Book Review: Him

Him by Brian Gotta
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When author Brian Gotta first offered me a copy of Him, I wasn’t sure if the book was for me. The synopsis sounded sweet; the story of a dog’s predicament, told by the dog himself. But I had to confess to Brian that I had a lifelong fear of dogs, due to a biting attack as a child and some incidents later in life. I told him I wasn’t sure I’d be able to do his book justice in a review.

But Brian didn’t give up on me. He said, “I can’t wait for you to meet Scout! I really believe you will have a different outlook after you’ve read the book.” And I tried to come up with another reason not to… but I didn’t have one. And so I agreed.

I’m happy I did. Brian was right. Scout is a loyal dog, completely devoted to his human. There’s a lot he doesn’t understand about the world and why things happen, but he tries his best. It took a bit of time to get into the dog’s-eye-view and his understanding (or lack thereof) of human language, but to my surprise, I simply couldn’t put the book down. I read the entire thing over the course of just a day, in two sessions.

If you understand dogs, you’ll happily relate to Scout. If they are a mystery to you, Scout will help you decode the meaning behind a dog’s behavior in various circumstances. I’ll try to keep his lessons in mind the next time I am sharing space with a dog. And maybe we will become good friends.

I’m giving Him five paws up!

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