“God created all the world, heaven and water, moon and sun. He created the human beings and the birds and the animals. But he did not create the dog. He had one already.”
Words of Indian wisdom.
Award-winning writer Tor Åge Bringsværd has written a great many novels, short stories, dramatic works and picture books. Now, he is in the news again with WOOF, a book about the dog as it appears in adventure stories, myths and fairy tales from around the world.
"I didn’t want this book to be about the history of the dog, or a list of the different kinds of dog. People looking for helpful instructions about how to care for a dog or tips about how to teach a dog to fetch sticks have picked up the wrong book. Instead, I have decided to concentrate on all the myths, stories and curious traditions in which this fascinating animal features," Bringsværd tells us about his book.
In WOOF, you will find dog creation myths, narratives about the dogs that belonged to gods and witches, the story told by the Nyanga people in Congo about how the dog gave us fire, the Inuit adventure tale about the woman who married a dog and the saga that tells about the dog who became king here in Trøndelag.
Bringsværd selects his material from religion, philosophy, myths, comics and films – and from all the corners of the world and all times. Here, we can learn about the many dog languages, and about the dogs who stalk starry skies and fairy tales and hell itself. Most of all, we will learn about the mysterious interconnectedness between two animals , who have wandered on Earth side by side for as long as anyone can remember – the dog and the human being.