REVIEW: A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World (Elisabeth)
A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World by C.A. Fletcher[Review by James's assistant Elisabeth]
A heart-warming dystopian novel about companionship and never giving up on the ones you love, human or animal.
This book was everything a thirteen-year-old Elisabeth could have wanted—dystopian fiction, survival, a main character who loves to read, dogs—and adult Elisabeth really enjoyed it too. A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World is set in a dystopian future, generations after most of the world’s population has died off. Griz, our protagonist, lives on a secluded island with his family and his dogs, when one day a strange man lands on their shores bringing stories of far off lands, great cities and civilisations. But the man is not all that he seems. When Griz wakes up to find the man gone and his dog stolen he has no choice but to chase after him, embarking on a dangerous adventure to retrieve his friend.
The familiar but dishevelled looking world that C.A. Fletcher creates is great, and seeing it through Griz’s sheltered eyes makes for a fascinating perspective. His narrative voice perfectly captures a sense of keen child-like curiosity. And I felt a bit of that curiosity too, as the new state of the world and its history was slowly uncovered as Griz journeyed further from the safety and seclusion of his home.
The book starts with a request from the author that ‘the discoveries made as you follow Griz’s journey into the ruins of our world remain a bit of a secret…’ which I felt was a little odd at the beginning, because there didn’t seem to be anything that out there to be spoiled. Then things took a turn… and that request started to make a lot more sense. I guess I can’t really say anymore on the plot then, but be warned: your emotions will be flung around a bit.
The narrative style Fletcher used was really interesting too. The book is written as a letter from Griz to a long dead boy in a photo from our time. This was an interesting way to address the reader directly. Griz asks little questions here and there, to his imaginary friend but also to the reader: ‘Did you—in your crowded world—have those kind of quiet moments where your own mind had room enough to stalk you and play games? Or were there too many other people to let you hear the songs it wanted to sing to you—the bad ones as well as the good ones?’ This was a great technique to pull you in and make you feel a part of the story. It also made that dark future seem more real, like it actually came out of what we have now.
I really enjoyed this book. Because it’s targeted at a younger audience it was an easy quick read, but the story and the worldbuilding were really strong. 4/5 stars!
Note: there is some occasional swearing and few references to rape, but other than that this book is fairly clean.
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