Sirius : a novel about the little dog who almost changed history

Title:

Author:

Crown, Jonathan, 1953- author.

Added Author:

Romanelli, Jamie Searle,

Personal Author:

Crown, Jonathan, 1953- author.

ISBN:

9781501144998

Edition:

First Scribner hardcover edition.

Physical Description:

247 pages : illustration ; 22 cm

Abstract:

highly original, tragicomic novel as seen through Sirius, an extraordinary dog who helps his Jewish family escape from Germany to California, becomes a Hollywood star, and, ultimately, contributes to Hitler's downfall"-- Amazon.com.

Subject Term:

Dogs -- Fiction.

World War, 1939-1945 -- Fiction.

Geographic Term:

Berlin (Germany) -- History -- 1918-1945 -- Fiction.

Hollywood (Los Angeles, Calif.) -- History -- 20th century -- Fiction.

Genre:

Historical fiction.

Summary:

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Shelf Number	Status
Searching... Main Library	Book	FICTION CROWN	Searching... Unknown

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On Order

Summary

A highly original, tragicomic novel as seen through Sirius, an extraordinary dog who helps his Jewish family escape from Germany to California, becomes a Hollywood star, and ultimately contributes to Hitler's downfall.

Levi, a fox terrier, lives with his family in a grand townhouse in Berlin. Each day he enjoys a walk through the neighborhood, where people greet him by name. But the year is 1938, and Berlin is no longer safe for Levi or the Liliencrons, his Jewish owners. They rename him Sirius, after the constellation, to protect him.

One night, Nazi troops storm the city and begin to search houses. Sirius alerts the family, and they manage to flee to California. In his new home, Carl Liliencron becomes a chauffeur and Sirius befriends everyone from Humphrey Bogart and Cary Grant to Rita Hayworth and Jack Warner. He is renamed Hercules and becomes a canine movie star. Little does Sirius know that he'll soon have to perform his most difficult acting role yet, when through a series of exceptional events as World War II unfolds, he winds up at the right hand of Hitler himself. Can Sirius help the German resistance, derail the Führer, and reunite with his family? Or is the cost of peace too high?

With charisma, heart, and delightfully spry prose, S irius is an enchanting fairy tale about love and humanity and a roving exploration of a momentous historical moment. Like My Dog Skip and The Artist , this feel-good novel will make you stand up and cheer.

Reviews (1)

Kirkus Review

A whimsical debut novel set during one of historys ugliest periods.Its 1938. Levi, a smart fox terrier, lives in Berlin with professor Carl Liliencron, his wife, Rahel, and their children, Georg and Else. Carl is a renowned expert on plankton, and the Liliencrons occupy a luxurious town house provided by the German National Academy of Sciences. However, the Liliencrons are Jewish, and Hitlers fanatics are increasingly violent. Carl reacts by lightheartedly changing Levis name to Sirius, but then Kristallnacht occurs and the Liliencrons face transport to concentration camps. Rahel has a childhood friend in Hollywood, the actor Peter Lorre, who helps with papers and money to escape. In the U.S.A., the Liliencrons explore Tinseltown, meeting and interacting with movie stars of fame and fortuneGreta Garbo, Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, etc. As professor Liliencron becomes Crown, the chauffeur, the charismatic Levi/Sirius earns a film contract from Jack Warner, who dubs him Hercules. Anthropomorphism be damned, author Crown succeeds in employing the wiry little canines point of view for a good portion of the story. A pop star of the first magnitude, Levi/Sirius/Hercules becomes a Chaplinesque character, but then he loses Warners confidence and is banished to the circus. Crown then ramps up the fantasy, with the pup being shanghaied to Germany, where this supposedly devious Jewish pet" becomes Hansi, Hitlers favorite companion. The Liliencrons, meanwhile, wax and wane among the stars until they make the decision at wars end to return to Berlin. World War II was a grotesque human tragedy, but Crown has employed the obscenity of the Holocaust to create a fable about family, the timeless connection between human and dog, and the nature of identity.Crown offers a waggish tale in which an amiable fox terrier lives out a Forrest Gump adventure. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.