Rating: 
Summary: Masks, ghosts, talking dogs and hidden messages
Review: While not just another love story, "The Dogs of Babel" does detail the love affair and marriage of Paul and his mask-making wife, the newly deceased Lexy. As the narrative unfolds, the reader watches as Paul's obsessive attempts to make sense of his wife's death force him to become reclusive, to relentlessly pursue a pay-by-the-minute phone psychic, and to try to teach his dog, and only witness to Lexy's death, Lorelei, to speak. "Dogs" is a modern day fairy tale in the true Brothers Grimm fashion. Parkhurst has crafted a sweet story of romance and love counter-balanced by deep sadness, despair, and the desperation of grief. Not a novel to be taken in the literal sense, "Dogs" explores the surreal and often futile attempts of survivors to answer questions surrounding a loved one's death and to blame themselves even when circumstances are beyond their control. Parkhurst skims the surface of mental illness and its sometimes exasperating silence and links it to the allegorical Cerberus Society, whose sole purpose is to create a speaking dog. Masks, ghosts, talking dogs and hidden messages combined with raw human emotions in a familiar household setting create an atmospheric and beautifully layered story. A wonderful read, without a doubt this season's "The Lovely Bones", and a story that will stay with you long after the last page has turned. *Having read and reviewed this book, and then read other's reviews, I must add a personal note of recommendation that readers approach this book with no expectations. Ignore the hype, ignore the reviews, yes, even mine, and approach this book with an open, inquiring, intellectual mind. If you do so, I think you will be pleased. As my mother always says, the origin of resentment is expectation. Good reading!
Rating: 
Summary: Not what I was expecting
Review: I kept putting off reading this book because the premise sounded kind of dumb to me - a man tries to teach his dog to speak after his wife dies in an apparent accident. Little did I know that it would turn out to be a romantic, wistful, and tragic story of love and loss. After Paul's wife Lexy dies falling from a tree, he decides to try to teach their dog, Lorelei, to speak since she is the only creature to have witnessed Lexy's fall and know if it was an accident or suicide. Through the process, we learn of Paul and Lexy's courtship and marriage in flashbacks that are telling of her state of mind. As we read about their relationship, it becomes clear that Lexy has emotional problems that Paul isn't quite equipped to deal with and that she is reluctant to talk about. She becomes depressed and has violent moments that contrast with the free-spirited woman he married. In his quest to find out what happened at her death, Paul finds himself mixed up in an underground group of scientists who are mutilating dogs in their attempts to get them to speak. The two stories come together in an ending that tells of the love Lexy had for her husband, even beyond death.
Rating: 
Summary: Grief
Review: I had this book recommended to me as a powerful record of the problems faced by a person who is living with someone who is depressed. This triggered my enthusiasm for reading the book because I have some experience with depression - although I am not myself depressed. But the book is not really about depression at all. In fact the depressed person is dead right at the outset of the novel and we only learn about them through the memories of the grieving partner. But these memories are fragile uncertain things, and as he gets closer and closer in his memories to the day of death he becomes more and more confused and doubtful. What has he missed? What signs did he not see? So this book is not about depression - about its signs, about indicators, about failure to see, about failing management..... This book is about grief and grieving - about how unsettled the grieving person can be - perhaps even mad to a degree. It is a wonderfully inventive book but many of the steps taken by the grieving person I could not myself imagine taking - but then I have yet to grieve in this way so maybe I should not be so sure. I also think that the writing is far superior in the telling of troubled times - so many writers seem to struggle with their descriptions and explanations of good times.
Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly fabulous!
Review: Prior to reading this novel, I wasn't sure if I wanted to or not. I had heard good things about it, but I didn't think I'd find it very interesting. Boy was I wrong! The Dogs of Babel is officially on my list for the best books I've read this year. Paul Iverson's wife, Lexy, is found dead after an apparent fall from an apple tree in their yard. The only witness is their dog, Lorelei, who cannot relay the answer to Paul's most important question -- did Lexy fall on accident, or was it suicide? As a linguistics professor, Paul does a lot of research and work with the spoken word. Why couldn't he teach Lorelei to talk? So Paul takes a sabbatical and embarks on the process of teaching Lorelei to say what she knows about that fateful day. I loved every minute of this book. The Dogs of Babel is beautifully written and I commend Carolyn Parkhurst for writing this story. However, it is more about teaching a dog to talk. The flashbacks of Paul and Lexy's life together are the best parts of the book. Lexy is a free-spiritied and troubled character, and their courtship and marriage was incredibly romantic and tragic at the same time. And despite some sensitive material about dog abuse, I still found The Dogs of Babel an exquisite read.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful.
Review: I got this as an advanced reading copy from a friend in publishing. She dropped it in front of me and said "READ THIS". The last time she did that it was Alice Sebold's Lovely Bones, so I listened to her and I read. And I was not disappointed. The book (as everybody else has said before) is about a man who loses his wife. There's something ODD about his wife's death, though, so he tries to teach his dog to communicate with him and tell him what happened the day she died. Sounds hokey, but it's not. Trust me, it's not. The book takes on a bit of mystery as you go . . . as a reader want to know what happened to Lexy. You want the dog to talk. You want Paul to stop acting crazy. Pieces of the dead wife's history begin to unfold as you continue through, and you realize what a wonderful, sad, character Lexy was. The author takes her time, making you like the character you never meet, and by the end you are touched by Lexy's story and how Paul and the dog tie in. The only reason that I gave this book 4 stars and not 5 is the dog talking bit got a little weird on me at one point. There's a subplot that involves a network of people that try to teach dogs to talk and the crazy things done on their 'quest'. I understand why it's in the book, but some of it gets a little raunchy. I would have rather dedicated those pages to Lexy the Mask Maker, but beggers can't be choosers. I'm still thrilled with the rest of the novel. Buy this book. Delve into it and enjoy it. It won't be that hard to do. There is a poignant sadness that colors every page. The author really makes you care about the little family of Paul, Lexy, and Lorelei. And the last few pages, when Paul realizes exactly what happened, will choke you up. They are a real heartbreaker. Happy Reading.
Rating: 
Summary: WHY?
Review: Like many other reviewers, I found the idea intriguing, and as a dog lover, certainly sympathized with the idea of trying to find out what's going on behind those eyes. The finish had some emotional content and value. But, the book had so many flaws that I found incredibly distracting:
Even if I hadn't known it was written by a woman, I would have figured it out in a few pages. Paul does, notices, and says things that men probably wouldn't. For example, he mentions Lexy's dress as being embroidered "from bodice to hem." Most men know what those words mean, but I've yet to meet one who would notice it, much less mention it. The man's an idiot--to connect to my point above, he notices clothing and other such things, but somehow doesn't realize his incredibly depressed and suicidal wife is suicidal. And he picked a fight with her the night before she died. Hmmmn. He brings his dog to a cult that mutilates dogs???? That happened to be in his neighborhood???? That there actually was a psychic named Miss Adelle (or whatever it was),instead of that just being the name of the business. And that he found her! And she kept scrupulous notes for a book she was going to write (was it going to be called "every Tarot reading I've ever done"?) The magical plot-forwarding TV that he has. Reports of Dog J getting stolen on the national news? Lexy getting chosen as a sample voice for a commercial? He happened to see it? The Talking Dog thing had very little to do with the story or the plot or the denouement, and of course led us to see Dog J, which was among the most unnecessarily disturbing scenes I can remember reading. That and the even more unnecessary mutilation of Lorelei. That also must be a crazy apple tree, with a ledge at the top and all. That's not really how trees grow--they kind of peter out with smaller and smaller branches. You generally can't stand at the top and just topple over and not hit branches on the way down. And the whole Disney/spontaneity thing. Please. Fine, the idea was original. But I didn't buy that she hadn't thought about it before the date, as evidenced by her strong feelings about ordering dinner. She announces that only appetizers should be eaten, or else the date would have to be over (really? why not just avoid dessert?), but it sounded like a rule she had thought of ahead of time, not the musings of someone making stuff up as they go along. Finally, perhaps the biggest flaw is its overall structure. Paul must have instantly known she had committed suicide. Knowing everything we knew at the end, it was pretty darned obvious. But he knew all of that at the beginning. He didn't discover that she had attempted suicide in the past--he knew it all along. He didn't discover that she had threatened suicide recently--he knew it all along. He didn't just suddenly discover that they had had a terrible fight the night before she died--He picked that fight! I think this would have been a good short story. Everything she used to lengthen it beyond the central concept hurt it.
Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Read...
Review: I also loved every minute of The Dogs of Babel. The writing is beautiful and the story carried me along. I tried to pace myself because I didn't want the book to end, but I couldn't put it down. It's rare to read such a combination, a story that is both unique and heartfelt. Yes, there are some quirks, but they are part of the tapestry of the characters and what makes life, life. The book's greatest achievement is conveying the characters' emotions. I really got caught up in the details and the grief and the love, and had a clear picture of it on every page. The novel's twists and turns never seemed overly contrived to be, but seemed part of the curious surprises that life throws our way. The book is wonderfully structured in its narration, letting us glimpse past and present together with hints of what is to come. I thoroughly enjoyed this great debut novel and look forward to more from this writer.
Rating:
Summary: answer to "here's a question"
Review: Babel is the fabeled ancient city where all the inhabitants spoke the same language. They angered God somehow and, as punishment, he spread them across the earth and made them speak languages unintelligible to each other. Just as humans and dogs cannot understand each other's "languages"....Get it now?
Rating:
Summary: A Fabulous Story!
Review: Having just lost a dog (who was 17), I found this wonderful book, describing the connection between people and their pets that everyone can relate to. Lexy is an enigma; that is clear early in the book. But, she loved her dog, Lorelei...and her grieving spouse is seeking the ultimate connection between the two. The metaphors are strong throughout --- from eating habits, creating masks, phone psychics, and secret societies reveal much of how what we look for and what is hidden in our lives. This is an outstanding book --- don't miss it!
Rating:
Summary: Here's the question,though.
Review: What is the connection of the title to the story? Not one reviewer (professional or general reader) ever expanded on that thought. Why did the writer choose the title?
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