- The Dogs of Babel
-
The Dogs of Babel 
Author(s) Carolyn Parkhurst Country 
United StatesLanguage English Genre(s) Novel Publisher Little, Brown Publication date 13 June 2003 Media type Print (Paperback) Pages 264 pp ISBN ISBN 0316168688 The Dogs of Babel (also known as Lorelei's Secret in the UK) is the debut novel of Carolyn Parkhurst. It was one of The New York Times Notable Fiction & Poetry books of 2003. The Dogs of Babel was the first book that Parkhurst wrote; it was not the first novel that Parkhurst envisioned.[1]
Contents
Plot introduction
The book is narrated by Paul Iverson, a linguist who calls home one day to find out his wife is dead. He spends the remainder of the book trying to teach the only witness of her death, his dog Lorelei, to speak. Throughout the book, Paul uncovers more about his wife's last day and remembers events through their life they led up to it.
Explanation of the novel's title
The Dogs of Babel is an allusion to the Tower of Babel, the Biblical story that explains the existence of different languages. Like the builders in the story, Paul is hampered by the differences in communication between himself and Lorelei.
Plot summary
Paul Iverson called home to find a police officer answering the phone and suggesting that he come home. When he comes home he finds his wife, Alexandra "Lexy" Ransome, dead, fallen from an apple tree. The police declare it an accident, but Paul is bothered by the "anomalies" he finds, such as signs of someone cooking steak, a rearrangement of the book shelf, and the question as to what his wife was doing in the apple tree in the first place. The only witness to her death is their dog Lorelei, and Paul goes on a crusade to teach Lorelei to speak, in order to clear up the mystery. He cites several past attempts as evidence he will be successful, especially the case of Dog J, who was surgically altered by Wendell Hollis, "the Dog Butcher of Brooklyn", so that he could make human sounds. Paul leaves his job at the college, and dedicates his time to this single cause.
As he attempts to teach Lorelei, Paul remembers how he and Lexy first met, at a yard sale where he bought a square hard-boiled egg mold from her. He recounts their week long first date to Disney World, and to a wedding where Lexy delivered masks she made. This is the first time Paul learns about the masks she makes for a living, and they are featured prominently throughout the rest of the book. Paul also remembers their wedding, and when he first learned of Lexy's depression, in a story she tells him about her adolescence.
Unhappy with his lack of progress, Paul writes a letter to Wendell Hollis (now in prison) in hopes of getting ideas. In a response letter, he is directed to a man named Remo, who lives in Paul's neighborhood and is in charge of the Cerberus Society, a group dedicated to canine communication. At a meeting of the Cerberus Society, Paul is horrified and intrigued by the methods they use, and is especially excited about hearing Dog J, whom the society has kidnapped, speak. He is disappointed, though, when the mutilated dog is presented at the podium and is unable to say a single word; the rest of the society oblivious to this. The meeting is cut short when the police raid it and Paul flees to his house to find Lorelei gone.
Finally realizing he will never be able to teach Lorelei to speak, and now left alone by both Lexy and Lorelei, Paul falls into an even greater depression. After hearing Lexy's voice on a commercial for a Psychic Hotline, he has been calling constantly, in hopes of finding the psychic Lexy talked to, Lady Arabelle. He finally reaches her, and is informed that Lexy was pregnant, a fact Paul knew but the reader did not. Lady Arabelle goes through the tarot reading she gave Lexy, and Paul is left to wonder how his wife took it.
Paul eventually finds Lorelei in an animal shelter, her larynx removed by the men who kidnapped her. She is now not only unable to speak English, but to even bark. When he idly examines Lorelei's collar, he finds a subtle message from Lexy. He suddenly realizes that Lexy has sent him a message through the rearrangement of books, a quote from the story Tam Lin.[2] It is then Paul realizes what he has suspected is true, that Lexy committed suicide.
Although he continues to mourn his wife's death, the closure Paul has gotten by learning of its circumstances allow him to return to the world. He goes back to his job at the college, and stops his reclusive ways. The story ends on a happy note, but it is still clear Paul is grieving for his wife.
Characters in The Dogs of Babel
- Paul Iverson- Linguist and husband of Lexy Ransome
- Alexandra "Lexy" Ransome- Mask-maker and wife of Paul Iverson. Her death prompts him to try to teach Lorelei to speak
- Lorelei- Paul and Lexy's Rhodesian Ridgeback, named after the German mythical siren Loreley
- Wendell Hollis- "Revolutionary" scientist who performs surgeries on dogs to enable them to speak
- Maura - Paul's ex-wife
Major themes
Literary significance and reception
Allusions and references
- Tam Lin
- Tower of Babel (through the title)
Reception
Viva Hardigg of Entertainment Weekly said "Despite Parkhurst's flirtations with the supernatural in exploring that question, The Dogs of Babel remains at its core a humanistic parable of the heart's confusions."[3]
References
- ^ Parkhurst, Carolyn. "Ideas for Sale." Powells Books. Retrieved on December 15, 2010.
- ^ "Had I known but yesterday what I know today,
I’d have taken out your two gray eyes
And put in eyes of clay;
And had I known but yesterday you’d be no more my own
I’d have taken out your heart of flesh
And put in one of stone"
– Tam Lin - ^ Hardigg, Viva. "The Dogs of Babel (Summer 2003)." Entertainment Weekly. June 13, 2003. Retrieved on December 13, 2010.
Quoted from Tam Lin, using words from the titles of the rearranged books.
Categories:- 2003 novels
- American novels
- Animal cruelty in fiction
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
