Dog Symphony

by Sam Munson

Boris Leonidovich, a North American professor who specializes in the history of prison architecture, has been invited to Buenos Aires for an academic conference. He’s planning to present a paper on Moscow’s feared Butyrka prison, but most of all he’s looking forward to seeing his enigmatic, fiercely intelligent colleague (and sometime lover) Ana again. As soon as Boris arrives, however, he encounters obstacle after unlikely obstacle: he can’t get in touch with Ana, he locks himself out of his rented room, and he discovers dog-feeding stations and water bowls set before every house and business. With night approaching, he finds himself lost and alone in a foreign city filled with stray dogs, all flowing with sinister, bewildering purpose though the darkness...


Shadowed with foreboding, and yet alive with the comical mischief of César Aira and the nimble touch of a great stylist, Dog Symphony is an un-nerving and propulsive novel by a talented new American voice. 

Genres: Fiction, Horror, Adult Fiction, American, Speculative Fiction, Literary Fiction, Fantasy

144 pages, Paperback

First published August 28, 2018

Reviews

[xtian · Rating 5 out of 5]

why dissociate when you can read this book

[H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Truly riveting. The Cesar Aira comparisons are definitely valid, but Munson’s prose still reads as unique. Refreshing to read a new book in 2018 as sharp and original as this. Recommended for all fans of magical realism, and so-called ‘mindburn.’ I would not be surprised if this was adapted to a movie in due time, and if done properly it would be incredible. A short read, well-suited to a day off or a day spent in airport(s).

My one nitpick (I am allowed one): the occasional choice of an unnecessarily oblique word, where a simpler could have sufficed. This device does help shape the voice of the academic narrator/protagonist, though.

[Lukáš Palán · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bom žorno.

Tahle knížka je o profesorovi, kterej dojede do Aržentiny na přednášet na universitě a zároveň zacpat vjezd do nudlárny jedné místní čmafítě, s kterou už předtím párkrát vyráběl bludišťáky. Jenže, co čert nechtěl, čmafíta je nedohledatelná, nikdo mu není schopnej pomoct a tak se tu rozjíždí EL ZÁMEK 2: Kafka na burittu.

Vzhledem k tomu, že Munson je očividně Maxim/Esquire style valič, kterej se snaží být tak strašně cool, až to bolí, bylo mi z toho vyloženě k nasrání. Logika se pro jistotu zpakovala hned z kraje a odjela stopem asi někam do Berouna.

3/10

[kim robichaud · Rating 5 out of 5]

You start one novel and end in an entirely different one. I couldn't have asked for a better conclusion.

[Rowen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hope my dog isn’t a dead man

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dog Symphony starts weird, ends weird and the middle isn't exactly normal either. Reviews have referenced Cesar Aira an Argentinian Modernist novelist and that might be why I kept thinking I was reading a book in translation but nope this is by an American guy. Set in Buenos Aires the novel follows a visiting professor of prison architecture and is full of dogs streaming through the nighttime streets toward a crack in a cemetery wall, university campus security militants, bowls of meat and water offerings in improvised shrines and teeth, lots of teeth and dental references all set to the musical backdrop of the 'Dog Symphony' the only music that seems to be playing anywhere. What does it all mean? Who knows like I said at the beginning this book is weird.

[Ethan Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Captivating, weird, and at times brutal, Dog Symphony is simply put - interesting. The purple prose at times feels redundant and unnecessary, but the genuinely intriguing plot always seems to keep you reading past the thesaurus-ness of the novel. If you’ve ever wondered what Ep. 7 (Night of the Chimera’s Cry) of Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood would be like as a book, this is as close as you’ll get.

[Blake · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book had me in a constant state of confusion while reading it (which i’m sure was the author’s intent this book is weird as fuck)?? i cant tell if i like it or not because i feel like i didn’t get much out of it—it was just super weird. i’ll probably reread though to actually understand what’s going on lmao

[Frank · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel that this is something that Kelman would teach. It does a great job creating an engrossing environment and sense of paranoia. It feels like a mix of Kafka, Latin American Magical Realism and European theatre of the absurd ( Ionesco, Beckett).

[Eden Burrow · Rating 2 out of 5]

How many big words can I fit in a sentence challenge 😍
I’m sorry I just don’t like books that are intentionally confusing

[sloppy_concept · Rating 4 out of 5]

I lay there, and I attempted to cry. I felt no sadness, I felt nothing at all. But one "ought" to cry over such abrupt transformations. Yes, yes, because of my intelligence (and please recall its true definition) I knew what had happened. The sole possible outcome. A great loss, an irreplaceable loss, all cultural authorities tell us. We humans stand atop the world, the world exists only as our extension, in fact as our extended extensiveness. And now, this loss. So I tried to cry, I failed. Weeping is forbidden to dogs. 

[Madeline Piper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eerie. Horrifying. Comforting in its absolution.
Worth a re-read to note all the dental references/symbolism.
There are so many fantastic words in this book... it's a novella that makes you feel more intelligent just in the reading.
Neato Words:
Hutment
mendacious
Meretricious
Bivouac
Puce
Coprophagia
Pederast
Bailiwick
Auscultatory
Systolic/diastolic
Baronial
Rufous
Aestheticized memory
Axillae
Ichorous
Vapid
Epaulettes
Carillon
Burgher
Cynocephalic
Occluded
Tympanum
Nonperiphrastic
Jacaranda
Loupes
Numismatic
Pistarini

I would like to own a copy of this book just to read again and peruse.

Not for someone who doesn't like to be disturbed.
I reminded me of Heart of Darkness stylistically.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting sections and text. But alot of annoying verbosity. I know that the protagonist is supposed to have academic airs, but it makes it hard to care about him. Munson really makes Pasterniak a sort of Ivory Tower Arrogant Academic.

Ultimately the mystery of the night dogs is derivative. Still the portrayal of the South American dystopia was surreal and made the novel worth my time.

I am very interested to hear more from Munson. I wish this one had been subjected to a tighter edit.

Mob Rule. Corruption at places of state sponsored learning. Kindness as a precursor to genocide.

Mortality tied to abandonment? It might be interesting to compare this book to other such books where humans are transformed into beasts. Heart of a Dog. Island of Dr. Moreau. even Animal Farm (where the beasts become more human and sleep in beds).

Also hints of xenophobia. This book will make you think. The fear of travelling to dangerous places. How you may never be allowed to leave.

The differences between night and day. The terrible things that night allows. How the locals don't go out. Only a foreigner can be so foolish.

Academia and arrogance.

A book can be a three star book because you didnt gel with it, but ... it can still make you think. It can still spend time on issues that matter to you. Not every conversation or thought you have has to be a five star one...

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

I checked this out after seeing a review from NPR Books that intrigued me (and being equally interested by its cover design). This had shades of Fever Dream, which I similarly devoured in a single sitting earlier this year, but also felt a little like Borge and Kafka, neither of whose work has “clicked” for me. This was all sorts of atmospheric, and its tight format and terse style worked. It ended up not being my thing, but it might be yours.

[Gabriel Rojas Hruška · Rating 5 out of 5]

Masterful prose, psychotic mind, referential passion.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

What on earth. I kinda liked it. But also what just happened.

[D.M. Baronov · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book, in truth, begins with the book’s back cover which refers to the main character as either Boris Leonidovich or Boris. I say this because, throughout the novel, this character is almost always referred to as Pasternak and never simply as Boris. It is implied that Pasternak is a second last name. This, however, gives a hint at how closely this short work needs to be read and the fluid cast of characters and random places committed to memory. The novel itself can be read as a an inter-species reflection on the peculiar drive of human societies for social control and muted freedoms. That said, the author’s most explicit critiques of this arrangement and the full depth of his social analysis unfolds in the final chapters, which spoiler concerns stop me from revealing. So here I will work primarily with the set up of the complex social morass that the author presents.

The principle character, Boris Leonidovich, is an academic specializing in the architecture of prisons. (He is almost exclusively referred to as Pasternak throughout the story.) He has been invited to deliver lectures on this topic of prisons at a university in Buenos Aires by a colleague and part-time lover, Ana Mariategui, who he believes teaches at that university. The two have been meeting periodically at conferences in different cities around the world. Upon arriving in Bueos Aires, a host of inexplicable events disrupt and confound his visit. Ana is no where to be found. He is assaulted by students at his lecture. Packs of wild dogs roam the streets at night. He is told that these are the spirits of those who died in a recent epidemic and that the dogs reside in a cemetery where the dead are buried. Consequently, the relatives of those who died leave rancid beef outside their doors for these dogs each night. In addition, music referred to as a dog symphony can occasionally be heard playing in various public settings and Pasternak has recurring discoveries of gold leaf labels for “Genuine Pampas Hare,” written in English. Lastly, there is a hint of a quasi-fascist police force ruling the university and beyond. (There are references to past Argentine rulers, e.g., Videla and Rosas.) For the first half of the novel, Boris attempts to make sense of the wild dogs and to find Ana who mysteriously no one seems to have heard of.

In Pasternak’s conversations with others, ideas about the epidemic, the political order, and the dogs remain obscure and uncertain. No one speaks with any certainty about anything. Indeed, this “uncertainty” and secrecy enter all aspects of his experiences. There is a randomness to where Pasternak wanders and who he meets along the way in his efforts to find Ana and make sense of what is happening. Importantly, the novel is written as a first-person account, told by Pasternak. So we know only what Boris knows and we only experience what he experiences as he traverses Buenos Aires over several days in a sleep-deprived haze. This technique of storytelling is essential for the final three chapters to properly fulfill their role in this regard. There is thus no narrator to fill in any details or provide conjecture. The story turns when Pasternak ransacks Ana’s university office and finds a large canine tooth in a drawer. At this point he is confronted by university authorities who demand he hand it over. He refuses and they bash him over the shoulder. Now begins a frantic sprint to escape and leave the country. At this point we are 2/3 into the novel and we still have no account of the odd events or why the authorities might be after him.

The human society that we find invaded by nocturnal wild dogs is in turn reactionary, authoritarian, and violent—and quite secretive with regard to the origins of this demented social order. The fascist society we find is reminiscent of past right wing governments in Argentina. But in this case there is no personality cult around some strong man, just an amorphous state apparatus and inexplicable fear running rampant throughout the citizenry. Contrasts are made between the social world of canines and the social world of people. But this is generally superficial. Ultimately, this is a work with Kafkaesque intrigue absent Kafka’s treatment of society as an active character in the storytelling. Here, society is reduced to a bleak and ugly background (or cage) arising from the nightmares and decadence of humanity. Its origins in a manipulated social hierarchy or the outgrowth of social-political factions remain hidden within a story that ultimately turns on a somewhat taciturn inter-specifies reflection.

[Mason Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

A strange little book, with fair comparisons to César Aira, Borges, Haruki Murakami, and other literary fantabulists. An American professor of prison architecture travels to Buenos Aires for a conference hosted at a friend's (lover's) university, and enters a Kafka-esque scene that proves difficult to leave, even as it changes him in more ways than one. At night, packs of dogs roam the city performing some inexplicable rite, and the people have begun to provide them food and water and, in a way, prayer and worship. As a university department begins to wield greater and greater power in the city and nation, our protagonist becomes mired in the increasingly violent happenings. Why the man is an American professor named Boris Leonidovich (Pasternak) is one question I was left with. The setting and the characters are appealing, and the writing is adept. Our protagonist's downward spiral is smooth and mostly believable, though there are some questionable moments here and there. The book's ending section loses momentum and feels somewhat tacked-on, unfortunately, but overall I enjoyed the book and will be curious to see what else Munson has on offer.

[Thurston Hunger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anyone else who really likes a 10-star spectrum over a 5-star? Anyways the previous two reviews were definitely 5's and this is a strong 6 fwiw.

And yeah, I realize it ain't worth much....

This book introduces a lot of peculiar notions, with a foreboding wicked air hovering over Buenos Aires. It feels almost like a South American coup rippling its way through a crumbling academia. Things are creepy in a general way, as well as that kind of stifling creepiness that I associate with bureaucracies. This is amplified by a visiting professor specializing in prison architecture.

The book then goes to the dogs in great fashion, where you almost wonder how much the narrator is perceiving things incorrectly....but then it strays into something like The Fugitive crossed with The Lobster. It's a short novel, so it was relatively easy to be in for a penny, in for a pound, but I felt letdown as the book unraveled. Could be I let go of the leash, and lost the allegory in the gory.
Fuckin' guns, they ruin so much.

Folks who enjoyed this might do well to visit Karen Russell's "Barn at the End of Our Term."

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I write this to you in poor condition. But as I am determined to write something even if my left hand is only partially functioning, even if the book was slowly gotten through, even if you are not listening. Which is how I feel sometimes here at Goodreads. I suppose as always, I write for myself, just as I read.

This novel, (novella?), concerns one professor Boris Leonidovich and his invitation, from a colleague, to come present at an academic conference in Buenos Aires. He comes to the Southern capital to give his conference but also to reconnect with his colleague, since they were also on again off again lovers. However once he arrives things take a turn for the surreal, the absurd. Much of it concerns man’s best friend, and perhaps one can look at its themes from that perspective.

I’m not going to explain much of the plot but Munson is quite good at capturing a specific grotesque mood with his baroque writing style. Besides it could be argued that the plot is often skeletal in this homage to Argentinian magical realism.

For me I wondered if it was about post-collegiate life. However, much of the terrifying establishments and nightmares presented here are readily found stateside whatever stage of life you are in. (Lest we forget the US government has had a past with supporting authoritarian regimes).

Still, Munson is quite evocative in his writing and although nightmarish the conclusion come to never seems less then authentic and apt.

[TylerJPB · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very peculiar, short read. Does a good job of setting up intrigue, and then slowly building a sense of tension, dread, and fear, as the narrator runs up against those who would do him harm. Periods of the bizarre are broken up by sudden and sharp punctuation of violence.

The book is purposefully obtuse, doesn't give you all the answers you're looking for, and is, at times, somewhat maddening in its word choice (as if the narrator was just gifted a thesaurus). The ending felt predictable, and on the whole the book feels a bit pretentious, though I suppose, purposefully so. It reads almost like an avant garde movie watches, only with more narrative.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. This was a random book that a local bookseller told me to check out, and I had no idea I was getting into this surreal, disorienting, fascist, dystopian world. The book is a wild ride, especially given that it details the shadows of a police state arising after a deadly epidemic...it hits a bit too close to home there, but the best dystopian literature does that. This reminded me of Kafka too.

[Noah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmm. Cool premise and crazy story but I don’t really get the point, even though there’s clearly one trying to be made. Also the author/narrator’s constant need to use fancy thesaurus words was a bit distracting and made reading it less enjoyable. I suppose every writer is different, and props to Munson for having a distinct style - it’s just not for me.

[E · Rating 5 out of 5]

Normally, I'm a high fantasy kind of person. I picked this up on a whim. It is truly one of the strangest texts I've ever read. The suspense it creates while disorienting the reader while giving the most incredible imagery and descriptions I've ever read. I read every line twice to ensure I absorbed every word. While Kafka-esque, I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone.

[Robert Glover · Rating 4 out of 5]

"They were waiting. The meat-bag holder whistled a short phrase from the Dog Sympony. The club wielders whistled the next. All three chuckled, a glottal syncopated laugh. Possibly only one laugh but issuing from three throats. They choked it off before it could die naturally." (75).

[William Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

God lord almighty, this book. I cannot tell you how much I loved this book. The ambiguity that began 120 years ago with Conrad's dark heart culminates here in Sam Munson's symphony. If you want weird, ambiguous, spoopy sh*t, get on it.

[DaniPhantom · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a weird and interesting read that makes you think. it reminds me of The Hike by Drew Magery in the sense that it goes down a route that leaves you guessing, but it isn’t totally silly and still has a structure to it.

[Sune Borkfelt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Almost gave up on this one early on, as it is somewhat pretentiously written in a rather academic language alongside a style that draws on magical realism. Glad I stuck with it, as it also has really golden moments and the last 20 pages or so, after there's a shift, are great.

[Brianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will never look into the eyes of my dog ever again! Just kidding, but beware! this book is nuts.

[Alison · Rating 2 out of 5]

In spite of his loft vocabulary this story was awful, an bizarre concept.