The Dog

Irish-Turkish writer Joseph O’Neill returns with his Booker Prize long-listed novel, and continues to pen on subjects of which he himself has some experience.

His previous critically-acclaimed novel Netherlands centred on moving to New York, which the lawyer did himself in 1988.

Now, in The Dog we have an American lawyer who moves to Dubai following a break-up in order to manage the finances of a wealthy Lebanese family.

The book portrays life in the Emirate state to be rather bewildering, artificial and lonely. He manages to depict the class system and confusing life everyone — not just expats — must live in order to survive in the desert city.

Somewhat emulating the pace of the metropolis, the book skits about from one issue to another within a matter of paragraphs, be it a relationship break-down, a missing scuba diver or an unusual building project. However, within the novel, O’Neill gives the reader nothing to cling on to and no characters with which they can form a page-turning relationship.

Yet, perhaps this is the point exactly — the protagonist has nothing to cling on to either.