Since rescuing Mia in February, my obsession with animals has only multiplied. Now when I encounter animals in fiction I’m reading, all my love for the humans flies out the window. I’m rooting for the dog, or cat, or… hen? Whatever they are, I’m bound to love them.
Please note this article contains affiliate links to Blackwell’s. Any titles marked with an asterisk* were previously gifted by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
When I read The Door by Magda Szabó, I was introduced to the delightful Viola. Viola, a male dog despite his name, is an insanely clever mutt, a street dog adopted by the narrator of the novel. But it’s Emerence who is Viola’s true master, although they have a turbulent relationship at times. Viola got me thinking of some of the other animals I’ve met through fiction and fallen in love with. I thought I’d put together a list, so when you feel like reading something with some guaranteed fuzzy feels (and maybe a few tears), I’ve got you covered!
This is by no means an exhaustive list, and no, I haven’t included Old Dan and Little Ann from Where the Red Fern Grows because I didn’t particularly love that book (too much raccoon hunting). If you’ve got another one in mind, then let me know your favourite animals in fiction in the comments!
1. CABBAGE FROM IF CATS DISAPPEARED FROM THE WORLD
Cat lovers everywhere will rejoice upon meeting Cabbage in this short but sweet novel by Genki Kawamura, translated from Japanese by Eric Selland. Not only is he adorable, he TALKS. In a British accent no less. I felt emotional reading about Cabbage’s relationship first with the narrator’s mother, and then the narrator himself. And yes, he says exactly the kind of things you’d expect a cat to say, and we love it.
Buy If Cats Disappeared from the World at Blackwell’s
2. NIGHTEYES FROM THE REALM OF THE ELDERLINGS
How have I had a blog for over a month and not written a post convincing everyone to read Robin Hobb? Must address that. Nighteyes doesn’t make an appearance until the second book in the Farseer Trilogy, but he’s worth the wait! For the uninitiated, you read Assassin’s Apprentice first, followed by Royal Assassin and then Assassin’s Quest for the first trilogy. Animal lovers will want to read Hobb for the myriad of furry friends alone. As well as the ridiculously wise and loyal Nighteyes, we have Nosey (excuse me while I cry), Fennel (another sassy cat) and of course, DRAGONS later in the series.
Buy Assassin’s Apprentice at Blackwell’s
3. ONE EYE FROM SPILL SIMMER FALTER WITHER
My friend Liz on bookstagram recommended me this book and even sent me her copy! And she was correct in her assessment, I loved this dark and sad little book featuring grumpy Ray and his even grumpier dog One Eye. If you want a light-hearted book about a man and his dog, then move along now. But you will grow to love these two misfits, especially One Eye. And if I may give a brief but I’m sure welcome spoiler – the dog doesn’t die in this one.
Buy Spill Simmer Falter Wither at Blackwell’s
4. SUE FROM THE ANIMALS IN THAT COUNTRY*
Sue is kind of an outlier in this list because Sue is a dingo. But for sure the smartest, cleverest dingo in fiction! But also, please don’t approach any wild dingoes, I don’t want to be held responsible for that. The Animals in That Country had its UK release date pushed back until September, but if you’re a fan of pandemic fiction then you won’t want to miss this one. Sue and her elderly, foul-mouthed pal Jean go on a cross-country mission across Australia to save Jean’s granddaughter. A really fresh perspective on talking animals in fiction!
Buy The Animals in That Country at Blackwell’s
5. OY FROM THE DARK TOWER SERIES
Oh, Oy. I challenge you to find a Stephen King fan who doesn’t list Oy among their favourite characters. Oy is a billy-bumbler, which is sort of a cross between a raccoon and a sausage dog – adorable, right? We meet Oy in book three of the Dark Tower series, The Waste Lands, where he proceeds to steal hearts for miles around. Also shout out to Kojak from The Stand. King knows how to write a brilliant animal character.
Buy The Gunslinger or The Waste Lands at Blackwell’s
6. HELOÏSE FROM I CAPTURE THE CASTLE
I Capture the Castle is already an utterly charming read, and Heloïse only makes it more so. I have a huge soft spot for bull terriers – they look like silly smiley eggs and I would die for them, okay. There are so many comic moments in this book thanks to Heloïse’s antics, and I doubt anyone will be immune to her charms.
Buy I Capture the Castle at Blackwell’s
7. SPROUT FROM THE HEN WHO DREAMED SHE COULD FLY
Sprout is again different from the animals on this list as she’s a) a hen and b) the hero of her own story, not just a companion! But she deserves to be here because we can all stand to learn a thing or two from Sprout. She reminds us to have courage in times of adversity, embrace our differences, and not let ourselves be defined by other people’s expectations or perceptions of us.
Buy The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly at Blackwell’s
8. KARENIN FROM THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING
I read The Unbearable Lightness of Being in February 2019 and honestly Tomas’ constant womanising made me weary. However, two things save this book: the philosophical musings and Karenin, the dog. As well as reminding us that there are no do-overs in life, Kundera paints a beautiful portrait of the love between humans and canines.
Buy The Unbearable Lightness of Being at Blackwell’s
9. EINSTEIN FROM WATCHERS
Alright hear me out. I know Dean Koontz isn’t my usual jam, but I can’t write a post about animals in fiction and leave out EINSTEIN. I think the lovely Chandra sent me this book years ago and it completely took me by surprise. I’m a bit of a sucker for stories about covert government experiments, so that coupled with a brilliant dog made for a highly entertaining and emotional read!
10. SAMOSA FROM DJINN PATROL ON THE PURPLE LINE*
I wasn’t expecting to find canine love in a book tackling topics such as human trafficking and religious prejudice. And honestly you should pick up this book for a myriad of reasons – Samosa is just the icing on the cake! And he has one of the best names on this list. We all love a street dog turned loyal companion.
Buy Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line at Blackwell’s
Let me know your own favourite animal companion in fiction in the comments!
Blunderbuss the Combat Wombat from The Boy Who Lost Fairyland 🙂 or Gaspode from the Discworld books! And I very much agree with Nighteyes 😀
Okay well I need a combat wombat immediately!
You know my deep love for Nighteyes and Oy!! Although there was that one time I forgot about Oy in a list I did of my favourite animal characters and I felt so bad. ?♥️
Out of these, I particularly love the sound of Cabbage, haha. A cat speaking in a British accent sounds like a must-listen! Is there anything in the text that indicates the accent or is it just something the narrator chose to do?
I really liked Sprout too and thought THWDSCF overall was lovely. However, I’ve also read I Capture the Castle but I don’t remember Heloïse at all? What is wrong with me ??
You almost forgot Oy?! Steph, how could you ? Tbh, I nearly made Kojak the main entry but I love Oy so much more, the most loyal billy bumbler.
Cabbage’s British accent is actually super cute, he talks that way because he used to watch British period dramas with the MC’s mother when she was alive ? The narrator’s British accent was quite terrible actually, but it was funny!
Heloise is a delight! But I forgot her name and it took me ages to scan my copy for someone to mention it, which was a bit odd because I thought I remembered her being more prominent!
I know – what kind of horrible person am I, ahaha.
OK, Cabbage sounds even more adorable now! I’m actually pretty bad at telling good accents from bad ones… all I know is that I find British ones weird sometimes because I’m so used to watching American shows. ??