate of the characters, it was Aleks I felt most sympathy for. I could sense his loss: trying to provide for a family, lost between the Macedonian culture of his youth and the Australian culture of his adoption. Jimmy has even less of a clear identity, and sense of belonging, and this is going to erupt somewhere. Somehow.
At times I found the blend of poetry and prose dislocating: different languages, differing ways of communicating. But it worked well as a vehicle of telling the men’s stories and for grounding the hip-hop culture which unites them. This, for me, is a different way of exploring alienation and dispossession. One in which I am an outsider and have to work hard to understand. One in which I hope for positive new beginnings. This book is well worth reading.
Omar Musa is a Malaysian-Australian rapper and writer. He has released three albums, published two poetry books, and this is his first published novel.
‘No worries. I’ll be back.’
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
robringer's review
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
maree_k's review
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
albionloveden's review
4.0
A good story, but possibly a little too earnest. The regional and pop-culture references will date this terribly.
megelzbth's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.0
witmol's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing
Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, Violence, and Drug use
Minor: Stalking and Toxic relationship