A Dog's Purpose: Heartwarming Novel About the Bond Between Dogs and Humans - Perfect for Pet Lovers & Book Clubs

Maudlin, unabashedly sentimental, charming, simplistic, sugary sweet… I was at first wondering where this book was going, but then got sucked in by the sentiments, and was in a puddle of tears by the end. This book describes a dog’s life (lives, actually) as told through a dog’s eyes. The main character lives through four lives, reincarnated after each demise as a puppy, aware that he is reincarnated and wondering in each life: what is going on? What am I supposed to be and be doing? When does this end? It makes the reader wonder too, as the book is a bit disjointed at first and it may take a bit to figure out Cameron’s style. If you are a dog lover like me, you will enjoy much of the free association by the dog, especially whenever a cat appears; very clever and funny. The dog is feral in his first life, trying to survive and eventually is euthanized; reincarnated, he comes back as a lab, and his real story begins in earnest when he becomes bonded to a boy. No spoilers here, but the dog becomes smarter and more self-aware, and as a reader you share the dog’s unswerving loyalty to humans and his unending desire to serve and please, despite humans’ baffling behavior. By the end, you yearn for your own current dog to hug, or recall your childhood dog with such strong emotions, I can only think of Toy Story 3 as something in comparison. To fairly critique (as a professional editor) you must disregard or overlook the inconsistencies: the dog understands peeing, vomiting, crying but doesn’t have a word for his own natural instinct to mate? The dog refers to chopper, car, truck, cage, various power tools, collar, leash, swing… but when his boy’s mother removes her ring and throws it into the pond he doesn’t know what that little round thing is called? The dog conveniently doesn’t know names of things whenever it’s a Kodak moment. But just keep reading and don’t be critical and you will enjoy it. I hate being manipulated by purple prose but this was overall an enjoyable book, because I have loved all my dogs and currently inherited a puppy I’ve only been complaining about. No more. I’ll love him with all my heart too.