Eileen Battersby is the chief literature critic of The Irish Times" & is in the words of John Banville the finest fiction critic we have. But her first full-length book is not about international literature or the state of the novel. It is about dogs. Two dogs in particular with the unlikely names of Bilbo & Frodo. She adopted the first from a horrible dog pound & the second decided he liked her & moved in to join the family. She was in her very early twenties an intensely serious student & runner who had just moved to Ireland from California. The dogs became her most loyal companions for over twenty years witnesses to an often difficult human life & more important to her than most other humans. This book is about two animals with personalities emotions & prejudices. It is unlike any other book ever written about dogs. It is not sentimental or twee. Battersby became intimately involved in the lives of these intelligent shrewd creatures & brings them to life with rare passion & insight. She writes honestly & movingly about the reasons why for certain people
- especially women
- there is more integrity in the mysterious relationship with a mammal who cannot speak than there is in most of the relationships that human society has to offer."