A Dog's Tooth - Hardcover

Rowe, William Woodin

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1559390875 ISBN 13: 9781559390873

Publisher: Snow Lion Pubns, 1998

Synopsis

A retelling of the Tibetan tale of deception and faith in which a young man who fails to obtain a sacred relic for his dying mother gives her a dog's tooth instead

About this title

About the Author

W.W. Rowe is the author of The Buddha's Question and A Dog's Tooth.

From the Back Cover

In this classic Tibetan tale of the power of faith, a young man is asked by his dying mother to obtain a sacred relic to help her. He fails to do this and instead deceivingly brings her a tooth from the skeleton of a dog and tells her it is the Buddha's tooth. The story movingly conveys how the mother's strong faith has the power to fulfill her dreams in spite of the son's deceit. The illustrations are a miracle of lively imagination.

Reviews

Rowe's (The Rabbit and the Tigerdile) rambling, clunky retelling of a traditional tale revolves around "sneaky smart" Osel, who brags to his ailing mother that he is such a good trader, he could sell "foot-warmers in the hottest hell." Though the weakening woman beseeches him to bring her a sacred relic before she dies, her greedy, selfish son gets so caught up in his dishonest business dealings that he forgets her request on three different trips to the marketplace. In his ultimate swindle, he passes off a tooth he wrested from a dog's skeleton as a relic for his mother. This deceit leads to an ending that most youngsters will find puzzling if not upsetting: After showing her the relic, Osel returns to his mother's house and finds no trace of her, "just her clothes, in a rumpled pile, and her hair and nails." Rowe's dense prose is occasionally ill suited to his targeted audience: unaware that her son bears a phony relic, the deceived mother "made prostrations to it.... She circumambulated it." Meanwhile, readers may find Banigan's composite art, a curious hodgepodge of photographs and drawings, jarring and inconsistent. For example, Osel looks like a young boy, even though he is prone to staying out late "drinking beer, singing, and dancing with the prettiest girls in the village." If there is something to be learned from the parable, it gets lost here. Ages 5-13.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Snow Lion Pubns
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1559390875
• ISBN 13: 9781559390873
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Banigan Christopher
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 31