What do you think?
Rate this book
The Dogs
A man looks back on his past and finds new meaning to life.
Tian, a middle-aged man, moves into an old flat that had once belonged to his late father, to live out the rest of his life. As he goes about his days, he starts to reminisce about his childhood in a kampong in Singapore in the 1950s, and his friendship with Heng Chong, a schoolmate.
Growing up, making their own fun and mischief, the boys developed a close friendship that was tested by the sudden appearance of a stray dog in their kampong. As secrets abounded and lies crept into their lives, a spark of retaliation soon set off a chain of events that led inevitably to an unforeseen tragedy that threw a long dark shadow over Tian’s life.
As he looks back to find the answers to the mystery that surrounded this tragedy, Tian gains a deeper understanding of his own past and the true nature of loss, regret, and redemption, and discovers new hope and a new life imbued with resilience, fortitude, and purpose.
Tian, a middle-aged man, moves into an old flat that had once belonged to his late father, to live out the rest of his life. As he goes about his days, he starts to reminisce about his childhood in a kampong in Singapore in the 1950s, and his friendship with Heng Chong, a schoolmate.
Growing up, making their own fun and mischief, the boys developed a close friendship that was tested by the sudden appearance of a stray dog in their kampong. As secrets abounded and lies crept into their lives, a spark of retaliation soon set off a chain of events that led inevitably to an unforeseen tragedy that threw a long dark shadow over Tian’s life.
As he looks back to find the answers to the mystery that surrounded this tragedy, Tian gains a deeper understanding of his own past and the true nature of loss, regret, and redemption, and discovers new hope and a new life imbued with resilience, fortitude, and purpose.
246 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2020
5 people want to read
About the author
O. Thiam Chin
31 books15 followersO Thiam Chin is the winner of the inaugural Epigram Books Fiction Prize in 2015 for his first novel, Now That It's Over, and his second novel, Fox Fire Girl, was shortlisted for the 2016 EBFP; both novels are published by Epigram Books.
He is also the author of five collections of short fiction: Free-Falling Man (2006), Never Been Better (2009), Under The Sun (2010), The Rest Of Your Life and Everything That Comes With It (2011) and Love, Or Something Like Love (2013). Love, Or Something Like Love was shortlisted for the 2014 Singapore Literature Prize for English Fiction, and Never Been Better and Under The Sun were included in the top ten fiction books in the POPULAR Readers’ Choice Awards in Malaysia.
His short stories have appeared in Mānoa, World Literature Today, The International Literary Quarterly, Asia Literary Review, Quarterly Literary Review Singapore, Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, Kyoto Journal, The Jakarta Post, The New Straits Times, Asiatic and Esquire (Singapore). His short fiction was also selected for the first two volumes of The Epigram Books Collection of Best New Singaporean Short Stories anthology series.
O was an honorary fellow of the Iowa International Writing Program in 2010, a recipient of the NAC Young Artist Award in 2012, and has been thrice longlisted for the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award. He has appeared frequently at writers festivals in Australia, Indonesia and Singapore.
He is also the author of five collections of short fiction: Free-Falling Man (2006), Never Been Better (2009), Under The Sun (2010), The Rest Of Your Life and Everything That Comes With It (2011) and Love, Or Something Like Love (2013). Love, Or Something Like Love was shortlisted for the 2014 Singapore Literature Prize for English Fiction, and Never Been Better and Under The Sun were included in the top ten fiction books in the POPULAR Readers’ Choice Awards in Malaysia.
His short stories have appeared in Mānoa, World Literature Today, The International Literary Quarterly, Asia Literary Review, Quarterly Literary Review Singapore, Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, Kyoto Journal, The Jakarta Post, The New Straits Times, Asiatic and Esquire (Singapore). His short fiction was also selected for the first two volumes of The Epigram Books Collection of Best New Singaporean Short Stories anthology series.
O was an honorary fellow of the Iowa International Writing Program in 2010, a recipient of the NAC Young Artist Award in 2012, and has been thrice longlisted for the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award. He has appeared frequently at writers festivals in Australia, Indonesia and Singapore.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 16, 2021
This was my second time reading O Thiam Chin’s work and I found myself similarly struggling to understand the plot development.
The synopsis provided at the back of the book sounded promising - exploring themes such as coming of age, urbanism, grief and loss. Although the events did touch on these, I found much difficulty in understanding what the author was trying to drive at. Similar to his previous work, Now That It’s Over, the main thrust of the book is filled with (too many) metaphors that made it boring after a while.
The synopsis provided at the back of the book sounded promising - exploring themes such as coming of age, urbanism, grief and loss. Although the events did touch on these, I found much difficulty in understanding what the author was trying to drive at. Similar to his previous work, Now That It’s Over, the main thrust of the book is filled with (too many) metaphors that made it boring after a while.
April 29, 2021
The Dogs is the first book I’ve read published by PenguinSEA and I have to admit it's not that bad. This is not the best book that I would enthusiastically recommend, but here's the thing; I quite enjoyed some part of it.
The Dogs cast a middle-aged man as the voice to the story. This book will unfold the story of Tian on his new journey while still grieving from the loss of his beloved wife, trying to reconcile back with his past life. As he goes about his days after deciding to move back into his late father's old flat, his mind starts to spiral to his childhood days that were filled with mischief acts of a village boy until it took one tragic accident to taint his life with trauma, subjecting him to struggling and suffering.
I'm actually conflicted on how to feel about it. The author definitely has a knack for writing as it's so beautifully written. I love the familiarity of experiences growing up in kampung that he impressively sketched throughout the story as I can easily imagine myself in some of its scenes. It’s a very thorough writing detailing every aspect that revolved around MC’s life, be it in his past life or the present day. Gradually it gets boring not because of the lack of interest towards the story but I guess I’m getting tired waiting for something to happen.
While I can follow the writing alright, I'm having quite a hard time to decipher all the hidden meaning behind the story. I think what he's trying to do in this book is he's trying to breach the horizon of normalcy, to deliver something different from the other. Admittedly, the ideas are already there. However, I wish there are some explanations to some situations (especially on the disturbing parts) rather than letting the readers to their own interpretations, hanging without any concrete closure.
Do I recommend it? YES! Because I want more people to read this book so that I can talk to them about it. Also, if you’re like me who rarely read books that feature the side of a male character dealing with tragedy, grief and loneliness, I think this book is quite a good pick to be considered. You just need to be patient and know how to read between the lines, haha.
Thank you Times Reads for sending me a review copy of this book in return for an honest review. This book is available in all good bookstores Malaysia and Singapore.
INSTAGRAM | TWITTER
The Dogs cast a middle-aged man as the voice to the story. This book will unfold the story of Tian on his new journey while still grieving from the loss of his beloved wife, trying to reconcile back with his past life. As he goes about his days after deciding to move back into his late father's old flat, his mind starts to spiral to his childhood days that were filled with mischief acts of a village boy until it took one tragic accident to taint his life with trauma, subjecting him to struggling and suffering.
I'm actually conflicted on how to feel about it. The author definitely has a knack for writing as it's so beautifully written. I love the familiarity of experiences growing up in kampung that he impressively sketched throughout the story as I can easily imagine myself in some of its scenes. It’s a very thorough writing detailing every aspect that revolved around MC’s life, be it in his past life or the present day. Gradually it gets boring not because of the lack of interest towards the story but I guess I’m getting tired waiting for something to happen.
While I can follow the writing alright, I'm having quite a hard time to decipher all the hidden meaning behind the story. I think what he's trying to do in this book is he's trying to breach the horizon of normalcy, to deliver something different from the other. Admittedly, the ideas are already there. However, I wish there are some explanations to some situations (especially on the disturbing parts) rather than letting the readers to their own interpretations, hanging without any concrete closure.
Do I recommend it? YES! Because I want more people to read this book so that I can talk to them about it. Also, if you’re like me who rarely read books that feature the side of a male character dealing with tragedy, grief and loneliness, I think this book is quite a good pick to be considered. You just need to be patient and know how to read between the lines, haha.
Thank you Times Reads for sending me a review copy of this book in return for an honest review. This book is available in all good bookstores Malaysia and Singapore.
INSTAGRAM | TWITTER
July 23, 2022
3.75/5
Now That It's Over left an impression and that's how I started singling out O Thiam Chin as a local author to read.
Got a little distracted during this one but kept going because it was somehow enthralling in the nostalgic reminiscing of a simpler childhood, simpler times, on homeland.
It can be slow pacing, and it will leave you with a head full of questions after.
Right now I wished I had access to the author to ask him his intent, and clarify the ending.
This is kind of a dark story. To me.
Curious as to what'd write about next.
Now That It's Over left an impression and that's how I started singling out O Thiam Chin as a local author to read.
Got a little distracted during this one but kept going because it was somehow enthralling in the nostalgic reminiscing of a simpler childhood, simpler times, on homeland.
It can be slow pacing, and it will leave you with a head full of questions after.
Right now I wished I had access to the author to ask him his intent, and clarify the ending.
This is kind of a dark story. To me.
Curious as to what'd write about next.
March 26, 2021
I’m glad O Thiam Chin didn’t fall into Jack Neo-type kampong nostalgia, but his past-present tale of a one-note childhood friendship, father-son relationships and meaningless, gratuitous animal abuse is so slight, rambling, and stretched out by overwritten, predictable prose. It’s also sad to read a Penguin book riddled with grammatical errors and copyediting oversights. This is the third book of O’s I’ve read, and it’s clear he’s not for me. I wonder who his audience is, though.
November 3, 2021
No one could reflect on their memories like this. So raw and impassioned. The Dogs did not disappoint.
March 18, 2023
I found some parts of this book confronting. If you're an animal lover, reading some parts like how the way the boys treated the dogs and other living creatures might leave you feeling appalled or angry even.
The story of the main character Tian is interesting as he navigates his past, deals with his current situation/grief and how his son is trying his best to take care of him. I love his writing. The way he describes a scene and the thoughts of the elderly man wanting to live out his days on his own, reminds me of my late grandfather wanting his own independence to the very end. The story ends in its best way possible. I like the ending. There was a sense of purpose and hope for Tian.
The story of the main character Tian is interesting as he navigates his past, deals with his current situation/grief and how his son is trying his best to take care of him. I love his writing. The way he describes a scene and the thoughts of the elderly man wanting to live out his days on his own, reminds me of my late grandfather wanting his own independence to the very end. The story ends in its best way possible. I like the ending. There was a sense of purpose and hope for Tian.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews