London, 2006. Is dog walking a proper job? Kate thinks so, but not her mother or her colleagues at Sotheby's, who see Kate as a tall, gangly, butterfingered and clumsy person, but nothing more than that. Kate agrees with them, in her own words, she is “congenitally uncoordinated, committedly scruffy and not at all suited to the old school poshness of the place, despite having the ‘right kind of background’ and the right pronunciation of ‘escritoire’ and the prerequisite qualification in art history from a prestigious university”. I think I've known a few Kates in my lifetime, and they have always been fun to be with.
Kate is bored, feels conned by post-graduation working life and wants a change. She meets Dan and Crumpet, a dog he is walking for a friend, at a friend's barbecue. This small and unpredicted event serve as a catalyst for her “spontaneous and unpredictable career shift”. Kate swaps her back office assistant job in the antiques department to invest in a career as a dog walker.
I love how Kate Macdougall’s takes us through the main character’s journey and her adventures in dog walking. It is a clear device to explore serious life questions in a lighthearted way. These first 38 pages grabbed me fully. Kate is a very likeable character and I was invested in the journey, the more dogs she walks, the better we get to know Kate and the dog families she interacts with.
It is a genius set up. It gives the writer plenty of material to create a stinging satire on London social politics. From pocket loft-living to corporate ladder-climbing couples, we are bitterly exposed to self-entitled, young upcoming professional couples, and all sorts of dog owners in London, from Greenwich to Vauxhal. It's all very recognisable and nicely depicted in its contemporary, light illustrative book cover. I look at the book cover, and yes, what it says to me is: coming for fast paced city-living adventure, and also some dog walking induced introspection.
Kate Macdougall London's N.1 Dog Walking Agency is ironic, sometimes exaggerated, but always hilariously so. Can't wait to read how Kate progresses with all the other doggies.
Kate is bored, feels conned by post-graduation working life and wants a change. She meets Dan and Crumpet, a dog he is walking for a friend, at a friend's barbecue. This small and unpredicted event serve as a catalyst for her “spontaneous and unpredictable career shift”. Kate swaps her back office assistant job in the antiques department to invest in a career as a dog walker.
I love how Kate Macdougall’s takes us through the main character’s journey and her adventures in dog walking. It is a clear device to explore serious life questions in a lighthearted way. These first 38 pages grabbed me fully. Kate is a very likeable character and I was invested in the journey, the more dogs she walks, the better we get to know Kate and the dog families she interacts with.
It is a genius set up. It gives the writer plenty of material to create a stinging satire on London social politics. From pocket loft-living to corporate ladder-climbing couples, we are bitterly exposed to self-entitled, young upcoming professional couples, and all sorts of dog owners in London, from Greenwich to Vauxhal. It's all very recognisable and nicely depicted in its contemporary, light illustrative book cover. I look at the book cover, and yes, what it says to me is: coming for fast paced city-living adventure, and also some dog walking induced introspection.
Kate Macdougall London's N.1 Dog Walking Agency is ironic, sometimes exaggerated, but always hilariously so. Can't wait to read how Kate progresses with all the other doggies.