Sleeping Dogs

What a fantastic book! It really pushes the boundaries of teenage fiction, its so crafted and mature. I loved the sense of futility that overshadowed the whole novel, and the atmosphere of impending doom. You could really feel the frustration of the characters as they buckled helplessly against the pointlessness of their existence. I felt completely shattered after finishing it. I'm so glad that some American readers have discovered this wonderful Australian author - she deserves so much more recognition than she gets.

Sleeping Dogs is a masterpiece, delving deep into human mind and morals. Hartnett takes young adult literature to its boundaries. She crafts the Willow family so well, with the proud, haughty Michelle, the dreamy Jordan, and the powerful, dominant father, Griffin Willow. The Willows came to the small town suddenly, almost fifteen years ago. But for the fifteen years they have been there, no one outside the family knows anything about them. They have lived on their small farm, completely alone, isolated from the rest of the town. At first glance, the family is merely old fashioned. The father is the master of the house. The wife is obedient. And their five children, Edward, Michelle, Jordan, Oliver, and Jennifer, or `Speck' all have their unique traits; Edward is the worker in the family, Michelle daddy's girl, Jordan the artist, Oliver the brain, and Speck has the most spunk of them all. But even this close, traditional family has its secrets. Grace, Griffin's wife, has been cowed into obedience and eventually silence. Michelle is vain and haughty, and controlling of Jordan. She is the only one who truly accepts Jordan, as the rest of the family seems to reject him. His pale skin and fair hair are a striking contrast to the dark complexions of the rest of the family, a genetic trait which seems to have missed Jordan. Michelle's fierce protectiveness of Jordan and the isolation of the farm form a bond between them that is dangerously close. However, their secret seems to be safe until a man comes to their farm seeking refuge from a storm. He seems bent on destroying the family. When naive Oliver lets Michelle and Jordan's dark secret slip, a secret that not even their parents seem to know about, the children realize that there is only one solution. To keep Michelle and Jordan from exposure, they decide that there is only one way to deal with the newcomer: eliminate the threat. The tale unfolds, and as it builds up to the climax, all the blocks come crashing down in a finale that will haunt the reader long after the book is put down.

Sonya Hartnett has written an insightful novel about the tragedy and bleakness of exploitive family relationships. The characters are believable and realistically portrayed. The parallels between the farm dogs and the family members are brilliant and thought provoking. The situation, tolerable only because the family members know no better way of life, becomes explosive with the arrival of Bow Fox. The novel builds slowly and steadily towards the climax. Superbly written and highly recommended.

This book was horribly hard to rip away from. Not for the weak minded. It is reminicent of Faulkner's "The Sound and the Fury," although much easier to read and get into! It was absolutely amazing.

Strangely compelling and beautifully written, this book rings with brutal honesty. In spite of the ignorance of the characters, they all will become pitied, admired, and loved by the reader.