frank darling reviews

Price: $17.95 - $13.29
(as of Dec 31, 2024 18:39:14 UTC - Details)

Heartwarming and profound, this account of one writer’s relationship with his beloved German Shepherd is “one of the bonafide dog-lit classics” (New Yorker)

The distinguished British man of letters J. R. Ackerley hardly thought of himself as a dog lover when, well into middle age, he came into possession of a German Shepherd. To his surprise, she turned out to be the love of his life, the “ideal friend” he had been searching for in vain for years. My Dog Tulip is a bittersweet retrospective account of their sixteen-year companionship, as well as a profound and subtle meditation on the strangeness that lies at the heart of all relationships.

In vivid and sometimes startling detail, Ackerley tells of Tulip’s often erratic behavior and very canine tastes, and of his own fumbling but determined efforts to ensure for her an existence of perfect happiness.

My Dog Tulip was adapted for the screen as a major animated feature film with a cast that includes the voices of Christopher Plummer, Lynn Redgrave, and Isabella Rossellini. Heralded as “a stroke of genius" by New York Magazine and “the love story of the year” by Vanity Fair, it is a masterpiece of animal literature that is sure to touch the hearts of anyone who has found companionship with their own four-legged friend.

From the Publisher

Add to Cart

Add to Cart

Add to Cart

Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars

49

3.6 out of 5 stars

468

4.0 out of 5 stars

177

—

Price

$15.87$15.87 $13.29$13.29 $17.95$17.95
—

About this book
In the 1920s, the young J. R. Ackerley spent several months in India as the personal secretary to the maharajah of a small Indian principality. This is his record of the day-to-day life of court, and the Maharajah's fantastically eccentric habits. Heartwarming and profound, this account of one writer's relationship with his beloved German sheperd is a masterpiece of animal literature. Ackerley's pursuit of his father is also an exploration of the self, making this book a pioneering record—at once sexually explicit and emotionally charged—of life as a gay man. Ackerley's only novel combines acute social realism and dark fantasy, and was described by the author as “a fairy tale for adults.”

Publisher ‏ : ‎ NYRB Classics; Media tie-in edition (August 24, 2010)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 208 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1590174143
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1590174142
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 0.55 x 8 inches
Reviewer: rxbartolo
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A masterpiece on the deep connections between humans and canines
Review: After my shepherd passed away I tried many books on the human-canine connection but My Dog Tulip rose to the top and is a masterpiece. Ackerly's writing is brilliant and his stories hilarious, especially when he decides to try to mate her with male shepherds and she will have nothing to do with them! Along the way we learn of the deep bond between humans and dogs and we get to do this while basking in the wonderful prose of this English author...

Reviewer: Annie
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: NOT the Best Book About Dogs!
Review: I did enjoy this book and have awarded four stars for the writing which is very good and the wonderful humour that is scattered throughout the book.I did laugh out loud but I could not shed a tear as some of the reviewers had. (perhaps the film is sadder!)The story is about a man living with his beloved German Shepherd, Tulip,in a smallish flat in London in the fifties.I saw it as a story more about the man rather than the dog because we certainly get to know a lot about Ackerley as he provides 'the love of his life' with the best possible existence ...from his point of view. There are two distinct sections. The first is about the trials of walking a dog in a public thoroughfare and the problem of doggie defecation. Of course we humans have become more civilised over the years and none of us would dare go out without the mandatory 'doggie bag' but in the 'fifties' it was a 'free for all' on the pavements and I well remember my first trip to Europe in the early eighties dodging copious quantities of the stuff! The mind really boggles that it took SO long for the human race to realise this was messing up the streets and WHY oh WHY didn't Ackerley think to stuff some plastic bags in his pocket..or if he was more environmentally minded....some newspaper!!The second section deals with the mating of Tulip. Very funny! And I can see this was nice thing for Ackerly to do for Tulip...but then after she delivers he prepares to drown the poor offspring until a vet suggests he find homes for the pups.He doesn't want them to go to 'working class' families but then has no choice and none of the pups fare well. I was irritated by the condescending mention of the 'working class' as though they were a blight on the human race, ....but then, this was England in the fifties and class distinction was alive and well in the British Isles (and still is as far as I know). I live in a country where (in the main....there will always be those who feel they are a cut above) the butcher, baker and candle stick maker can rub shoulders with the Prime Minister and it is all above board.So....on reflection..this is NOT the best dog book written. Mr. Ackerley was such a silly old fool who thought he had worked out how to rear a dog in the best possible way.He loved his dog and that is great.........but...goodness me!....couldn't he have had her speyed after the birth of her pups? As it was she had to endure (and so did he!) years of pure hell with marauding dogs and a sick womb.Great writer..but a silly old fool!

Reviewer: Richard Gilbert
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A dog's nature, but not its owner's, revealed
Review: Ackerley loved his dog. He admired her as an animal and treated her like a human, as most of us dog lovers do to at least some extent. She'd spent her first 18 months with another family, and clearly hadn't been properly socialized. As well, she had a scorching case of separation anxiety from being cast out of that family, which made her overly possessive of Ackerley. Reading between the lines a bit, for he isn't in the least objective, nor tries to be, she was a holy terror. Thus his devotion to her is all the more touching.He was a literary man, so a good writer; his observations and descriptions of Tulip are detailed and poetic. Some readers will judge him harshly for revealing his obsession with Tulip's sex life, which seems related to his humanizing her. But the honest memoirist lays his cards on the table, treating readers as friends who won't damn him for the human faults and eccentricity he's revealing.Actually I wish Ackerley had revealed much more of himself. If this account has a fault as a memoir, it's that we learn almost nothing about who is telling us this story. Doubtless Ackerley and his editor did not feel that was necessary—his own nature is indeed illuminated through what he sees and says about his dog. And he's very clearly a "confirmed bachelor," who appears to live a modest and hermetic life. I realize that Ackerley was gay and did have quite an active sex life—but there's no hint of that person here.I can see why he'd leave his own sex life out. All the same, he's relying on our intrinsic interest in this particular dog and on his unusually frank and detailed examination of canine sex in general and hers in particular. Fine, but in the best memoirs the writer is grappling with the self. Tulip's needy, and to him noble, nature is revealed; his is not except very indirectly. This diminishes the book's literary value, in my view, and diminished my interest. Perhaps his approach reflects his time and place as much as it does him. Today, memoirists, even Brits, tend to let their freak flags fly. Somewhat inadvertently, I think, he did that. What I crave is reflection. However, his choice to narrow his inquiry to just the dog and to take for granted his own nature may be why the book has become so successful and esteemed.

Reviewer: Penn Gwynn
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A unique and wonderful book - about a fully described, actual animal
Review: Clearly - from reading other user reviews - there are two sharply divided camps on whether or not this is a good, worthwhile book. There seem to be folks who are interested in the animal nature of their pets, and other folks who find that aspect of their pets to be abhorrent, disgusting, not to be talked about in polite society. Potential readers of this book will have to decide which camp they fall into, or, if they fall into the second camp, whether they are interested in having that perspective challenged by a really lovely, very well written little book . The interest Ackerley takes in seeing to it that Tulip experiences life to the fullest and gets to explore all of her doggy nature is really quite sweet and charming in my view. But the reason the book is readable and in fact enjoyable is because Ackerley is sufficiently self aware to see the humor and sometimes absurdity in his efforts and in his British drool way plays this to the hilt. The denouement of his untiring efforts to find a suitable, pedigreed mate for Tulip is dryly hilarious. So, a sincere, loving account of a somewhat unusual relationship between a man and his dog, told with great affection and perception and at the same time self-deprecating, ironic humor.

Reviewer: jim mccullough
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: The authors love for his dog and the strength of their relationship shines through. It is a work of its period, at odds with current views on dog training and breeding. Eg,idea that a bitch should have one litter for her well being, most bitches today which are not to be used for breeding purposes are usually spayed, by responsible owners. Males natured. There are arguments pro /con but that not for here. As an enthusiast dog owner I loved the book.

Reviewer: Amazon Customer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Es lo que me esperaba, llego en un tiempo considerable y lo recomendaría a todos mis amigos y familiares, Gracias

Reviewer: M. R.
Rating: 1.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: This book is mainly about a sex life of a German shepherd. It was rather disappointed.If you are interest in character, intelligence and royalty of dogs, you might want to read "TOP DOG" of Maria Goodvage, or "The kill Switch" of James Rollings and Grant Blackwood. These two books are just examples of unique talent of amazing dogs.

Reviewer: Sybil O
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: It's a marvelous book, hilarious to read, and astonishingly revealing about the author, for whom Tulip is the love of his life.

Reviewer: Valerio Pastore
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: come si vive con un pastore tedesco dal carattere impossibile ed allo stesso tempo dolcissimo?Una breve autobiografia dell'autore ci mostra uno spaccato della sua vita con Tulip, una femmina iperprotettiva ed autoritaria, in una relazione che permetterà a Mr. Ackerley di scoprire molte cose interessanti e divertenti sull'universo canino, allo stesso tempo permettendoci profonde riflessioni sulla responsabilità di un uomo verso il suo compagno più fidato.