Book Review: "Dog Boy" by Eva Hornung

Title: Dog Boy

Author: Eva Hornung

Publisher: Viking Adult

ISBN, PUB Date: 0670021490, March 18, 2010

Reviewed by: Shawn Edwards for Author Exposure

Dog Boy is a heart-tugging novel by Eva Hornung (formerly under the pen name Eva Sallis) about a feral four-year-old Russian boy named Ramochka. Abandoned in the poverty-stricken streets of Russia, Ramochka stumbles into a small dog pack and into the affection of the pack's mother. This mother, who Ramochka names Mamochka, adopts him into the family and teaches him to be a dog. For years Ramochka lives in the Mamochka's frozen den beneath a church. In venturing away from and then back to humanity, he learns some of the better and worse parts of human nature.

Readers expecting a feral novel set in a dog’s world will get exactly what they want out of Dog Boy. Hornung describes the dog’s loyal but brutal lifestyle from a child’s naïve and trusting perspective. Both the plot and the characters are dealt with in a realistic manner. The dogs of Ramochka’s pack are not supporting characters, but individuals in their own right. It will take only a few pages before readers find themselves caring not just for Ramochka, but for Mamochka and her brood as well.

In the last third of Dog Boy, Horning introduces a new setting as well as a few new characters. The action is diverted and begins to drag just as Ramochka’s situation is getting most interesting. Readers may not enjoy this change of pace or the fact that a few questions remain unresolved by the end. However, these are minor concerns in what is otherwise an interesting novel.

Hornung has a style of writing that is descriptive yet not overly ornate, making this book easily digestible. The story is entertaining and Ramochka’s perspective is thought-provoking. Dog Boy is an excellent and surprising novel. I would recommend it to readers who enjoy stories about relationships between humans and animals, particularly those involving feral children.