When exactly does a story become a classic? At what point does the energy of a literary conversation shift from the delighted and surprised discovery that you too have read this book to the subtle surprise that you in fact have not. Huckleberry Finn, The Call of the Wild, Old Yeller; it is expected that if you by some freak have not read at least some version of them than you at least know the important bits. A raft on the Mississippi River, the lonely voice of the wild calling to the kin it recognizes in the tame beast, and of course the dog dies.
Now by some fluke of culture and chance whatever mysterious force forges these classics missed on of the best dog stories of all time: Owd Bob: The Grey Dog of Kenmuir . I use the title 'dog story' a bit loosely here. Yes Bob and his counterpart Red Mull are the most central figures and the story follows their growth and accomplishments, but they are like the rough Yorkshire landscape of the late 1800's. Powerful, ever affecting the story, always there, but not quite central. Rather the hearts of man, the quite power wielded by the women of the time, the devotions between lovers, and the terrible heartbreak that can exist between fathers and sons is what the readers take away.
Now by some fluke of culture and chance whatever mysterious force forges these classics missed on of the best dog stories of all time: Owd Bob: The Grey Dog of Kenmuir . I use the title 'dog story' a bit loosely here. Yes Bob and his counterpart Red Mull are the most central figures and the story follows their growth and accomplishments, but they are like the rough Yorkshire landscape of the late 1800's. Powerful, ever affecting the story, always there, but not quite central. Rather the hearts of man, the quite power wielded by the women of the time, the devotions between lovers, and the terrible heartbreak that can exist between fathers and sons is what the readers take away.
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