35. A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World

A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World. C.A. Fletcher. 2019. 365 pages. [Source: Library] [post-apocalyptic; science fiction; speculative fiction; adult fiction]

First sentence: Dogs were with us from the very beginning.

Premise/plot: A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World is a post-apocalyptic novel set After. The world’s population has plummeted from 7 billion to a mere 7,000. Humanity’s mysterious sterility almost certainly dooming the race. Griz, our hero, calls it The Gelding. It’s been several generations, perhaps a couple hundred years even, since then. Griz is keeping a journal, writing to a long-dead unknown boy, a boy she knows only from a photograph. (The photo captures a happy beach moment: a brother and sister with their dog.) Griz picked up the faded relic from Before when he was scavenging with his family. Griz loves, loves, loves, loves to pick up books to bring back to their island. Griz especially loves dystopian and post-apocalyptic novels though the authors always get it wrong—how the world ends, how society collapses.

Griz essentially has it fairly good. Two dogs that are loyal, loving, and helpful. A father and some brothers and sisters. True, Griz‘s mom has suffered a traumatic brain injury and has never recovered much cognitive function. But Life is hard, busy, risky—but there is family.

So the book mainly is about what happens when a blue-eyed, Red-haired stranger named Brand comes to the island to trade....

My thoughts: The narrative is written in first person. Griz has been raised in part by books, but life has changed so very very much since Before. Griz definitely is naive in some ways...not prepared for a dangerous, unpredictable adventure off his home island. But who could possibly be ready for what comes next?!?!

Jess and Jip are the two family dogs...and a catalyst for most of the action. What will one boy do to get his dog back home?!?!?!

I found this a compelling, action-packed read. Griz is a fully fleshed, well-rounded, oh-so-human character. The book doesn’t rely solely on the post-apocalyptic premise or the action and adventure elements. Griz’s narrative voice is strong and compelling. It had me hooked from the start.

Is it for the faint of heart dog lover?! I am not sure. Life After has not in any way been kind to man’s best friend. Not so much this present generation, but the ones that came before as society was saying a very long goodbye to life as we know it. A few places here and there might prove disturbing.

For that matter...this is very much a book for adults and possibly older teens transitioning to adult books. Griz may be young, but a young protagonist doesn’t mean it’s automatically for kids.

© 2020 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews