NYRB Classics discussion

My Dog Tulip

Original cover:


Re-edition cover:


First NYRB Classics Edition Publication Date: August 24, 2010
Second NYRB Classics Edition Publication Date: November 30, 2011
Pages: 208
Introduction by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas.
Originally published in 1956.

The distinguished British man of letters J. R. Ackerley hardly thought of himself as a dog lover when, well into middle age, he came into possession of a German shepherd. To his surprise, she turned out to be the love of his life, the “ideal friend” he had been searching for in vain for years. My Dog Tulip is a bittersweet retrospective account of their sixteen-year companionship, as well as a profound and subtle meditation on the strangeness that lies at the heart of all relationships. In vivid and sometimes startling detail, Ackerley tells of Tulip’s often erratic behavior and very canine tastes, and of his own fumbling but determined efforts to ensure for her an existence of perfect happiness.

Paul and Sandra Fierlinger’s animated feature film of My Dog Tulip, starring Christopher Plummer, Lynn Redgrave, and Isabella Rossellini, was released in 2010.

I'm almost afraid to read this...I read a review that talked about how deeply in love with Ackerley the dog was. It sounded like something that transcended any kind of dog-human or human-human love the world had ever known.

I read this for Christmas 2018 :)

I was quite nervous about it, because I really didn't want to sob over another sad dog story. Well, My Dog Tulip is an exception.

Tulip and the author had an excellent bonding; I'd say that the canine was the master in the relationship.

Dog lovers will really appreciate this book, they'd see themselves in direct relationship with Tulip.

I am a dog breeder and I saw the book as "everything you should NOT do when it comes to dog breeding" but I did get a kick out of it.