F. J. Curlew

I've read a lot of books in my time from many different perspectives, but never from that of a dog. Of course, we welcome dogs into our families and they often become our very best friend, so wouldn't it be lovely to hear what they were thinking? Wonder no more, as we get into the head of a tough, but cautious, little guy as he finds his feet in the world and becomes a beloved member of a slightly unconventional family.

As a puppy, Dan is separated from his mother and siblings when they are captured by a dog catcher. Dan remains hidden and escapes the searching eyes of the dog catcher, but is left alone, hungry and scared. When he goes out searching for food, he is picked up by a human after he wanders into the path of an approaching car. He is taken home and welcomed into the family of humans and two other dogs: Ceilidh and Lada. They all take to Dan immediately but it's 'Mum' with whom he has a special bond from the start. I loved reading about Dan's orientation into the family - he is so inquisitive and of course everything is new to him.

As well as Dan's story, there is the story of his new 'parents': Mum and HIM. The pair have a tempestuous relationship as 'HIM' always smells of the nasty stuff and shouts a lot. They struggle for money, although 'HIM' always finds money for a visit to the pub, and they move around a lot looking for work. As we follow their journey across Europe, we also follow Dan's journey as he grows from an inquisitive young pup into an old dog who knows all the tricks.

With stories that made me laugh and cry, Dan Knew, is a book that is filled with so much love for Wee Dan that you can't help but love him too. His unique voice will be forever immortalised in print and what a fitting tribute to a truly wonderful dog.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.… (altro)

When I first heard about Dan Knew I thought it sounded like a lovely premise for a novel. It tells the story of Dan, a plucky puppy born to a street dog in Ukraine. He is rescued by an expat family who take him in along with various other dogs and cats along the way.

I thought it got off to a relatively slow start. Dan was a gorgeous and loyal dog to his 'mum' but the life of a dog isn't the most exciting thing to read about. But, and there's a big but here, I think the fact that I knew it was semi-autobiographical made all the difference. I wasn't reading about a character here but a real dog, one who had meant the world to his owner and he really came to life for me as I read about him. At the beginning I was wondering how the author could sustain the story for 300+ pages but it really did work and as I got more involved in the story I started to love it.

From Dan's point of view we go through many trials and tribulations in his human mum's life. I won't go into it here but she really goes through the mill. And Dan and his family (including their other wonderful dogs, Lada, Ceilidh and Jake) move around a lot and Dan certainly becomes a seasoned traveller across Europe. I thought his feelings were put across really well - imagine how an animal feels being left without his mum and put on an aeroplane, ferry or train: bewildered, lost and unsure.

I think there's an inevitability about most animal stories and the ending of this one left me sobbing. It's altogether a very moving and emotional story and I thought Dan was just lovely. I'm so pleased that I read about him.… (altro)