Dog Island

It was a profound audiable. I was shocked by the ferocity that was told. Every character has his own mask.
The theme of the principle of romance is the insensitivity of a human nature and his crudelity.
The island is the metaphor of the modern modern society, the goal of the diversion, the destiny, the first of all, to make and count with its presence and with and to provoke the right of selfishness and the right of secular selfishness. All the events and the psychological reactions of the anonymous protagonists are devastating, with an explosion of terror and violence.

Why do you call this a dream? What have we done to deserve this?

Dog Island is a very dark story, populated by twisted, unethical characters. It ends with one of the best sentences I’ve ever read, which feels like a punch in the gut. A group of villagers who represent every segment of the population, finds three bodies washed away on the beach. Since they’re “only” African refugees, presumably drowned while trying to reach Europe, it won’t matter if they dispose of the corpses, right? That way, they will be able to save their island and move it into the future by opening a spa. Some of them may have reservations about hiding the bodies, but they all either ignore them, or let others push them into compliance. And this pointless act of cruelty - at that point, no one had done anything wrong - keeps escalating until it’s out of control. I didn’t enjoy spending time in the characters’ heads, but they are so complex and three-dimensional that I wanted to find out what was going to happen. The audiobook is narrated by Nicholas Guy Smith, and he does a great job. It’s an interesting choice to have him perform as an omniscient narrator reading the characters’ minds rather than recreating their voices, but it works well with the way the novel is written.
I chose to listen to this audiobook and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Hachette Audio, Little, Brown & Company!

“Dog Island” by Philippe Claudel is an original novel, beautifully written in a dark and cynical tone.

The story reminds the reader that depending on the circumstances, all humans are capable of horrific things. This is not a story, where terrible things happen because of hunger, war, or oppression – It is simply human nature in all its absurdity, and I am sorry to say… It actually feels like rather plausible events.
It is an intriguing and fascinating story, and I had not predicted the ending. I would absolutely recommend this novel. If you are not into mysteries and thrillers, then read it for the beautiful language use.

I had the pleasure to receive an ARC of the audiobook edition – and I do mean PLEASURE!
The narration style of Nicholas Guy Smith is perfect for the mood of the story, and I lost myself in both the voice and words. (This translates into me on my sofa with this audiobook and basically not moving before it was finished. Yup – I listened for 9 hours straight and loved every minute of it!) #Noregrets

Thanks to @HachetteAudio and @NetGalley for the opportunity to listen in advance <3

I will come back on August 10th and publish reviews on Goodreads, Instagram and (Audible, if available there).

A lovely island in the Mediterranean, one whose residents are dependent on the land, but now stand a chance at a better quality of life when an international spa is slated to be built there. One day a diverse group of islanders discovers three bodies have washed ashore. The islanders all have different agendas and beliefs, but they are all united in their belief that news of their grim discovery will ruin their chances for economic gain if the plans for the resort are mothballed. They agree that the bodies need to disappear, after all the bodies are just foreigners, refugees looking for a new place to live. This is a story about racism, ignorance and the desire for financial gain at any cost. This is not a heart warming story, but it is a very believable, layered story about the frailty of human beings. Guy is a compelling narrator

A small island in the Mediterranean is leading its quiet and undisturbed life away from the outside world until one morning several of its residents make a gruesome discovery. Three bodies of unidentified men wash up on the beach threatening the end of the peaceful life for the mayor of the island if the news reach the main land.  The residents who discovered the bodies along with the mayor make a pact to burry the chilling evidence.  But one of the witnesses, a teacher, is greatly disturbed by how the matter is being handled and begins his own investigation, determined to share his findings with the authorities...

I have just discovered this award-winning French writer and as I was listening to this audio book, I couldn't help, but admire the way he tells the story, in a form of a fable.  The writing is very descriptive, the author makes some truly amazing analogies in this atmospheric tale of human nature, close community settled in its archaic ways where reputation prevails over truth and where outsiders are not tolerated.  As a translator, I also appreciated the excellent rendition of this book into English.

I'm so excited for this book to be released on August 10, 2021.  If you enjoy mystery novels and fable-style writing as much as I do, you're in for a treat!  This is a very thought-provoking and a suspenseful read.  4.5/5 stars from me!