Cuentos de perros

by Rudyard Kipling, Jordi Doce

En 1934, dos años antes de su muerte, Rudyard Kipling reunió en un volumen nueve cuentos y cinco poemas dedicados a los perros, la mayoría publicados anteriormente en revistas o libros. Con múltiples cambios de registro y variedad de circunstancias, estas historias plantean nuestra relación con los animales como clave para calibrar la envergadura moral del ser humano. A veces picarescos, a veces heroicos, a veces casi fantásticos, estos Cuentos de perros tratan la lealtad, la utilidad, la fascinación, la identificación que se desarrolla entre perros y amos, y los derechos y obligaciones de ambos. En ocasiones son los propios perros quienes toman la palabra y piden no ser abandonados o requieren cuidados especiales cuando son ancianos. Y alguno hay que sube al Cielo y tendrá que esperar la llegada de su amo junto a la silla de san Pedro…

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories

224 pages, Paperback

First published May 30, 2001

About the author

Joseph Rudyard Kipling was a journalist, short-story writer, poet, and novelist.

Kipling's works of fiction include The Jungle Book (1894), Kim (1901), and many short stories, including The Man Who Would Be King (1888). His poems include Mandalay (1890), Gunga Din (1890), The Gods of the Copybook Headings (1919), The White Man's Burden (1899), and If— (1910). He is regarded as a major innovator in the art of the short story; his children's books are classics of children's literature; and one critic described his work as exhibiting "a versatile and luminous narrative gift".

Kipling was one of the most popular writers in the United Kingdom, in both prose and verse, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Henry James said: "Kipling strikes me personally as the most complete man of genius (as distinct from fine intelligence) that I have ever known." In 1907, at the age of 41, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, making him the first English-language writer to receive the prize, and its youngest recipient to date. He was also sounded out for the British Poet Laureateship and on several occasions for a knighthood, both of which he declined.

Awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1907 "in consideration of the power of observation, originality of imagination, virility of ideas and remarkable talent for narration which characterize the creations of this world-famous author."

Kipling kept writing until the early 1930s, but at a slower pace and with much less success than before. On the night of 12 January 1936, Kipling suffered a haemorrhage in his small intestine. He underwent surgery, but died less than a week later on 18 January 1936 at the age of 70 of a perforated duodenal ulcer. Kipling's death had in fact previously been incorrectly announced in a magazine, to which he wrote, "I've just read that I am dead. Don't forget to delete me from your list of subscribers."

Reviews

[Kareen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me gustó mucho algunos cuentos , me demoré un poco en leerlo por falta de tiempo pero por fín pude acabarlo, primer libro que leo de este autor.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

In these nine stories, we meet dogs from India to the Artic to Great Britain to the Bahamas in a variety of situations. For example, in “The Woman in His Life”, a WWI veteran is suffering from “the black dog” of depression when he meets a very different black dog. “The Dog Hervey” about an awkward young woman and her odd dog is one of Kipling’s mysteriously oblique stories where the reader has to puzzle out the meaning. And, in the three stories told by Boots, an Aberdeen terrier living with his family in the English countryside, the author tries with some success to tell a story from the dog’s point of view. While in my opinion none of these are Kiplings’ best stories, they and the accompanying poems show his knowledge/affection for dogs. (For Kipling at his best as a short story writer, try “Wireless”, “They”, “Mary Postgate”, “The Gardener”, etc.)

[Edson García · Rating 4 out of 5]

En la mayor parte de los cuentos se retrata como, de formas más o menos literales, el cariño de los perros puede salvarte la vida. No hay más profundidad y no creo que la necesiten. Te dejan con una sensación muy reconfortante. Mis favoritos fueron "Garm: un rehén" y "La mujer de su vida".

[Gemma Montfort · Rating 3 out of 5]

Divertit llibre de contes protagonitzats per gossos.

Especialment interessants els contes on el gos Botes pren la paraula i ens descriu la vida quotidiana d'un ca en primera persona.

[March · Rating 4 out of 5]

Supongo que el autor debió de pensar algo así como: “Me gustan los cuentos y me encantan los perros ¿Por qué no unirlos?” Idea perfecta, lectura maravillosa, al menos para mí, que coincido con esas dos pasiones.
En la edición que he conseguido se reúnen nueve historias y cinco poemas escritos por Kipling, con un nexo común: ese peludo cuadrúpedo que cuando nos mira nos hace comprender lo que es tener un alma pura: “El perro”.
La longitud de cada uno es irregular y algunos me han gustado más que otros, pero mis preferidos son los que tienen como protagonistas a Botas y Zapatillas. Son tres cuentos muy bien hilados entre sí, escritos en primera persona desde el punto de vista de un perro que me ha robado el corazón. El que menos me ha gustado es “Un lobo de mar”, curiosamente, el último de esta compilación, es en el único donde no he tenido todos mis sentidos puestos mientras lo leía, y de ahí que le falte media estrella y no sea un 5 redondo.
Una lectura muy amena, divertida y emotiva a partes iguales, de nada más y nada menos, un ganador del premio Nobel de literatura.

[Kristin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got this book from my middle school when they were upgrading their collection (and with good reason, as this one had stamps showing it had been checked out in 1947!) but it sat on my shelf for 25 years. To be honest, it probably should have been left right where it was. I've not read much of Kipling's other works, maybe an illustrated Jungle Book or a couple 'Just So Stories' in grade school, and after reading his 'Collected Dog Stories', I don't think I've missed much. The collection included some poetry, some standalone stories, and some stories that featured recurring characters from one to the next.
The very first story was told from the perspective of someone with what I presume to be a Cockney accent, so it was all full of apostrophes and being that I don't speak British English, much less 19th Century British English, there were many times when I didn't have the first clue what the word full of apostrophes was supposed to be. Had all of the stories been like that, I would have definitely DNF'd immediately. There were also a few told from the perspective of a dog, where I couldn't be sure whether the narrator was referring to a fellow canine, a human, or some other creature.
Overall, some of the stories were short, sweet, and easy to follow, but most of them were not enjoyable and the book was rehomed to a local Little Free Library (it wasn't in good enough condition to be preserved as a collectible) in hopes that maybe there's a Kipling fan out there.

[Lenny Husen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overall, excellent. Absolutley perfect and beautiful illustrations by G.L. Stampa. My edition is a hardcover published in 1934.
Perfect gift for anyone who has ever loved and lost a dog.
Kipling was definitely a Dog Person and not a Cat Person, like me. Also, he particularly loved terriers.

My favorite stories were Quiquern, The Woman in his Life, and 'Thy Servant a Dog'
My favorite Poems: The Power of The Dog, Dinah in Heaven, The Supplication of the Black Aberdeen

Quote from The Power of the Dog:
"There is sorrow enough in the natural way
From men and women to fill our day;
And when we are certain of sorrow in store,
Why do we always arrange for more?
Brothers and sisters, I bid you beware
Of giving your heart to a dog to tear."

[Catherine Mason · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought a lovely 1934 hardback copy of this - not expensive. I have passed it on to a friend who has dogs. Kipling tells a good yarn, but the best things in my copy were the lovely drawings. Sometimes Kipling wrote in slang/dialect or dog-ese and these were often hard to follow. The stories also strayed in to the weepy and sentimental. In spite of these things I enjoyed reading this book.

[Tan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favourite of his work. Some stories better than others. The first one was the least strong, which made it a bit of a chore to push through. In the end I enjoyed the later stories and powered through it quickly.