A Dog's Life

Once again Peter Mayle takes us to glorious Provence, this time yielding center stage to his beloved dog, Boy, an uncannily perspicacious and shaggy canine of unknown origins who recounts his event-filled life in this unique and rollicking memoir. From his humble beginnings fighting siblings for liquid sustenance, until the day he establishes undisputed control of the Mayle household, Boy describes his village life as a bachelor, his contempt for hunters, his love (after a fashion) for chickens, his amorous interludes, his run-ins with plumbers and other human annoyances, his athletic diversions, his dinner-party tidbits (literally), and other joyous and trying adventures in the French countryside. Boy's understanding of human foibles, his stylistic insouciance (learned, no doubt, at his master's feet), and Edward Koren's superlative drawings make for a wonderful visit to Mayle country.