A recent review by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas in the February 22 London Review of Books begins by noting the fact that “the dog/human bond, for all its importance, is one of the least examined relationships in Western culture.” And indeed, though the attachment between dogs and their human companions plays an important role in the lives of millions of Americans, “dogs have never been considered an appropriate subject for serious scholarship.”
Alice Kuzniar’s new book Melancholia’s Dog: Reflections on Our Animal Kinship promises to change that.
Moving beyond the stereotypes that confine discussion of the dog/human relationships to “lowbrow, popular media and arts,” as LRB notes, “this is probably the first time that a scholar of Kuzniar’s ability has shown the courage to tackle the deeper aspects of our relationships with dogs.”
The review continues:

Our dogs are metaphors for ourselves, something that many of us may have long suspected, but because the idea had never been articulated, or not fully, perhaps we did not appreciate the fact. Or perhaps we didn’t want to face it. Thanks to Alice Kuzniar we know it now.