Feed My Dear Dogs: A Compelling Literary Fiction Story of Sibling Bonds and Dark Humour

by Emma Richler

A warm, dark novel of family, distance and time from the author of the much-loved, highly-praised, prize-nominated Sister Crazy.

Feed My Dear Dogs begins in outright observational comedy and slides into ever darker regions, while never losing its sharp tongue and wicked wit. Jem Weiss is the middle child of five and experiences childhood more acutely, more joyously and more entertainingly than most. The five Weiss siblings crackle with intelligence, camaraderie, competitiveness and individuality; they have their own running gags, jargon, skits and power struggles; they share a bearlike but adored father and an unflappable and omnicompetent mother.

Jem's life hums with Shackleton and supernovas, boxing and cowboys, binocular doughnuts and naval underwear and at the centre of this galaxy of delights is her shining family. As Jem runs her childhood memories through her fingers, she entrances the reader with sharp observations, casual wisdom and tender wit. However, there's always something else looming, and now and again it sneaks up with some pressing tidings to impart – a child's terror at the prospect of moving on, growing up, leaving home.

Genres: Canada

514 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Marilyn Boyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very rich, dense book to read- as indicated by the amount of time it took me to wade through it, yet when I am reading, I am constantly moving in my mind as Richler makes connection after connection with references and the narrator’s daily life. It is an excellent example of stream of consciousness style, with a tighter grammatical structure than is usually found in other novels, such as Ducks, Newburyport. It is hard to follow all the tangents, but none are really gratuitous. I wondered if it would be better as a memoir, but I think the imaginary characters function in a much more lively fashion than a memoir would have. For example, Jem’s character has aspects you might find in many of the author’s siblings; likewise, Harriet has much of the author in her. This narrative seems to be a distillation of all aspects of the author and certain themes presented clearly by the end. This could only be done in a novel.

[Christopher Whalen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I put this on my list of Books to Read After Finals because of a review by Jonathon Coe in the “Guardian Review”: “how to write about a childhood that is almost idyllically stable and loving”. I always assumed it was a memoir, but it’s actually a novel, told from the point of view of a young girl called Jem, about her life in the Weiss family of London and Canada, the nuns who teach her in the convent schools, her special bonds with her siblings - particularly her closest brother, Jude; her younger sister, Harriet; baby brother, Gus; and oldest brother, Ben, who nevertheless seems subordinate to Jude; and of course her parents, Frances and Yaakov.

I read this book very slowly, not because I wasn’t enjoying it but because I didn’t want it to end, to leave Jem’s company and delightful worldview. Richler weaves together references to Shackleton’s polar expedition, Malory’s “Morte d’Arthur”, Sherlock Holmes, religious paintings and iconography, “Oliver Twist”, “Gone with the Wind”, “Shane”, and countless minute and perfect rituals of family life, which, though unique, feel familiar.

The ending is poignant and breathless, as all of this swirls together, rushing towards…

You should read it to experience it for yourself. And then tell me about it!

[Gloria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very demanding of the reader. You must be able to follow the swift travel of Jem's mind from her observations of her family to her thoughts on astronomy and the universe, the Bronte children, her favourite books Tintin and Le morte d'Artur, the movie hero Shane, Jesus, Shackleton of Antarctica fame, boxing, bagels and on and on. Her imagination is spectacular. She is the middle child in a family of five and what a singular family it is. Each child is unique in Jem's eyes with wondrous traits, and the parents are larger than life. Dad is a boisterous always-in-motion man besotted with his lovely all-knowing wife loved beyond measure by the children. We see the family as Jem sees it as she matures from ten to fourteen years. There is no plot, unless you can call moving from mom's country England to Dad's country Canada a plot. I enjoyed the writing and the whole experience but found I had to take this book in pieces. All the tangents in Jem's mind are meaningful and require digestion on the reader's part. It is not a book for the skimmer or the faint of heart.

[Sara Fasolo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Le elucubrazioni, le scoperte, il bisogno di comprendere come funzionino le cose, le regole che governano il mondo, il terrificante senso di onnipotenza, e conseguente responsabilità, di una bambina di 9 anni di particolare intelligenza e sensibilità.
Lettura non facile, ma luminosa. Mi ha fatto pensare, e non sempre ne sono stata felice per lei, a una bambina che conosco e a come gli adulti spesso non possano nemmeno sospettare la complessità che si cela nella mente di un bambino per cui tutto è sconosciuto e quindi deve per forza avere un significato che trascenda il particolare.
Il libro è di una ricchezza sorprendente, tra letteratura, ebraismo, astronomia, e momenti di vita familiare descritti con grande affetto e delicatezza. Mi rimarrà nel cuore a lungo, credo.

[Amanda Uhlman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a story of life and growing up from the perspective of a middle child in a family of five children. It's a bittersweet story of leaving the nest and change. I enjoyed it because it was rich and full of the day to day exchanges between brothers and sisters, something I have no experience with.

[Adri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not an easy read, but it is beautiful, poignant and ultimately heartbreaking.

[Bethan Hazell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did not finish. Too much wandering off plot. Exhausting to read & follow.