RIFF, REMEMBER

by Lynn Hall ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 5, 1973

The typical dog story deals with a human's love for his pet, and often with his grief over the animal's loss and death. Here Lynn Hall takes on the more difficult task of imagining how Riff, a gentle giant borzoi, experiences his love for Gordy through familiar smells, especially affectionate petting and a sense of secure companionship in their early morning wildlife photography excursions. And when Gordy, who hates hunting even though (or perhaps because) his father runs a camp for sportsmen, is killed by a careless hunter -- the tragedy is experienced in terms of Riffs confusion as he licks the dead boy's face searching for signs of life, becomes lonely and listless in the absence of his familiar routines, and identifies Gordy's killer by a remembered combination of voice and smells. It will take a particular sort of empathy to sustain the identification with Riff throughout, but Hall's restrained, if not unsentimental prose, never violates Riffs canine integrity.

Pub Date: Nov. 5, 1973

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Follett

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1973

Categories: FICTION