Carmen Dog
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Book Overview
"Combines the cruel humor of Candide with the allegorical panache of Animal Farm. "-- Entertainment Weekly "Carol is the most unappreciated great writer we've got. Carmen Dog ought to be a classic in the colleges by now . . . It's so funny, and it's so keen." --Ursula K. Le Guin "A rollicking outre satire.... full of comic leaps and absurdist genius."-- Bitch "A wise and funny book."-- The New York Times "This trenchant feminist fantasy-satire mixes elements of Animal Farm, Rhinoceros and The Handmaid's Tale .... Imagination and absurdist humor mark [ Carmen Dog ] throughout, and Emshwiller is engaging even when most savage about male-female relationships."-- Booklist "Her fantastic premise allows Emshwiller canny and frequently hilarious insights into the damaging sex-role stereotypes both men and women perpetuate." -- Publishers Weekly The debut title in our Peapod Classics line, Carol Emshwiller's genre-jumping debut novel is a dangerous, sharp-eyed look at men, women, and the world we live in. Everything is changing: women are turning into animals, and animals are turning into women. Pooch, a golden setter, is turning into a beautiful woman--although she still has some of her canine traits: she just can't shuck that loyalty thing--and her former owner has turned into a snapping turtle. When the turtle tries to take a bite of her own baby, Pooch snatches the baby and runs. Meanwhile, there's a dangerous wolverine on the loose, men are desperately trying to figure out what's going on, and Pooch discovers what she really wants: to sing Carmen. Carmen Dog is the funny feminist classic that inspired writers Pat Murphy and Karen Joy Fowler to create the James Tiptree Jr. Memorial Award.
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:1931520089
ISBN13:9781931520089
Release Date:November 2004
Publisher:Small Beer Press
Length:148 Pages
Weight:0.40 lbs.
Dimensions:0.4" x 5.6" x 7.2"
Customer Reviews
4 ratings
a bracing look at the feminist movement
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 15 years ago
Women are turning into animals, and some animals are turning into women. Men fuss about what sort of status should be given to the new "humans", and doctors and psychologists are concerned with the prospect of a "takeover" of power and what this will all do to the institution of Motherhood, not to mention a man's privileges and rights. A thought-provoking, witty examination of the women's movement and society's reactions to it, this is a fun book to read that gives one a real feel for what it was like to live through the changes in women's roles in the 60's and 70's.
biting satire
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 18 years ago
Something strange is going on as the psychiatrist explains to his new patient Pooch the dog that "the beast changes to a woman and the woman changes to a beast". Pooch the dog turned woman worries about the baby as the mother has become a snapping turtle while the father seems mystified about the changes, but not overly concerned. Things come to a head or perhaps a bite when the turtle-mother bites the baby and refuses to let go until Pooch takes a lit match to the neo-beast's neck. Since the father remains uninvolved, pooch decides to flee with the baby for the infant's sake. However, pooch has to reconsider her decision when they arrive in New York City when the Central Park Wolverine gang threatens them and the scientists at the Academy of Motherhood want to test her and throw away the baby. Men do what they do best; ignore the goings-on as dogs make better companions than women. Using personification to satirize relationships, especially gender stereotypes, Carol Emshwiller provides an amusing look at acceptable societal roles that stifle people. The story line is at its best when it skewers how humans behave and how we assume "beasts" behave. When it spins into mad scientists on the loose conspiracy, CARMAN DOG loses some of its acerbic bite as the bark becomes louder not keener. Still this is a deep swift satire that will have the audience laughing yet also thinking about its underlying warning that labeling and classifying negatively oversimplifies everyone. Harriet Klausner
Interesting Concept
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 19 years ago
From an animal lover's perspective, I really enjoyed this book. I liked the character, Pooch, who was becoming human after having been a dog. It was interesting to see the dog-like characteristics she kept along with the human characteristics she acquired. I didn't really care for the feminist tones in this book. I thought men were portrayed in an extremely negative way. Still, I could overlook this and find an interesting story of animals becoming human and humans becoming animals.
Highly amusing social commentary
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 24 years ago
"Women are turning into animals, and animals are turning into women..." What a way to start off a book. Pooch, a dog-girl who longs to play the title role in "Carmen," absconds with a baby whose mother is becoming a turtle. Along the way, she meets many other intriguing characters, among them a snake-woman and a vicious socialite who is quickly becoming what her personality most resembles (namely, a wolverine). And in the meanwhile, the world as we know it is turnig upside-down. This book was funny; however, the way that it poked fun at gender roles and modern-day society went much deeper than mere humor.
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