Book review - DOGS DON'T TELL JOKES BY LOUIS SACHAR

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It has being quite a while that I have written a book review. I guess you can partly attribute that to the fact that I haven't completed most of the books I'm currently reading. Ordinarily, I have about ten or more books I am currently reading and only active with about three. I was reading another when a bookworm friend of mine suggested this book to me. I always take his recommendations very seriously, and this time he shared two books by the same author. There is a boy in the girls bathroom, Dogs don't jokes and Holes. Holes, seem to be his best one. The first few limes of the book made me realize I was going to love it. It read;

This story begins with a smile.
It was a stupid-looking smile on a rather stupid-looking face. Maybe it was the smile that made the face look stupid. Or maybe it was the face that made the smile look stupid. It was difficult to tell because the two were rarely apart.

Brilliant. :).

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Author - Louis Sachar
Title - Dogs Don't Tell Jokes
Genre - Children's literature, young adult fiction
Originally Published - 1991

Plot

The novel starts of with the introduction of the protagonist, Gary Boone, a seventh-grader who calls himself Goon and is eventually became a permanent name for his peers in school. He likes to tell jokes all the time and dreams of being a big stand-up comedian. Luckily, a talent show, the first of its kind was organised in his school and of course he signs up for it to tell jokes.

Setting

I think it was in the United states of America as it was seen in the end when Gary was asked to take of his hat during the national anthem by his fella performer.

Characters

There were a lot of characters in the book. The main and recruiting characters in no particular order include; Gary Boone the protagonist. Angeline Persopolis who was Gary's girlfriend, a fact only known to Gary alone. Joe Reed, a popular kid and a football player who was very friendly to Gary. Miss Langley Gary's teacher and also the faculty advise. Brenda Thompson one of the popular girls in the seventh-grade who brought forth the idea of a talent show, Mrs Snitzberry a fictional Character in Gary's jokes who played a major part in the plot, and a host of others.

Purpose

There are a lot lessons embedded in this novel and as a reader we choose to interpret it the way we so desire. Of course, there are obvious and general lessons littered round the novel, but I think the main purpose of the whole story is about chasing your dream.

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When I started with this book, I didn't quite enjoy it to be honest. The jokes sounded trite. There was the unnecessary extension of some part of the scene that felt tiring to me, BUT as I continued with the book, I realized that those actually played a big part in the overall plot. It was sort of like a plot development. The cliché jokes were actually a process, the creative process of a comedian which the author took us through the journey of. The extended scenes were extended for the singular purpose of a grand ending, the overbearing comedian. There are a lot of layers to the book, some which went over my head, you know I'm not the smartest, but there are two of them that are worth taking note of which I personally took note of. 1. Gary as a misfit. This was me back in elementary school and partly now, and a lot of other people. Finding it hard to pick a part, to get support from parents, to go through the pain of the "process", not fitting into the society or having friends like Gary. 2. Humor as a way of life. When I was in school, I used to tell a lot of jokes. During freetime, I'd stand in front of the class and tell jokes, everyone would crack up. Sometimes, other classes would come to hire me to tell them jokes. I realized the power of humor, and as a craft I cared about and tried to hone during my younger days, I learned and try to see the inherent humor in everything.

One time, a Friend of mine said, "you're really funny and talented, you could go on to be something. Like most young people, my parents would dare not hear me pick Stand-up comedy as a career. I eventually abandoned everything. Now that's a lesson for parents, support your child in which ever part they choose, if its a right part of course. I think this book deserves a read. Its not in that level of must-read, but its a worthy addition to your library. Oh, and the ending was brilliant. :).

Thank you for reading. I tried not to give spoilers, :). Everything said herein are actually my own opinion. If there is anything I might have missed, misinterpreted or quoted wrongly, please point me towards it in the comment down below. Also, you could drop me your mail, so I could email it to you, its 242 pages, its free. Till next time.