An absurdist quasi-allegory in which all women are slowly transmogrifying into animals while pet animals are morphing in the opposite direction to become women. Pooch, who started as a setter and is now most of the way to becoming a young woman, runs away with the family baby after its mother, now nearly 100% snapping turtle, bites it. Out in the big bad city she has adventures as she pursues her dream of one day singing the lead in Carmen, eventually throwing in her lot with a revolutionary organization of vague aims. Finally she's reunited with her master, but all he wants to do is screw her . . . so she flees from him to the arms of a nice young opera singer. The cover quotes stress the feminist aspects of the tale but -- although those are certainly present -- they struck me as less interesting than the more deftly handled critique of Christianity (or, for that matter, any religion anticipating the return of a "master"). Although I did enjoy this novel I may not have enjoyed it as much as I should because the whole time I was reading it I was fighting with the minuscule type of the Small Beer Press/Peapod reissue. Should I ever come across a copy of the original edition, which is presumably a bit more legible, I'll likely pick it up -- and I'll certainly keep my eyes open for other Emshwiller books.
This is one of those hyper-feminist early sci fi books, where most of the men were either reprehensible, or rather womany. Very sexual, disturbingly so, the James Tiptree, Jr. Award was created specifically to honor this book. (Those of you who know who Tiptree was are now saying, Ah!) I enjoyed it, and the writing was excellent, yet it was almost a vignette. The reason for the women turning into animals and vice versa is never given nor even fully explored by the characters, merely accepted or denied, and the lasting consequences are not explored either. I know, it's an allegory, but we could still throw in something concrete to pin it all on, couldn't we?
Do You like book Carmen Dog (2004)?
This is a strange little book that begins in a strange, amusing fashion (women begin turning into animals and animals begin turning into women) and then gets weirder and weirder. Be prepared for explorations of art, questions about the nature of humanity, liberal doses of Freudian psychology (for and against it), government conspiracies, mad scientists, uprising and an abominable snowman.What makes this book really extraordinary, however, is how it plays in a world that is silly, over the top and weird, but manages to keep itself grounded. This is especially difficult as the plot is in a constant state of amping itself up. What's even more interesting is how the book, written in the 90s, manages to encompass and then transcend the feminist movements of the 70s (well, those most typically associated with the 70s) to create a humanistic view of the world that strives to improve the lives of those around, while aware of the inherent limitations and challenges of such struggles. Be prepared for the weird, the strange and the unique, all coming together into a tidy little, wonderfully set up package.
—Jason
