Is Britain's latest literary darling the real thing, or does he just know how to give an intriguing interview? Rhodes's accomplished if coy debut collection of 101 short stories (Anthropology) won much praise; his second collection (Don't Tell Me the Truth About Love) made less of a splash. The author then announced he would no longer write fiction after his next release, causing quite a stir among critics. This novel—if he doesn't change his mind—may be his final shout. Cockroft, winsomely pathetic at best and highly unlikable at worst, is an aging musical theater has-been living off his scant royalties in the Italian countryside. He has just enough money to act as a sugar daddy to handsome young men, but lately his only companion is the eponymous mongrel, whose "eyes were as pretty as a little girl's." Although Cockroft proclaims his love for the loyal Timoleon Vieta and spoils him rotten, he misses the human touch. When a mysterious houseguest, dubbed the Bosnian, appears on his doorstep and clashes with the dog, Cockroft has a difficult decision to make. In the end, the Bosnian can offer what the dog can't, so the dog gets the boot. But Rhodes, ever clever, gives us two stories in one. The second stars those who cross the rejected dog's path as he traverses Italy in search of his master. Rhodes's simple, effortless prose and quick wit make him a master of the quip and the character sketch, but readers may find they develop a greater fondness for Rhodes's secondary characters than for Cockroft or the Bosnian. This is a love-it-or-hate-it novel—Rhodes's unsettling brand of black humor and the book's brutal conclusion will make some readers queasy—but either way, it will spur talk. (Aug.)
Forecast:Rhodes is one of Granta's 2003 Best Young British Novelists and a new author for Canongate, publishers of
Life of Pi. Though buzz in the U.S. probably won't reach U.K. heights, this could attract a cultish, campy readership.
