Tobit’s Dog, written by Michael
Nicholas Richard, and published by Ignatius Press is a fascinating book.
It is a re-telling of the Book of Tobit from the Old Testament. This time, the story of Tobit is set in the
southern United States between the two World Wars.
The book deals deftly with
difficult issues such as racism. At the
same time, its well-developed characters illustrate human nature: good, bad and
sometimes in-between. Despite the
seriousness of the subject matter, humor pops up from time-to-time and always
seems natural to the characters involved.
The Book of Tobit is absent from
many bibles. Its use as the basis of
this novel identifies it as a “Catholic” novel.
One of the story’s very compelling qualities is that when a Catholic teaching
appears, it has no feeling of being superimposed; the Catholicism is integral
to the story.
That said, I do feel that this
book could have been edited a bit more carefully. There was more than one instance of a
quotation mark left open. Chapter Eight
had what appeared to me to be a word placement (“Almost he…”) error.
This book deals with some dark
subject matter: racism, murder and rape, which might make it unsuitable reading
for young teenagers. These topics are
discussed in a manner that is unlikely to upset sensitive adult readers.
This is a book which might well
raise awareness of the Book of Tobit in scripture. Even if it does not do that, it serves as an
enjoyable piece of summer reading.
Disclaimer: This book was supplied to me for review by Ignatius Press
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