I am always on the lookout for a title I can declare the “gift book of the year,” the special award I give to an offering that just screams, “I know lots of people who will love this book and therefore I am going to buy it for them.”
I know it’s only June, but I have this year’s winner, “The Dog’s Gaze: A Visual History” by Thomas W. Laqueur.
The book sits on an intriguing question/premise: What does it mean that dogs have essentially always been present in the art created by humans? What is going on behind that dog’s gaze?
Laqueur, an emeritus history professor at the University of California at Berkley, is an ideal explorer, having the knowledge and experience to range through history and society looking for examples. He also clearly knows dogs, including Curious the boxer, the first dog he ever loved.
Laqueur encourages us to consider the iconography of the dog in the art image — such as the (probable) Brussels griffon in Van Eyck’s famous “Arnolfini Portrait” (1434) — but he argues this iconography must also combine with our histories, both general and personal, in order to reveal the depth of connection between humans and dogs, humans and each other.
The experience of the book, then, is to commune with a singular mind turning his gaze on the dog, the world and himself as a way to conjure complementary and contradictory thoughts in the reader. For page after page, Laqueur shows his thinking, something made possible through both the high-quality color prints of the artwork he refers to and a style that is informed and erudite without being too academic or inaccessible.
There is a lot of history embedded in the chapters, including “deep” history like the evolution of the relationship between dogs and humans, and also more specific stories, like a section on Pablo Picasso’s beloved Dachshund, Lump, which appeared in more than a dozen of Picasso’s studies of another very famous painting with dogs, Velázquez’s “Las Meninas,” as well as other works.
The book is never not interesting, particularly if you are an appreciator of dogs, as I am. I almost cannot remember a time when a dog was not present during my own work. Even as I type, a 13-pound terrier mix named Quincy twitches from a dream while sleeping on the dog bed next to my desk. Later, when I’ll try to start a Zoom call, he will jump to my lap as if to ask, wouldn’t I rather gaze at him?
(Not necessarily. His breath is not great.)
“The Dog’s Gaze” is not a quick read, and in fact, it rewards slow work, gazing at the image yourself, reading Laqueur’s thoughts, returning to the image, and then Laqueur’s take again. I received my advance copy in March and only recently completed my read, working chapter by chapter in between other books. Laqueur’s deep care for his subject has me seeing the images of the dogs differently now, through his eyes, but also more acutely through my own.
One of the ways I know that “The Dog’s Gaze” makes a great gift book is that I will eagerly pick up the book again in the future to re-read, to gaze again, a gift that keeps on giving, if you will.
My only objection to the book is that I wish it were larger than its standard-size hardcover. Not longer, but larger as in a bigger format, so the beautiful images were even more accessible, allowing for greater appreciation of fine details.
Still, this is a small quibble next to the accomplishment of this book.
Book recommendations from the Biblioracle
John Warner tells you what to read based on the last five books you’ve read.
1. “The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World” by Robin Wall Kimmerer
2. “A Girl Within a Girl Within a Girl” by Nanda Reddy
3. “The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak
4. “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland/Through the Looking-Glass” by Lewis Carroll
5. “James” by Percival Everett
— Steve S., Orland Park
Marlon James has a big new book coming this fall. For Steve, I’m recommending James’ first novel, “The Book of Night Women.”
1. “Project Hail Mary” by Andy Weir
2. “Somewhere in Crime” by Dave McVeigh and Jim Bolone
3. “Filthy Rich” by James Patterson and John Connolly with Tim Malloy
4. “A Dressing of Diamonds” by Nicolas Freeling
5. “Heartland” by Keith O’Brien
— Biff G., Valparaiso, Indiana
Something tells me that Biff is a good match for Stephen King’s time travel alternate history novel, “11/22/63.”
1. “Remarkably Bright Creatures” by Shelby Van Pelt
2. “Theo of Golden” by Allen Levi
3. “The Story of a New Name” by Elena Ferrante
4. “The Searcher” by Tana French
5. “The Correspondent” by Virginia Evans
— Katherine P., Chicago
For Katherine, I’m recommending “The Dry” by Jane Harper, a quality mystery that has a strong sense of a place and its people.
Get a reading from the Biblioracle
Send a list of the last five books you’ve read and your hometown to biblioracle@gmail.com.
John Warner is the author of books including “More Than Words: How to Think About Writing in the Age of AI.” You can find him at biblioracle.com.
