Hig and Jasper fly the perimeter of camp in a 1956 Cessna, providing Heller with the perfect vessel for describing a world that is both lonely and scenic. The novel follows Hig and his dog Jasper, who have taken refuge in a small airport hanger in the mountains, and Bangley, an army-type survivalist who has set up camp with enough weapons and ammunition to stave off bands of wanderers. Plus, frequent touches of humor lend even the most gruesome action an edge of relatable humanity.The Dog Stars by Peter Heller begins after a super-flu has wiped out nearly all of the world’s population. Heller manages to expertly walk the fine line between morbid horrors and sweet sentimentality without descending into either extreme.
What follows is a tale as chilling as it is moving, both shocking and delightful, a brave against-all-odds testament to hope and the resilience of life. Haunted by a voice he heard on his radio years ago, he dares to fly past the point of no return with no guarantee that he will find anyone alive–or even just fuel to get him back if he doesn’t. Yet, over nine years they have forged a strangely symbiotic relationship, each more dependent on the other for survival than they realize.īut all that changes when a new grievous loss makes Hig desperate for the companionship of someone–anyone–who isn’t so likely to kill him in a friendly fire incident. In sharp contrast, his sole human companion, the aptly named Bangley, communicates far better with guns and mortars than he does with words and firmly believes in shooting first and asking questions later–or, preferably, never. He hates killing things (unless it’s for food) and finds happiness tending his garden, sleeping under the stars with his beloved dog, Jasper, and taking to the skies in his aged Cessna. The narrator, Hig, is an unlikely survivor of the pandemic apocalypse. Perhaps more so in that this book, although published in 2012, is almost (and darkly) prophetic of our present fractured, pandemic-soaked times. The economy of words and fractured sentences tell a mesmerizing tale all their own. Do not let the ultra-terse tone put you off this book as it almost did me.
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