Dogsbody
by
Diana Wynne Jones ,
Neil Gaiman (Goodreads Author)
The Dog Star, Sirius, is tried - and found guilty - by his heavenly peers for a murder he did not commit. His sentence: to live on the planet Earth until he can carry out a seemingly impossible mission - the recovery of a deadly weapon known as the Zoi. The first lesson Sirius learns in his lowly earthly form is that humans have all the power. The second is that even thoug...more
Paperback, 288 pages
Published
April 12th 2012
by Firebird
(first published 1975)
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The librarians of my childhood failed me. I'm sorry, there isn't a nice way to say it. They let me check out armloads of Goosebumps books week after week, when just a few shelves away, there were a dozen magical, wonderful books by Diana Wynne Jones just aching to be discovered and devoured by a dork like me, who would clearly have loved them. At least I was lucky enough to randomly stumble across Daniel Pinkwater on my own.
Of course, I can't judge the librarians too harshly. The late '80s were...more
Of course, I can't judge the librarians too harshly. The late '80s were...more
Apr 18, 2011
Fiona
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
everyone, every child, every dog lover, every person
Recommended to Fiona by:
itself
I first read this book when I was nine and I can't count how many times since that I've read it.
Since acquiring an Amazon account though I've been able to buy more DWJ books and then managed to own my very own copy of Dogsbody. I wish I could have the version of book I read as a kid though.
This is the first book I could say I truly loved, adored and became obsessed with. It doesn't matter how many times I've read this, I still enjoy it each time - nothing has diminished.
I guess I was attracted...more
Since acquiring an Amazon account though I've been able to buy more DWJ books and then managed to own my very own copy of Dogsbody. I wish I could have the version of book I read as a kid though.
This is the first book I could say I truly loved, adored and became obsessed with. It doesn't matter how many times I've read this, I still enjoy it each time - nothing has diminished.
I guess I was attracted...more
Sirius, the denizen of the Dog Star, is wrongly convicted of murdering another denizen and as a punishment is sent to Earth where he is 'reborn' as a puppy and given the life-span of that dog to clear his name.
On Earth he's adopted by a young girl called Kathleen. DWJ does a fantastic job of showing us the world from a puppy's point of view and there were some laugh out loud moments as well as lots of cute ones (the personifications of the different dogs were hilariously accurate). But the book...more
On Earth he's adopted by a young girl called Kathleen. DWJ does a fantastic job of showing us the world from a puppy's point of view and there were some laugh out loud moments as well as lots of cute ones (the personifications of the different dogs were hilariously accurate). But the book...more
Feb 01, 2013
Verity Brown
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Diana Wynne Jones fans; LDS fans of sf/f
Recommended to Verity by:
Amazon reviewers
I'm already a fan of Diana Wynne Jones, and I'd heard this was one of her best books (in spite of being one of her earliest), but neither of those things prepared me for how deeply this story moved me.
I think that part of what gives this story its power is that Jones pulls no punches here. The antagonists and the abuse they deal out are not made "safe for kids" by an over-the-top Roald Dahl treatment (as they often are in Jones' other books). The nasty adults do and threaten to do things that re...more
I loved this book as a child and after just rereading it I find that it still is just as good as before. I read a lot of complaints that said DWJ was vague in describing the Zoi or even Earth's dark child. They're right. It was somewhat vague and left open to interpretation. However, since the main part of this story takes place on Earth among creatures of Earth I find that the story doesn't suffer as a result of that vagueness. My take on this is that we are seeing the majority of this story th...more
Dogsbody is a Young Adult book, written in 1975 and now out of print. I would never have known about it, except that Jeri Smith-Ready, an author whose work I really enjoy, recalled loving this book herself. I found a copy in the library (there are also lots of used copies for sale all over the place).
Sirius, the Dog Star, has a fiery temper and has been convicted of a crime of passion that resulted in the death of a luminary, and the loss of the mysterious zoi -- a powerful and dangerous artifac...more
Sirius, the Dog Star, has a fiery temper and has been convicted of a crime of passion that resulted in the death of a luminary, and the loss of the mysterious zoi -- a powerful and dangerous artifac...more
Mar 29, 2011
Mary Anne
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fiction,
diana-wynne-jones
What better thing to do when going in for a day of jury duty than start and finish a relatively short book? Mostly because the Kindle was temporarily out of commission due to someone not paying off her credit card on time. I digress.
I really wanted to give this book a higher rating, and I think the reason that I can't is that I didn't get it. I get that Jones created a fantasy, and while I would have appreciated a somewhat better explanation, it worked out well enough. I have difficulty understa...more
I really wanted to give this book a higher rating, and I think the reason that I can't is that I didn't get it. I get that Jones created a fantasy, and while I would have appreciated a somewhat better explanation, it worked out well enough. I have difficulty understa...more
Jul 31, 2010
Heather
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Heather by:
Megan
Shelves:
kids-ya,
library-books
What if the stars weren't just distant balls of gas: what if each one had, or might have, a "denizen," a being who inhabited its sphere? What if these denizens had their own lives, their own politics, courts, and jealousies? That's part of the premise of this novel, which the flap-copy describes, sort of cheesily but also accurately, as a book that is "a tense, exciting, science-fiction fantasy, a thriller, and a touching dog story all in one." Sirius, the dog star, has been found guilty of murd...more
From the back cover:
"The Dog Star, Sirius, is tried--and found guilty--by his heavenly peers for a murder he did not commit. His sentence: to live on the planet Earth as a dog until such time as he can carry out a seemingly impossible mission--the recovery of a deadly weapon known as the Zoi. The first painful lesson Sirius learns in his lowly earthly form is that humans have all the power. The second is that even though his young mistress loves him, she can't protect either of them from the cru...more
"The Dog Star, Sirius, is tried--and found guilty--by his heavenly peers for a murder he did not commit. His sentence: to live on the planet Earth as a dog until such time as he can carry out a seemingly impossible mission--the recovery of a deadly weapon known as the Zoi. The first painful lesson Sirius learns in his lowly earthly form is that humans have all the power. The second is that even though his young mistress loves him, she can't protect either of them from the cru...more
Feb 23, 2008
Koeeoaddi
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Walter the Dog
Shelves:
beasties,
science-fiction-and-fantasy
Just 60 pages in and I'm snagged - hook, leash and bone. This is a wonderful book!
Update: I loved it! Anyone out there with a kid who reads should grab this book. My only (minor) complaint was that the celestial world was a little under-defined. But nevermind, most of the action happens on earth and it's well written, funny and zips by before you can say "Good boy, Sirius! Now go lie down."
Update: I loved it! Anyone out there with a kid who reads should grab this book. My only (minor) complaint was that the celestial world was a little under-defined. But nevermind, most of the action happens on earth and it's well written, funny and zips by before you can say "Good boy, Sirius! Now go lie down."
The dogstar Sirius has been convicted of a crime and condemned to a mortal life, as a dog. He is being given a chance to find who actually committed the crime he is accused of. First, however, he must learn to navigate the world and life as a dog, beginning as a newborn puppy. This gives the author the opportunity to write about understanding the world from a canine point of view and later, as he meets some cats, from his interpretation of a feline POV as well. Sirius belongs to a gentle, nature...more
Originally posted at Random Musings of a Bibliophile.
The newly re-released Dogsbody by Diana Wynne Jones was one of the books I bought with my birthday giftcars. I didn't even bother to learn what it was about. It was written by Diana Wynne Jones and that was enough for me, even if it was going to be about some hapless person trapped in a dog's body (my assumption-not what it's actually about).
Diana Wynne Jones can do anything and make it work. I'm convinced of it. Don't particularly like dogs?...more
The newly re-released Dogsbody by Diana Wynne Jones was one of the books I bought with my birthday giftcars. I didn't even bother to learn what it was about. It was written by Diana Wynne Jones and that was enough for me, even if it was going to be about some hapless person trapped in a dog's body (my assumption-not what it's actually about).
Diana Wynne Jones can do anything and make it work. I'm convinced of it. Don't particularly like dogs?...more
I checked this book out of the library from a small town I lived in for a short time. I think I was in fifth grade. The book managed to haunt me (in all the right ways) well into my adulthood, but I could never find it again until someone ordered a copy off Amazon and gave it to me my freshman year of college.
The second time I read it, I finished it in a couple of hours.
It made me cry both times.
The plot does fail to explain itself. Something deep and wonderful is going on just beyond the pag...more
The second time I read it, I finished it in a couple of hours.
It made me cry both times.
The plot does fail to explain itself. Something deep and wonderful is going on just beyond the pag...more
I thoroughly enjoyed this D.W.Jones. I'm glad to find one I haven't read as she died this year. Her books are as much about troubled and unloved kids as about magic, and this one was no exception. I often wonder if that's not the real point--the magic is giving people a new chance.
One quote from this book also could speak for all of her books:
"One night, Kathleen was reading a book of fairy stories. 'They're fine stories,' she explained to Sirius, 'but they're not true. Mind you don't go belie...more
One quote from this book also could speak for all of her books:
"One night, Kathleen was reading a book of fairy stories. 'They're fine stories,' she explained to Sirius, 'but they're not true. Mind you don't go belie...more
I read somewhere that this was a must-read for dog lovers but I wasn't actually impressed with the dog character. An interesting premise; Sirius the dog star is sent to Earth as a dog to find something(a zoi, similar to a meteor) he was blamed for sending hurtling to Earth in a fit of rage. I think it could've been better, maybe by making the object an actual meteor as opposed to some made up object with mysterious powers. Maybe I just don't like sci-fi. I did like the little girl, who adopted S...more
On so many levels, this is a fabulous novel. It grabs you from the first page and never lets you go (I started reading it before I went to sleep and as soon as I woke up I picked it back up and finished reading it). It's lovely and fascinating and conflicted and there are so many layers to it. After reading it, I want to go read more about the backstory, myths and legends, which influence the story and then re-read Dogsbody again. And isn't that just the best kind of book? One that makes you not...more
I found this book very hard to get into and for a YA book I was surprised because if I were a young reader I think I would have put this down rather than kept trying to see what the hype was about. The concepts are all very well done - Sirius, the luminary in dog's body, is a perfect vehicle to witness the Duffield family and to explain some adult concepts such as the Irish/English relationship or redemption and betrayal, in a simple way. But there are many aspects of the plot and the characters...more
I've really enjoyed a lot of Diana Wynne Jones's work, and Bethany and I were very sad about her recent death. Bethany picked up Dogsbody to start exploring more of her books. The story concerns a star who has been tried and found guilty of assaulting another star. It is therefore cast down to earth and put in the body of a newborn puppy. The star must then investigate what he believes to be a cabal operating against him while he is inhibited by being a dog in a person's world and also simply h...more
I love this book. It definitely rivals Howl's Moving Castle as my favorite Diana Wynne Jones book. It is meant for children, but, like Pixar movies, everyone can enjoy it.
She seems to know animals as well as she knows people. Every Jones book I've read has had remarkable insight into characters' motives and their relationships, and Dogsbody is no different. There are no one dimensional characters here. Even the mouse given to Sirius, the dog, as a gift had layers.
Also, because this is Diana Wy...more
She seems to know animals as well as she knows people. Every Jones book I've read has had remarkable insight into characters' motives and their relationships, and Dogsbody is no different. There are no one dimensional characters here. Even the mouse given to Sirius, the dog, as a gift had layers.
Also, because this is Diana Wy...more
The premise was weird: Sirius the luminary was accused of murder and as sentence, he (it?) was turned into a dog and had to look for the Zoi, but what was a Zoi?
I almost fell asleep, reading the first half of the book which described about Sirius trying to adapt to his new life as a dog while feeling that actually he was not really one, and suspecting that he had something important to do. Maybe if I were a dog lover or had the experience of keeping one as a pet, or if the story were about a cat...more
I almost fell asleep, reading the first half of the book which described about Sirius trying to adapt to his new life as a dog while feeling that actually he was not really one, and suspecting that he had something important to do. Maybe if I were a dog lover or had the experience of keeping one as a pet, or if the story were about a cat...more
Jul 09, 2012
Liz
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
favorites,
books-for-my-sister
despite the unusual title, this is one of my favorite books of all time - it follows a bright, proud star unlawfully accused of some celestial crime and who is sent down to earth in the form of a simple dog to learn what he can to overthrow his conviction. But what he learns, as a dog, as a friend to his human, in the quest for exoneration with aid from our humble little Sun and Moon, is quite a lot more than he bargained for, I'm sure. Its written really well too, and not as simplistically as s...more
Oh, I REALLY enjoyed this book! Though this is targeted toward the young adult market, I think it is a story for all ages! The premise of a celestial being trapped in the body of a dog on Earth is definitely unique, but the way it is written, though it is a fantasy novel at heart, there are a lot of realistic details about a dog's life. Anyone looking for a unique spin on a dog book would definitely enjoy this! The dog/star's perspective was wonderful and just completely unlike anything else I h...more
Diana Wynne Jones writes wonderful kid's books- just wonderful. I'm not sure what age would be considered appropriate but oh my are they lovely. The endings always make me feel good, and feel, for however brief a second that I am part of something larger than myself. Which makes it a fantastic, awesome story. As an animal lover, a fiend for words and a connoisseur of compelling characters, this novel was an absolute pleasure to read (as an adult) and made me so excited to read it to my own kid o...more
As solid as DWJ's work always is (thank you, Neil Gaiman, for turning me on to her!) and also every bit as creative, evocative, and downright charming as MUCH of her work. Seriously. You guys know I am not terribly touchy-feely, but I kept emitting honest-to-goodness, genuinely-felt "Awwww"s as I read. Moreover, as the book drew on, I got caught up in the plot, and was quite touched by the ending. A nice balancing-out from all the vampire/postapocalyptic stuff I've been gorging on recently. I do...more
I first came across this book at a local library, and was drawn to it by, first, the ethereal and fantastic art of Sirius on the cover:
,
and second by the title. As a child I would gobble up any books about dogs, would be disappointed when they weren't really about the dog and then move onto the next, hoping for a gem, (books like "Lad: a Dog," or "Where the Red Fern Grows," are some of my favourites).
And then I found Dogsbody.
Jones pens a gentle story, yet filled with suspense, fantastical in n...more
, and second by the title. As a child I would gobble up any books about dogs, would be disappointed when they weren't really about the dog and then move onto the next, hoping for a gem, (books like "Lad: a Dog," or "Where the Red Fern Grows," are some of my favourites).
And then I found Dogsbody.
Jones pens a gentle story, yet filled with suspense, fantastical in n...more
In the universe of Dogsbody, stars are ruled by spirits called luminaries. When a nearby star "goes nova" and a device called the Zoi falls to earth, the luminary of Sirius is falsely accused of murder. His punishment is to be born on Earth as a dog and retrieve the Zoi--or die trying.
Yes, it's quite a bizarre book. I normally associate DWJ's stories with whimsy, charm, and magic, and this book is a bit of a departure from those themes. Of all the books by her that I've read, Dogsbody stands ou...more
Yes, it's quite a bizarre book. I normally associate DWJ's stories with whimsy, charm, and magic, and this book is a bit of a departure from those themes. Of all the books by her that I've read, Dogsbody stands ou...more
I didn't find out what a "dogsbody" was (a drudge or menial worker, in case you didn't know either) until years after I'd read this book, so the double meaning passed me by--Sirius being in the body of a dog/Sirius losing his position of power to become a humble and powerless creature. Fortunately, it doesn't matter at all. This is a delightful story on so many levels.
Since Sirius the luminary star-denizen doesn't have any more idea about Earth life or humans than Sirius the abandoned puppy does...more
Since Sirius the luminary star-denizen doesn't have any more idea about Earth life or humans than Sirius the abandoned puppy does...more
Apr 10, 2008
Jackie "the Librarian"
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
ages 11 and up, including adults
Shelves:
fantasy,
childrensbooks
All the stars are inhabited by powerful entities, and one of them is in big trouble! Sirius, the Dog Star, has a bad temper, and it got away from him, and now another entity is destroyed.
As punishment Sirius is sentenced to life as a mortal being. He awakens to find himself in a new body - a puppy just becoming aware of the warm sun on his face, and the entity that is Earth watching over (under?) him. He finds a home with a kind girl who herself could use a better home.
As Sirius grows up, he be...more
As punishment Sirius is sentenced to life as a mortal being. He awakens to find himself in a new body - a puppy just becoming aware of the warm sun on his face, and the entity that is Earth watching over (under?) him. He finds a home with a kind girl who herself could use a better home.
As Sirius grows up, he be...more
If you talk to dog owners, you will find that many of them think that their dog is the smartest dog on the planet. In the book, Dogsbody, by Diana Wynne Jones, a girl named Kathleen swears that her gigantic mutt Leo has learned English and can understand her every word. Little does Kathleen know, however, that she is exactly right. In spite of his appearance, Leo is definitely not an ordinary dog, but is instead a former star that was exiled into the body of a dog.
Sirius, also known as the Dog S...more
Sirius, also known as the Dog S...more
Before there was Rowling, there was Diana Wynne Jones. While I love the Harry Potter series, Jones has been a truly original writer in what could variously be considered YA or Adult fiction (an argument could be made for each). This new edition provides - I hope - the appeal and opportunity to place Dogsbody in many more people's hands. I read this several years ago, on my sister's recommendation - she's provided me with some of the best recommendations! - and Dogsbody is one of my favorite nove...more
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Diana Wynne Jones was the author of more than thirty critically acclaimed fantasy stories, including the Chrestomanci series and the novels Howl's Moving Castle and Dark Lord of Derkholm.
For Diana Wynne Jones's official autobiography, please see http://www.leemac.freeserve.co.uk/aut...
More about Diana Wynne Jones...
For Diana Wynne Jones's official autobiography, please see http://www.leemac.freeserve.co.uk/aut...
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“Polaris often remarks to Sol that Sirius loses his temper much less often these days. But the one sure way to send him into a flaming rage is to suggest that he finds a new Companion. Sirius will not hear of it. The small white sphere circling his goes untenanted, because he hopes that what Miss Smith said is true.”
—
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06 mar. 00:11