La Isla De Los Perros

by Daniel Davies

A cool, dark, sexy nightdrive of a novel. . . . A new J.G. Ballard."--Toby Litt

Jeremy Shepherd has relinquished his London life and moved back home. By day, he has a boring desk job, but Jeremy soon finds a way to break the monotony through illicit sex with strangers in public places. As the police close in, tensions rise.

Genres: Fiction

240 pages, Paperback

Published October 28, 2009

Reviews

[Zoe Carney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quirky, quick read that I'd forgotten I had on my TBR pile from many years ago, that turned out way more interesting than anticipated. The 'racy' subject matter wasn't really the point; the protagonist's musings on success/failure, community, contentment and human sexuality morph this into something a lot more than the sum of its parts. Definitely not for everyone, but those who enjoy Douglas Coupland's unsentimental style will probably enjoy it too.

[Ross Law · Rating 3 out of 5]

Revealing but thin. With a little more to it The Isle of Dogs could have been something like a British answer to Fight Club within its sex-scene-subculture. It's a little too flawed though. Still, it's a very good debut.

[Mira · Rating 2 out of 5]

I borrowed this book because I live on the Isle of Dogs and shortly afterwards discovered it was actually about dogging.

[Beatriz · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a short and easy read, and a bit more interesting than I expected. The twist at the end was surprising and added to the story. Davies writes in a simple and smooth way, without overloading on details, which keeps things moving. The book explores a very controversial topic, focusing on exhibitionism and sex in public, which adds a unique and provocative edge. It’s a decent choice if you’re looking for something quick to read.

[Nick Rogers · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am pulled by strange subcultures like this, which I find weirdly fascinating. But the narrative and storyline are a bit silly and unrealistic. I see it as a lost opportunity to tell a story. His prose are okay are times. He can be entertaining, but I can't get away from the terrible storyline.

[Gabi Lupu · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not my kind of book. Well written but I don't like the subject. Read a few pages and then stopped because I don't want to waste my time reading books that I don't like.

[Mick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leave it to the Brits to innovate in a nation where practically every square inch is monitored by surveillance (CCTV) cameras. But do you think such a hindrance is going to keep the outdoor swingers from getting their jollies? Fat chance. Secluded car parks (in dark corners the cameras do not find), old picnic parks, abandoned tennis clubs--in locales such as these the swingers congregate, the participants putting on a grand old show for those gleefully (and anonymously) watching. It's called "dogging", and is the basis for Daniel Davies's delightful, albeit twisted novel, THE ISLE OF DOGS.

Thirtysomething Jeremy Shepherd has it all: editor of a prestigious fashion magazine, upscale London flat, more women than he can count. Yet his life is strangely empty; all the glitz and glory is overrated, while his basic needs are modest--what he really seeks is anonymous and gratuitous pleasure, because he has a sex drive, in his words, like "jet fuel." Without looking back, he quits his job, sells his flat, moves in with his retired parents in the provinces, takes a low-end civil service job, and at night goes prowling as the persona known as The Shep to swingers along the "circuit."

THE ISLE OF DOGS tells The Shep's sensational, often demented, story. He describes his trysts with total strangers whom he's met on the Internet, trysts surrounded by strangers (punters) who watch while pleasuring themselves. It's disturbing, yet when told in Davies's rational, unflappable style, it's also exceedingly funny. The Shep does have a close cadre of dogging pals whom he enjoys "hooking up" with, and as the novel progresses it's readily evident the doggers are having a bugger of a time finding locations not being watched by the police, or worse yet, by gangs of vigilante yobs who take matters into their own violent hands. The novel ends with such violence happening to The Shep (who takes it very much in his ho-hum, ambivalent stride), along with a last, unsuccessful gathering in the car park of the hospital itself, leading to an eye-opening epilogue that had me laughing despite myself with its two-word ending. Davies has written an engaging and clever novel about a man the reader ultimately stops caring about; the reader might not care, but will breeze through THE ISLE OF DOGS just the same.

[LH · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now I know what "dogging" is.

The obvious comparison for a book about a man who gives up his promising career as a magazine editor in London to move out to the remote hometown of his youth and engage in wild sex with random strangers in hidden parking lots at night is "Crash."

But I hate "Crash." I really fucking hate it.

However I very much enjoyed "The Isle of Dogs."

The difference is in the narrative voice. Ballard's voice is dead, or at best, mechanical. Davies' voice is lively, human. And the story he tells is a damn good one.

Ballard makes sexual perversion seem something truly pathological, distant, like reading about serial killers. Davies renders the quirks of the individual's sexual drive far more humane. There is no need to forgive the protagonist, what he does is not only understandable but honest and even...in a certain sense... admirably sociable.

Forget Ballard, the best comparison for Davies' "The Isle of Dogs" is Nicholson Baker's "The Fermata" which sets the standard for philosophical if essentially masturbatory tales of unfiltered sexual desire and imagination.

[Tim Atkinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The dark underworld of dogging, described in depressingly damp detail provides the background to a narrative that never really quite rings true. Full of sex in all its visceral, biological and impersonal glory this is anti-eroticism at its best, an examination of some of the least noble urges given free reign in a
twilight world of car-parks and damp corners of abandoned buildings, a metaphor of meaningless existence.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read this within a couple of hours, not because it was insanely good, but I just wanted to finish it, bury it and forget about it. It wasn't the worst book, written well, it was just the general storyline - but if you like that sort of that. Note to self: Never just read the first 2 lines of a blurb, you never know when it could be a sex book.

[Jorge · Rating 4 out of 5]

un libro que aborda un tema que en lo personal despierta mi interés por la naturaleza humana de coexistir mediante ese lenguaje sexual y de satisfacción. la manera en que se lleva la trama y se manejan los personajes me parece idónea para leer de corrido e ir disfrutando los diferentes encuentros y emociones de Shep. diciembre 2013

[Mark Farley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not being a driver or having any access to the sort of out of the way places this subculture uses, this very seedy and anonymous side of swinging is not something I have encountered much of. Despite having heard and and read much about it from others. This rather short novel is evocative, sexy and violent. Quite graphic and sets an appropriate tone and atmosphere. Intriguing and dirty.

[Reverserun]

Has a very saturated sexual content and philosophical methaphors, eg. animal farms compared to Nazi camps. Human flesh in its bare sexual form, very freudian. A man retreats from London back to live with his parents, who lead a routine life.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wild and racy plot- a surprise on the library shelf. I enjoyed it.

[Suzanne]

Desk job by day, sex wih strangers by night. Cleverly written, well worth a read.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lots of soft porn with stunted character development. Meh.

[Matthew Hux · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. Very risque. Short easy read. Identifiable character. I liked it.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent read.