The Dog
Joseph O'Neill, 2014
Knopf Doubleday
256 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780307378231
Summary
The author of the best-selling and award-winning Netherland now gives us his eagerly awaited, stunningly different new novel: a tale of alienation and heartbreak in Dubai.
Distraught by a breakup with his long-term girlfriend, our unnamed hero leaves New York to take an unusual job in a strange desert metropolis. In Dubai at the height of its self-invention as a futuristic Shangri-la, he struggles with his new position as the "family officer" of the capricious and very rich Batros family.
And he struggles, even more helplessly, with the "doghouse," a seemingly inescapable condition of culpability in which he feels himself constantly trapped—even if he’s just going to the bathroom, or reading e-mail, or scuba diving.
A comic and philosophically profound exploration of what has become of humankind’s moral progress, The Dog is told with Joseph O’Neill’s hallmark eloquence, empathy, and storytelling mastery. It is a brilliantly original, achingly funny fable for our globalized times. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—1964
• Where—Cork, Ireland
• Raised—primarily in Holland
• Awards—PEN/Faulkner Award
• Education—LL. B., Cambridge University
• Currently—New York, New York, USA
Joseph O'Neill is an Irish novelist and non-fiction writer. His 2008 novel Netherland was awarded the 2009 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, and The Dog, published in 2014, was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize.
Early life
O'Neill was born in Cork Ireland, in 1964. He is of half-Irish and half-Assyrian (his mother's family belonged to the Syrian Catholic Church in Mersin) ancestry. His parents moved around much in O'Neill's youth: he spent time in Mozambique as a toddler and in Turkey until the age of four, and he also lived in Iran. From the age of six, O'Neill lived in The Netherlands, where he attended the Lycee francais de La Haye and the British School in the Netherlands.
He read law at Girton College, Cambridge, preferring it over English because "literature was too precious" and he wanted it to remain a hobby. O'Neill started off his literary career in poetry but had turned away from it by the age of 24. After a year off to write his first novel, O'Neill became a barrister at the English Bar, where he practiced for ten years at a barristers chambers in the Temple, principally in the field of business law. Since 1998 he has lived in New York City. He teaches at Bard College.
Writing
O'Neill is the author of four novels, including This Is the Life (1991), The Breezes (1996), Netherland (2008), and The Dog (2014).
His 2008 Netherland was featured on the cover of the New York Times Book Review, where it was called "the wittiest, angriest, most exacting and most desolate work of fiction we've yet had about life in New York and London after the World Trade Center fell." It was also included in the New York Times list of the 10 Best Books of 2008.
His fourth novel The Dog, published in 2014, was long-listed for the Man Booker Prize.
In addition to fiction, he is also the author of a non-fiction book, Blood-Dark Track: A Family History, which was a New York Times Notable Book for 2002 and a book of the year for the Economist and the Irish Times.
Additionally, O'Neill writes literary and cultural criticism, most regularly for the Atlantic Monthly. (Adapted from Wikipedia. Retrieved 10/16/2014.)
Book Reviews
With consummate elegance, The Dog turns in on itself in imitation of the dreadful circling and futility of consciousness itself. Its subplots go nowhere, as in life. But, unlike life, its wit and brio keep us temporarily more alive than we usually allow ourselves to be.
Lawrence Osborne - New York Times Book Review
An interesting moral complexity....makes [The Dog] more than a comic novel. The writing is brisk and funny, but O'Neill is also exploring deep questions about ethics and happiness in a globalized age of instant information and economic inequality. His narrator is a fascinating creation: charming and repugnant, selfless and self-absorbed, erudite and steeped in popular culture.
Nick Romeo - Chicago Tribune
We’ve been waiting six years for a new book by Joseph O’Neill, after the spectacular Netherland, and it’s finally here. The Dog takes readers on a comical and philosophical journey to Dubai.
Time Out New York
(Starred review.) As he did brilliantly in Netherland, O’Neill, in his latest, creates a character who is alienated from his home and social class, and who feels dangerously vulnerable in a country in which he lives a luxurious but precarious existence.... Clever, witty, and profoundly insightful, this is a beautifully crafted narrative about a man undone by a soulless society.
Publishers Weekly
(Starred review.) A humorous meditation on the dialects of attention and distraction in the modern world, O’Neill’s work playfully skewers the global economy of consumption and our abstract notions of responsibility in its perpetuation. —Joshua Finnell
Library Journal
(Starred review.) O’Neill gets some much-needed comic effects from the linguistic jigsaw puzzle, although he’s also capable of outright funny moments.... [A] thoughtful modern fable of exile, a sad story that comments darkly on the human condition and refuses bravely to trade on the success of Netherland.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
1. The protagonist of The Dog describes Dubai as a city of contradictions: hypermodern in some respects, but antiquated in others. How does this tension between modernity and tradition manifest throughout the novel? In what situations is the city’s dual nature most apparent? Most troubling?
2. Discuss the protagonist’s relationship with Ali. In light of the protagonist’s own hesitations in his role as Family Officer, how would you describe the parameters of Ali’s job? How did the protagonist react to Ali’s termination?
3. The protagonist’s interactions with Alain provide many humorous moments throughout The Dog. Describe their relationship? How does the protagonist’s understanding of wealth and privilege change based on his interactions with Alain?
4. The concept of nationality is discussed throughout The Dog, revealing social and political inequities in Dubai. Discuss the label "bidoon." How does this concept of "statelessness" render bidoons inferior in Dubai society? How did you interpret the protagonist’s reluctance to ask Ali about his status?
5. Class divisions are readily apparent throughout The Dog, and often generate moral conflict. Discuss the protagonist’s guilt in regards to his esteemed position in society. What interactions cause him the most anguish? How does this relate to his feeling of being in "the doghouse"? In what ways is his privilege more pronounced in Dubai than it was in the United States?
6. Names bear an important symbolic weight throughout The Dog. How did you interpret the protagonist’s hesitation to reveal his name? Jenn’s aversion to her own? What connections can be made between names and power?
7. The Dog is a novel that explores the thin line between morality and immorality. How does the protagonist define morality? Would you consider him to be a moral person? In what areas of life is his moral compass most greatly challenged?
8. Discuss the scene that starts on page 162, wherein the protagonist reveals how he and Jenn ended their relationship. How does referring to her as "un-Jenn" during this scene help you to understand her character? Based on earlier descriptions of Jenn, were you surprised by her actions? Did you have any sympathy for her? For the protagonist?
9. The protagonist was a New York attorney. How does legalistic thinking and interpretation of events come into play throughout The Dog? How does he use logic to process business and personal affairs? Discuss the instances in which he breaks down social situations and interprets them within the scope of legality.
10. The reader is led to believe that the protagonist’s hesitation to commit to Jenn is based on his indifference toward having children, but in his fantasy about running off with the stranger in Union Square, he mentions that he "always wanted daughters." (page 159) Do you think this is a genuine statement, or is it borne out of his fantasy?
11. On page 197, the protagonist asserts that he is "fully aware that country branding is as old as Genesis." How do you interpret that statement? Why is branding so crucial to Dubai? Do the protagonist’s observations about life in the city give credence to the branding put forth by the country? In what ways are these ads misleading?
12. The protagonist’s sexual fantasies are laid out plainly throughout the novel. Why do you think he chose to use a pseudonym while patronizing prostitutes? How did these liaisons help to shape your understanding of him? His guilt?
13. The protagonist specifically states that Ollie is one of his only friends in Dubai. What makes their friendship unique? What does the protagonist value most in his friendships?
14. Social media—and the choice to participate in it—is discussed throughout The Dog. How does this manifest during the Ted Wilson incident? What complications arise when the presentation of "self" in social media does not match the presentation of "self" in real life?
15. The protagonist identifies himself as both half Swiss and an American. How does his status as an ex-pat align him more closely with the latter? Does he express a greater allegiance to either nationality—and if so, why?
16. How has the modern world challenged our understanding of nationality? How is it possible to do good when we are aware of the plight of everyone everywhere? Is Dubai really any different from the United States?
17. The Ted Wilson plotline carries throughout The Dog, revealing information about the protagonist and the social environment of Dubai as it unfolds. Given that we never meet Ted, why is he important to the plot? How does his absence open up opportunities for the protagonist to explore himself and his own feelings toward marriage, relationships, and identity?
18. Throughout the novel, the protagonist’s internal monologues reveal his inclination toward self-debasement. Did you think his actions justify his self-image? Did you consider him a likable character? A sympathetic one? Did your feelings toward him shift or change throughout your reading experience?
(Questions issued by the publisher.)