Dog Man
Martha Sherrill
'Dog Man is much more than an intensely moving story of one exceptional man and the risks he takes to save the dogs he loves. It is a rare glimpse into World War II Japan, far from the infamous battlefields and military campaigns. In the remote snow country, among civilians eking out a harsh wartime existence, Sherrill finds a story of loss and endurance that is at once particular and transcendent. A gem of a book: every facet dazzles.'
Geraldine Brooks'You don't have to be a dog person to be pulled into the world of Dog Man ... This is one of those small but rich books on a seemingly arcane subject ... that is ultimately about something much greater.'
(Newsweek)How one man’s consuming passion for dogs saved a legendary breed from extinction and led him to a difficult, more soulful way of life in the wilds of Japan’s remote snow country
In this beautifully written book, Martha Sherrill brings us to the remote and forbidding snow country of Japan. In a mountain village during World War II, we first meet Morie Sawataishi, a fierce individualist who has chosen to break the law by keeping an Akita dog hidden in a shed on his property.
During the war, the magnificent and intensely loyal Japanese hunting dogs are donated to help the war effort, eaten, or used to make fur vests for the military—so much so that, by 1945, there are only sixteen Akitas left. The survival of the breed becomes Morie’s passion and, due in part to his perseverance, the Akita breed strengthens and becomes wildly popular, sometimes selling for millions of yen. Yet the radically unconventional Morie won’t sell his spectacular dogs. He only likes to give them away. Morie and Kitako remain in the snow country today, living in the traditional Japanese cottage they designed together more than thirty years ago — with no central heating. In his nineties, Morie still raises and trains the Akita dogs that have come to symbolise his life.
Dog Man provides a profound look at what it is to be an individualist in a culture that reveres conformity.
Martha Sherrill
Martha Sherrill is a former Washington Post staff writer who specialises in penetrating profiles of difficult subjects. Her award-winning writing has appeared in Esquire and Vanity Fair among other publications. She is the author of The Buddha from Brooklyn, a work of nonfiction, and the novels My Last Movie Star and The Ruins of California.
Extent: 256
Size: 234mm x 153mm
ISBN (13): 9781921372445
RRP: $32.95
Pub date: November 2008
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