A Dog's Purpose (novel)

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For the film adaptation of the novel, see A Dog's Purpose (film).

A Dog's Purpose
Forge Books
Followed byA Dog's Journey 

A Dog's Purpose is a 2010 novel written by American author W. Bruce Cameron. It chronicles a dog's journey through four lives via reincarnation and how he looks for his purpose through each.[1]

The novel was a

New York Times bestseller for 49 weeks,[2] garnering critical praise from such sources as Temple Grandin, famous for her study of cattle behavior; Kirkus Reviews; and Marty Becker, resident veterinarian on the early-morning television show, Good Morning America.[2] A sequel followed in May 2012, titled A Dog's Journey, following the same dog after the events of the previous book. The film rights of the book were bought by DreamWorks.[3] A film of the same name
was released in January 2017.

Plot

The narrator first starts out as a feral puppy. A few weeks later, after being nursed by their mother, a

euthanized
.

Toby now is reincarnated as a Golden Retriever puppy and is nursing from a new mother. A few weeks after birth, when Toby and his new brothers and sisters have matured enough, he and the others are allowed to play outside the cage. Toby climbs up onto a table and bites the doorknob, opening the gate to the outside world and leaving him to explore the real world. A truck driver picks up Toby on the road and calls him "Fella." The man drives to a bar. After the man has been gone for several hours, Toby begins suffering from heat exhaustion in the cab.

A woman breaks the car window, and rescues Toby. She brings him home, and presents him to her eight-year-old son, Ethan. Toby is renamed Bailey. Over the course of many years, Bailey lives a full life with Ethan, and accompanies him through many difficulties, including arson, which leads to Ethan permanently injuring his leg, and ending his promising athletic career. Ethan goes to live with his grandparents at their farm in Michigan so he can be with his girlfriend Hannah and finish his senior year in high school. Around that time, things are not going well in the family, with Ethan's injury, an eventual breakup with Hannah, and a divorce between Ethan's parents. Soon after moving, Ethan goes off to college, leaving Bailey with infrequent visits from him during the holidays. Bailey's health starts to decline, with him taking naps very often and being weak. Soon, Ethan's mother and grandparents take him to the vet, where he is once again put down.

Bailey wakes up once again as a

search-and-rescue
dog. Jakob and Ellie find a kidnapped girl but while getting the man into custody he shoots Jakob, injuring him so that he can no longer be a policeman.

Ellie then gets put into the care of one of Jakob's colleagues, Maya. After passing of old age, he is reborn but this time as a

alcoholic
. Neither treat Bear very well, and the mother's boyfriend, fed up with the dog upon receiving a notice that he needs to provide better living conditions, ditches him on a country road. Bear recognizes his surroundings, having been there before with Ethan. Using the skills he learned as Ellie, Bear is able to trail the scent of one of the farm's animals to the Farm, where Ethan lives. Ethan, now an elderly man, decides to keep Bear, who he renames Buddy, and marries Hannah. Years pass, and Ethan suffers from an apparent stroke, and as he is dying suddenly recognizes that Buddy is Bailey.

Reception

Publishers Weekly called A Dog's Purpose "a tail-wagging three hanky boo-hooer" and "delightful".[4] The Long Beach Post praised Cameron's ability to get inside a dog's psyche.[5] The Christian Science Monitor recommended the book.[6] The Washington Post criticized Cameron for "exploiting dogs' selflessness for his own mawkish ends".[7]

Series

The book was followed up by two sequels by Cameron, A Dog's Journey and A Dog's Promise.[8][9]

References

  1. ^ "A Dog's Purpose (review)". Kirkus Reviews. May 15, 2010. Archived from the original on July 10, 2015.
  2. ^ a b "Author | W. Bruce Cameron". A Dog's Purpose. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
  3. ^ Fernandez, Jay A. (October 21, 2010). "DreamWorks picks up film rights to W. Bruce Cameron bestseller 'A Dog's Purpose'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
  4. ^ "A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron". www.publishersweekly.com. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
  5. ^ "'A Dog's Purpose' Book Review Plus Adoptions & More". www.lbpost.com. Long Beach Post. September 2, 2010. Archived from the original on July 31, 2012.
  6. ISSN 0882-7729
    . Retrieved April 27, 2023.
  7. ISSN 0190-8286
    . Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  8. ^ ""A Dog's Journey" (Review)". Publishers Weekly.
  9. ^ ""A Dog's Journey: Another Novel for Humans" (Review)". Book Reporter.
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