BOOK REVIEW: Doppler by Erlend Loe

This beguiling modern fable tells the story of a man who, after the death of his father, abandons his home, his family, his career, and the trappings of civilization for a makeshift tent in the woods where he adopts a moose-calf named Bongo. Or is it Bongo who adopts him? Together they devote themselves, with some surprising results, to the art of carefree living.

One guess as to why I bought this book? The cover is of a MOOSE! And here's something about me, I love moose's. They are just so dopey and dumb looking, and now I want a pet moose. So G- instead of hunting it, entrap it and we can raise it in our back yard and he can play with the pups!

This book is about a guy named Doppler. Well that's not his real name, just a nickname. You know how he got it? Because he has a big penis. Yup. That's in the book.  Anyways, Doppler decides one day that he never really knew his father (he died) and the best way to get to know him is to go live in the forest.  He just got sick of the day to day life and picked up, abandoning his wife and kids.  What a great husband. The kicker is that the wife goes and visits him every once in a while to have sex. That doppler!  I mean, if my husband up and left to become a hobo, and then refuses to come home and raise the kids or be there for the birth of my child, DIVORCE.  (Granted, I do like when G goes hobo hunting for a weekend or so at a time, I mean how else is he going to catch me a baby moose).  Back to the story. Doppler kills a mother moose (with a DULL knife, take note G) and little baby is abandoned too. So Doppler, while abandoning his own real life children decides to adopt this moose baby, he names him Bongo. Bongo and him play games, talk to each other, help build totem poles. they are best friends.

I liked how this book makes you think about how consumeristic we are as a society. How much we all follow the norm of doing the same thing everyday. This is my life: Get up, bathroom stuff, get dressed,  eat breakfast, go to a hell hole some call work, get home, let the dogs out, work out, make supper, walk the dogs, watch TV, go to bed.  I mean, if I had a moose I'm sure my day to day activity would be  a little different- could probably get the moose to walk the dogs.   We as people, especially in our Western civilization don't even question things, we are told we are supposed to work 9-5, have 2 days off a week, buy this fruit, or wear these jeans.  It was a relief reading someone, such as Doppler, completely going off the grid.

I'm still not entirely sure what I thought of this book. The worst things is there is no conclusion. Just a To Be Continued...  Really? really? After all the tangents I had to go through? I get nothing...  I realize that I may have 'spoiled' the ending... but ...but....

He has a pet moose

So does she.

moose and dogs get along