Black Dogs

Critics

• Evils and Novels

  As Penguin rescues the novels of Angus Wilson from out-of-print obscurity, here is an excuse to recall the argument of his most important work of literary criticism, the essay ‘Evil in the English Novel’. ‘For some time,’ he wrote in the Listener bac ... (read full critics)

  lrb published on Mon, 6 Sep 2010

4 Reviews

• 2 people find this helpful

  

  A menacing atmosphere permeates this book. I was pleasantly surprised by the descriptions of several historical events in Europe of the last century, as well as the author's musings on the continent's ultimate fate. The finale, however, let me down a bit. It wasn't as shocking as I had expected it t ... (continue)

  A menacing atmosphere permeates this book. I was pleasantly surprised by the descriptions of several historical events in Europe of the last century, as well as the author's musings on the continent's ultimate fate. The finale, however, let me down a bit. It wasn't as shocking as I had expected it to be. A good book, but not as good as the other McEwan I read; Saturdays.

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  Kaeru said on Apr 17, 2009 about the Hardcover edition | Add your feedback

• 1 person find this helpful

  

  this one I've loved! again mcewan goes back and forth in space and time, but the links work and the story absorbs.
  a fascinating journey in the human mind, through 3 (maybe 4) characters, their stories and how these changed their way of thinking.

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  maCmq said on Jan 18, 2012 about the Hardcover edition | Add your feedback

• 

  The reason why I don't like this book is because the story itself, a past encounter of the narrator's mother in-law with two black dogs, takes up around 10 pages of the book, and it appears near the end of the book. The rest is descriptions and recollections of the narrator that gradually build up ... (continue)

  The reason why I don't like this book is because the story itself, a past encounter of the narrator's mother in-law with two black dogs, takes up around 10 pages of the book, and it appears near the end of the book. The rest is descriptions and recollections of the narrator that gradually build up to the "climax" - the revelation of what happened.

  If the incident were more terrifying or exciting, it might be worth the trouble of reading all the unnecessary details. But it is not.

  The result of this style of writing is nothing but disappointing.

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  Tracy W said on Nov 3, 2009 about the Hardcover edition | Add your feedback

• 

  The choice between social commitment and inner spiritual search has not been resolved...

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  kampala said on Mar 27, 2008 | Add your feedback

Book Details

• Rating:
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• English Books
• Paperback 176 Pages
• ISBN-10: 0394280199
• ISBN-13: 9780394280196
• Publisher: Vintage Canada
• Pub date: Aug 27, 1993
• Also available as: Hardcover, Audio CD, Others and eBook
• In other languages: other languages Libri Italiani, Latviešu grāmatas

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