Once upon a time in Provence, Peter Mayle adopted a dog of uncertain origins and dubious hunting skills and gave him a nameтАФBoy. Now he gives this canny canine a voice in an irresistible тАЬmemoirтАЭ that proves that the best vantage point for observing life may well be on all fours.
As Boy recounts his progress from an overcrowded maternal bosom to unchallenged mastery of the Mayle household, he tells us why dogs are drawn to humans (тАЬour most convenient support systemтАЭ) and chickens (тАЬthat happy combination of sport and nourishmentтАЭ). We share in his amorous dalliances, his run-ins with French plumbers and cats, and in the tidbits (both conversational and edible) of his ownersтАЩ dinner parties. Enhanced by fifty-nine splendidly whimsical drawings by Edward Koren, A DogтАЩs Life gives us all the delights we expect from any book by Peter MayleтАФpedigree prose, biting wit, and a keen nose for the fragrance of civilizationтАФtogether with the insouciant wisdom of which only a dog (and probably only Peter MayleтАЩs dog) is capable.