What do you think he sees. What happens when you bring a stray dog home? You feel like you’ve saved him. But what does he think about it? He declares war on you. Perhaps because the country you live in is actually at war, and suddenly everyone’s lives are filled with constant tension and movement. You begin to realize that the dog didn’t need this at all. He could have lived peacefully on the grounds of a bankrupt factory. But you decided to rescue him. And so you have no choice but to ask how he perceives the situation and repeat, along with the heroes of Alena Machoninová’s novel-essay: “What do you think he sees?”
This is a book about coexistence—more interspecies than interpersonal. About how it often fails due to a lack of empathy, an inability to accept that the other (whether human or animal) perceives reality differently. As she did in „Hella“ (2023), the author blurs the boundaries between genres, between reality and fiction, and offers a world seen through foreign works of art. The fragmented narrative of the novel is held together by short essays on books, performances, and paintings that deal with the human view of the animal world, mainly dogs. Among their heroes are Beuys’ Little John, Márai’s Čutora, Ivanov’s Ruslan, Virginia Woolf’s Flush, and many others. However, more than with dogs, they also deal with understanding others.
Regular price of the paperback: 438 CZK. Available at our e-shop with 35 % discount for 285 CZK.
The printed book and the e-book are both available at our e-shop.
| Author: | Alena Machoninová |
| Number of pages: | 288 |
| Year of publication: | 2026 |
| Issue number: | 1 |
| Publication number: | 54 |
| ISBN: | 978-80-884-38-3 |
| Binding: | paperback with flaps |