Lead Review (Dog Island)

• Book: Dog Island
• Location: The Mediterranean
• Author: Euan Cameron, Philippe Claudel

Review Author: tripfiction

#fromourbookshelves

The story is set on a fictional archipelago in the Mediterranean (that on closer inspection looks like a snarling dog), and one day the bodies of three black men wash up. A small and closed group is involved with deciding how to manage the situation. The are discovered by the Old Woman, and others soon join the party, the Doctor and Mayor, deciding that a cover up is going to serve them best. After all, they have a new project on horizon – to wit a thermal baths complex – and they cannot afford to jeopardise their carefully honed plans. They intend to pull in the tourists and nothing will impede the plan.

This is a story that is written like a fable, an allegory that has universal relevance, the characters serving as exponents of a self-serving and insular (literally) society. It is a rumination on the refugee crisis, on the universal traits of bigotry and scapegoating. It is well written, depressing in its recognisable depiction, it has atmosphere and a textured backdrop.

A thought-provoking book

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