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To say of Last Days of the Dog-Men that Brad Watson is merely a writer fascinated with dogs is to underestimate the cultural significance of the animal that makes it more, considerably more, than the totem animal of a few. As the introduction to the book states, quoting David Gordon White's Myths of the Dog-Man, "Ultimately, the dog, . . . its constant presence in human experience coupled with its nearness to the feral world, is the alter-ego of man himself."
And so with that, Watson prods the lives of dogs and their obvious, and not so obvious, effects on the people who behold their ancient world. Within these stories, Watson shows a wide range of dogs' emotions and behaviors--their savagery, their obedience, their easiness in the human world.
But these are not stories about dogs. These are stories of human regret and sadness, of loss and lunacy, which a dog's presence somehow underscores. At times the dog's place in the story is as innocent bystander, at times as catalyst, at times as a symbol of human cruelty, and Watson handles each instance with equal craft and believability. From Bill, the aging poodle, to Junior, the idiot lab, these dogs hold up a mirror to their masters or remind them of a part of themselves they have lost or abandoned long ago.
Watson's remarkable accuracy of expression is apparent throughout. His is a language that doesn't call attention to itself but rather to the objects in the world around him, objects that teem with emotion and meaning. Like a careful photographer, he reveals that sense in the simple and beautiful rendering of images. Watson's stories do not so much end as they resonate, and this resonance keeps the reader wondering, probing, thinking, and ultimately reading on.
Alex Richardson is a poet and teacher in Nashville, Tennessee.
©1996, ProMotion, inc.
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