Trillium Book Award Author Readings June 16

Special Posting: Original Maps of Toronto by Evan Munday, from André Alexis' Fifteen Dogs

 
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Have you ever looked at your pet, lounging on the couch or sleeping in the sun, and thought "now there's someone who has things figured out"?

In André Alexis' Fifteen Dogs (Coach House Books), that hypothesis is put to the test when two capricious gods make a wager to see whether animals, if given human intelligence, would be more or less happy than us bipeds. Apollo and Hermes imbue the titular dogs, who happen to be Toronto residents, with human brain power and sit back to watch the results. As the dogs descend into in-fighting (with some embracing and others rejecting the 'new ways'), we are forced to see ourselves, and question whether we are making the most of whatever gifts we've been given — and to ask, "what, essentially, makes us human?"

One of the highlights of Fifteen Dogs is its richly detailed depiction of Toronto. For out of towners, Coach House Books has included two beautifully illustrated maps by artist Evan Munday. We're thrilled to present these maps as a preview on Open Book today! They are a must-see for lovers of Toronto literature (click on maps for an expanded view). You can also read an excerpt of Fifteen Dogs on the Coach House Books website.


André Alexis was born in Trinidad and grew up in Canada. His debut novel, Childhood, won the Books in Canada First Novel Award, the Trillium Book Award and was shortlisted for the Giller Prize and the Writers' Trust Fiction Prize. His other previous books include Asylum, Beauty and Sadness, Ingrid & the Wolf and, most recently, Pastoral, which was also nominated for the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize and was named a Globe and Mail Top 100 book of 2014.

Evan Munday is the author and illustrator of the Silver Birch Award-nominated novels for young readers The Dead Kid Detective Agency and Dial M for Morna. He lives in Toronto, Ontario.

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