There is No Dog by Meg Rosoff

The love oops has for Ms. Rosoff is quite large and has been documented over the years. We are kind of fangirls. So it was actually with a bit of trepidation that I started reading her newest title. Would I like it? Would it live up to my expectations? I almost put it off because the whole thing kind of stressed me out. Nevertheless, I did pick it up and read through it very, very quickly, and with a whole bunch of enjoyment.

Although, to be honest, it was a few chapters in before I really started to get into and get in tune with the flow of the book. The first few chapters are dedicated to the set up of the story. Yes we’re getting introduced to many of the main characters, but we’re also getting primed to how this whole “God” thing actually works. And the way it works takes a little getting used to. Mostly because God (or Bob, which is his real name) is a total pill. He’s a teenage boy who has very few redeeming qualities. Which was a bit of a problem for me. I like to have strong feelings about characters. I want to love them or hate them, pity them or empathize, not just feel kind of indifferent. Which is how I felt about Bob. Indifferent. Maybe slightly annoyed. And by the time I finished reading, I ended up still feeling...kind of indifferent, but I fell in love with so many of the other characters that it didn’t matter too much in the end.

This is an enormously funny book (although probably not for those who take the bible as literal truth). It is quite blasphemous. In a good way. I mean, Bob sort of makes a lot of sense in the "why isn't God listening to me," sort of way.

There is Bob, the creator, who has very little follow through. Mr. B, the man charged with keeping Bob on track (no easy feat, in fact an impossible one). Lucy, the mortal girl Bob falls in love with. Eck, Bob’s beleaguered pet who is looking at a terrible impending fate due to a poker game. Mona, Bob’s mom, who wins some poker games (how Bob got Earth!) and loses some (how Eck speeds towards his doom!). And the fabulous Estelle, the daughter of the “head” God, who is (luckily) smart enough for everyone.

Rosoff really uses her wit and her writing, as always, is wonderful. I can’t say it is my favorite of her books, but his enjoyed it very much and I am so glad that I read it.

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Book Source = Library Copy