Dogs and Monsters - by Mark Haddon (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

From the "terrifyingly talented" (London Times) author of THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG-IN THE NIGHT-TIME and THE PORPOISE, eight mesmerizingly imaginative, deeply-humane stories that use Greek myths and contemporary dystopian narratives to examine mortality, moral choices and the many variants of love.

Greek myths have fascinated people for millenia, seeing in them lessons about fate and hubris and the contingency of existence. Mark Haddon digs into the heart of these ancient fables and sees them anew. The dawn goddess Eos asked asks Zeus to give her lover Tithonus eternal life, but forgets to ask for eternal youth. In "The Quiet Limit of the World" Haddon imagines Tithonus' life as he slowly ages over thousands of years, turning the cautionary tale of tempting the gods into a spellbinding meditation on witnessing death from the outside, and ultimately, how carnal love evolves into something richer and more poignant with time. In "The Mother's Story," Haddon takes the myth of the minotaur in his labyrinth, in which the beast is the spawn of the monstrous lust of the king's wife Pasiphae, and turns it into a wrenching parable of maternal love for a damaged child, and the more real monstrosities of patriarchy.

Other stories play with contemporary mythic tropes - genetic engineering, trying to escape the future, the viciousness of adolescent ostracism - to showcase how modern humans are subject to the same capriciousness that obsessed the Greeks. Throughout Haddon's supple prose showcases his astonishing powers of observation, of both the physical world and the workings of the psyche. His vision is clear-eyed, but always resolutely empathetic.

Review Quotes

"The work of a consummate storyteller, the brilliantly conceived Dogs and Monsters illuminates a variety of species, both real and mythical, including our own."
- The New York Times

"Brilliant...Thought-provoking, dark and wonderful."
- People

"A masterful collection of richly inventive stories, inspired by myths and legends."
- The Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Run, don't walk, to pick up this new collection from Haddon ("The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime")...With a combination of compassion and authority, the author shows that his command of short fiction continues to keep pace with his novels."
- The LA Times

"Timeless spins on classic Greek myths. . . The author seems to be toying with the essence of storytelling, the way that it has persevered and sustained itself through the ages . . . The times may change but the stories remain the same in this ambitious, eclectic collection."
- Kirkus Reviews

"A potent collection of stories about human foibles and desires...This is divine."
- Publisher's Weekly (starred review)

"A marvel of a collection - suffused with curiosity, humanity and mystery, bold in its scope and virtuoso in its telling. Mark Haddon makes stories matter."
- Kaliane Bradley, NY Times bestselling author of The Ministry of Time

"In sentences as precisely cut as paper sculptures, Mark Haddon fits ancient myth to the cruelties and wonders of the present"
― Francis Spufford

"These delicately worked and impressively patient stories show us what other visions might reveal themselves when we are not in too much of a hurry to get to the end."
―The Observer

"A gripping exploration of narratives and those who control them...The tight prose and descriptive range are remarkable... There isn't much room for redemption in this wise, immersive book: but... with a faithful mutt by your side, you'll (usually) be all right in the end."
― Spectator

"Breathing new life into myths, Haddon heads into the labyrinth in this impressive collection which tackles transformation and transmutation."
― Daily Mail

"Compelling... Haddon's writing, [is] always rock solid and frequently luminous... All [the stories] are complex, surprising, evocative and richly entertaining"
―The Guardian

"Haddon follows his imagination from the human into the animal realm and beyond, into the divine... [in these] supple and emotionally involving tales."
―Times Literary Supplement

"Eight engrossing, inventive retellings of myths... Dogs feature throughout, and it is humans who are the monsters. Highly recommended."
― Mail on Sunday

About the Author

MARK HADDON is the author of the novels The Porpoise, The Red House and A Spot of Bother, as well as the short story collection, The Pier Falls. His novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time won the Whitbread Book of the Year Award and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for First Fiction and is the basis for the Tony Award-winning play. He is the author of a collection of poetry, The Talking Horse and the Sad Girl and the Village Under the Sea, has written and illustrated numerous children's books, and has won awards for both his radio dramas and his television screenplays. He teaches creative writing for the Arvon Foundation and lives in Oxford, England.