Dogs and monsters

Mark Haddon

£20.00

Available on back-order

Weaving together ancient Greek fables with more recent dystopian narratives, Mark Haddon jump starts the heart of these legends told and retold for millennia, and demonstrates their lasting relevance again, in new and unexpected forms.

ISBN: 9781784745554 Category:

Description

From the bestselling author of The Porpoise come eight mesmerising stories exploring what, ultimately, makes us human.

Mark Haddon weaves ancient fables into fresh and unexpected forms, and forges new legends to sit alongside them. The myth of the Minotaur in his labyrinth is turned into a wrenching parable of maternal love – and of the monstrosities of patriarchy. The lover of a goddess, Tithonus, is gifted eternal life but without eternal youth. Actaeon, changed into a stag after glimpsing the naked Diana and torn to pieces by his hunting dogs, becomes a visceral metaphor about how humans use and misuse animals.

From genetic engineering to the eternal complications of family, Haddon showcases masterfully how we are subject to the same elemental forces that obsessed the Greeks. Whether describing Laika the Soviet space dog on her fateful orbit, or St Anthony wrestling with loneliness in the desert, his astonishing powers of observation are at their height when illuminating the thin line between human and animal.

Additional information

Weight 0.5 kg
Dimensions 24 × 15.6 × 4 cm
Author

Publisher

Imprint

Cover

Hardback

Pages

336

Language

English

Edition

Short stories

Dewey

823.92 (edition:23)

Readership

General – Trade / Code: K

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