Rating: 
Summary: Wonderfully written
Review: I could not put this book down. For those who are concerned with the animal abuse aspect, it is very small portion of the book, and not condoned by the main character. It is a beautiful book that describes the relationship between Paul and his wife Lexie before she died. The book's focus is more on their relationship and the past rather than the present. Parkhurst does an amazing job capturing the grief-striken feeling of losing someone you love and the depression that goes along with it. A must read!
Rating: 
Summary: Great but disturbing read
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book, but a word of warning: It is NOT for the faint-hearted. The things is, as a reader you have to get past the extremely disturbing parts and see the book as a whole--much like you have to do with other novels that take you someplace difficult (think McCrae's "The Bark of the Dogwood" or any of the other thought-provoking books dealing with the darker issues life has to offer). That said, "The Dogs of Babel" IS well-written and worth a shot--just don't read it right before bedtime.
Rating:
Summary: Keep an open mind...
Review: After reading some of the other reviews, I have to wonder if we were all reading the same book or did some of us just skip & skim...It may sound almost insane that a man would try to teach his dog to speak but one would have to look at it from Paul's point of view: he was grief-stricken. He had just lost his wife & wanted what anyone of us would have wanted had a loved one's death occurred & literally NO ONE was there to retell the events. He wanted closure. Yes, this book does contain acts of animal abuse but Paul does not condone the acts by the group mentioned in the book. In fact, he finds them reprehensible. Perhaps it's that part of him that's in all of us that has to slow down at the site of an accident that draws him to initially explore their ideals. I think that it's a very good book that ties up all of the loose ends without having an overly happy/unrealistic ending.
Rating:
Summary: Very good book, some parts very diffucult to read
Review: This book is powerful in the sense that a man is looking for the reason on why his wife died, from his wife's dog. It is a testimoney to the love of a man and a woman which is overshadowed by many dark and light pathos, plus of the innocence and love of animals. Their dedication and loyalty. For a person like myself, who has done rescue work for abused dogs, parts of this book were extrenely hard for me to read. But the ending is beautiful.....This is a a really good read and takes you thru a wide spectrum of emotions. Highly recommended. This is a whole new view towards relationships in writing today. GM
Rating:
Summary: Exploring the grieveing process; man and animals
Review: When Paul Iverson's wife dies, he becomes obsessed with finding out how she died. He turns to the only witness: the couple's Rhodesian Ridgeback, Lorelei. He wants to teach Lorelei how to talk, and how to tell him what really happened the afternoon of his wife's death. The book explores one man's grieving process, and how he reacts to those around him. He becomes a joke at work, and begins a short correspondence with a prison inmate who succeeded in making a dog "talk". These scenes were the most disturbing in the book, because as an animal lover, I found it extremely difficult to read. Thankfully, the scenes are short, and through the experience in the book, Paul realizes that he needs to center himself. It struck me that Paul's life and work focus on language and communication; yet, he and his wife could have solved a number of problems had they just communicated better with each other. Overall, this book is a great accomplishment. It is especially good when you read it with your dog at your side.
Rating:
Summary: "let be be the end of seem"
Review: Okay, let's get this settled right away: This book is not about dogs, although it features a Rhodesian ridgeback named Lorelei as one of the main characters; it's not about solving a crime, although the protagonist, Paul, is ostensibly unraveling the mystery of his wife's death; and it's not about linguistics, although Paul, in the course of unraveling the mystery, tries to teach Lorelei to talk. The reader who picks the book up because of its jacket blurb or book club status may be disappointed. The Dogs of Babel is about the intimate, exquisite, and often painful relationship between two people, each locked in his or her own dysfunction. It is also one of the most poignant portraits of bipolar disorder i've ever read. I agree with other reviewers that Parkhurst's quirky plot devices, which at first draw the reader in, become a bit much as the novel progresses; however, by that time, i was thoroughly caught up in the dance of Paul and Lexy's marriage. Paul, the surviving spouse, is more engaged in understanding the relationship after his wife's death than he ever was while she was still living. And Lexy, though dead at the opening page, seems curiously more alive than Paul throughout most of the book. As for Lorelei, hers is the ancient role of the dog: to guide the spirits of the dead to their rest. I highly recommend this book to those psychologically-minded persons who enjoy exploring and understanding the range of human emotional experience.
Rating: 
Summary: twisted wearing the mask of beautiful
Review: Upon reading the fly leaf description of this book I thought it sounded interesting and magical, and at first I wasn't disappointed. Paul Iverson's wife Lexy has died mysteriously with the couple's dog Lorelei as the only witness. While flashing back to the story of their lives together, Paul struggles with trying to discover clues about the circumstances of Lexy's demise, wishing that Lorelei could speak in order to tell him the truth about the events of that day. He actually begins to try to teach her, taking a sabbatical from the university where he is a professor of linguistics. Even that part sounds preposterous, but it really wasn't until the middle of the book, when some of Paul's choices lead him into a sick situation with the predictability of a bad horror movie (No, you idiot! Don't go to that house, what are you thinking?) ... after that, the symbolism becomes forced, the characters no longer seem believable, and surprises that should be important fall flat with their poor delivery. Parkhurst's writing style is lovely, but she could use some help on plot. Even though the cover, the book's summary, and its book club status make it appear tantalizing, I would skip this one.
Rating:
Summary: An Unpleasant Experience!
Review: What are publishers thinking? ARE publishers thinking? Paul, the main character, has no character. He loves his wife... that's who he is. She is troubled and clearly needs therapy. The writing is somewhat tedious (do I need a paragraph to tell me they say hello to each other when he comes home?) and the book is quite sentimental, except for the dog abuse, which is horrific. I wish I could wash the book out of my mind. I have given it two stars because she defined his first wife's self-obsessed ways beautifully, having her say something like: "I have repeatedly asked you not to leave your dirty coffee cup on the table and you have ignored my needs and wishes." Possibly the writer will grow now that she is a published author (obviously most people here disagree with me). Hug your dog.
Rating:
Summary: A most excellent novel
Review: Not quite the story that book jacket describes, The Dogs of Babel is still a fantastic story. It's more about the life of the two lovers before the wife dies, but the simple complexity of their relationship is touching. The end of almost every chapter made it impossible not to turn the page and keep going. This is one of my new favorite books.
Rating:
Summary: Disturbing, but very powerful
Review: I'll admit that the premise of this book sounds silly. Some weirdo Linguist sets out to teach his dog to talk so it can tell him if his wife's death was a suicide or not. Is he crazy? Desperate?
What I really loved about this book was the way things were written. This was good writing, and I really liked how the author put in all of these little whimsical incidents in the relationship between Paul and his wife Lexy that really showed that they loved eachother and were a good fit. I think that without those, Paul would be just another grieving widower, and Lexy would be a crazy woman who jumped to her death from a tree. By knowing all of the little things these two went through and did for eachother, it made their relationship something special, and so I felt for Paul and Lexy more than I would have if the author didn't do such a good job of portraying them as two people with a deep (a little bit odd yes,) love. I really wanted Paul to find out the truth, poor guy.
I also liked the twists in this book, there are only a few chapters left and I was like "What's going to happen next?" From the very dark to the light, to the plain weird, Parkhurst has constructed a story that will not leave you bored.
As for the animal abuse issues, I do think that they were very graphic and disturbing. But WITHOUT them I don't think this book would have the weight that it does. I don't think this book would make its readers feel. The dark side of animal linguists that Paul goes in to are an example of how desperate he really is.
The only thing I wasn't clear about was the book's title. So that bugs me a little that I can't make the connection there, but anyway I highly recommend this book!
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