Honestly funnily enough I read this book before with the intention of reviewing it, but for whatever reason it completely slipped my mind. And by the time I remembered that I had to review it, the memory was too long-faded to be able to provide the book a fair review. So now I gave it another read. Spoilers ahead.
Mishka is a young boy in past Russia who finds himself fending for himself on the streets of Moscow. He manages to befriend a local dog pack and learns to look after himself, but it's a tough life, especially with there being rival gangs and police who don't take kindly to seeing homeless children. Will the boy and his pack be able to survive?
Okay, so, first things first. The protagonist's name changes a lot throughout this story. He goes by Mishka at first and eventually settles on the name Ivan, so for the rest of this review I'll be referring to him as Ivan. But just know that Mishka/Ivan/Dog Boy/Malchik are all the same character going by different names.
So, this book man. It's lovely. Heartbreaking and very dour and dark and depressing, but also beautiful in a way. You just feel so bad for this poor kid. He's super young when this all begins (about five years old) and then suddenly has no more parents and is homeless left to fend for himself. He's just a very sympathetic but also well-written character. I was genuinely rooting for Ivan so much throughout this story.
His relationship with the dogs is also beautifully written. From the initial hesitation to the eventual embrace of the pack, to him seeing them as his new family, it's just so wholesome in such an otherwise dark and depressing story.
I also really admire the writing voice the author gave Ivan's POV here. I didn't doubt for a second that this story was being narrated by a young character. The way it was written felt like a kid telling a story, but without him becoming annoying or the juvenile way of writing overstaying its welcome. I also like how Ivan slightly ages alongside his narration over the course of the story. He lives on the street with the dogs for about two years, starting out when he's about five and being taken away from it when he is about seven. And the narrating ages beautifully alongside the character. The later chapters do genuinely feel like they're being narrated by a slightly older kid.
I also appreciate how just realistic this book feels in that some characters Ivan creates a bond with genuinely do not return. From his mother to the street children he first meets to his friend Anya to the Lady With the Hat to the blind man to the dogs. He meets some people (and animals), forms relationships, and while some return, there is no beautiful bow on how most of these relationships wrap up. Some people just spontaneously vanish from Ivan's life and he never sees them again. Something I can appreciate, as it feels realistic.
It does also sadly mean that he also gets taken from the dog pack eventually, and (at least as far as this story goes) he never sees them again. We don't quite know what happens after he gets taken off the streets sans a small epilogue (where a reunion with the dogs isn't mentioned), but it also just feels so harsh yet realistic. This kid had nothing, no home, no family, no food, but he found a home and a family with the pack. And then even this gets taken from him. Not that his life on the streets as a feral child was good for him, but he and the dogs made it work as far as possible and they were even happy in their own way. So it's super harsh to see Ivan being eventually taken to the orphanage and (as far as we know) he never sees his canine family again.
This is just a beautiful book. Absolutely recommend it.
Rating: 4/5
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