Tomorrow (Dibben)

Tomorrow 
Damian Dibben, 2018
Hanover Square Press
336 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781335580290


Summary
A wise old dog travels through the courts and battlefields of Europe and through the centuries in search of the master who granted him immortality.

Tomorrow tells the story of a 217-year-old dog and his search for his lost master.

His adventures take him through the London Frost Fair, the strange court of King Charles I, the wars of the Spanish succession, Versailles, the golden age of Amsterdam and to nineteenth-century Venice.

As he journeys through Europe, he befriends both animals and humans, falls in love (only once), marvels at the human ability to make music, despairs at their capacity for war and gains insight into both the strength and frailties of the human spirit.

With the rich historical vision of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell and the captivating canine perspective of A Dog’s Purpose, Tomorrow draws us into a unique century-spanning tale of the unbreakable connection between dog and human. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
Damian Dibben is the creator of the internationally acclaimed children's book series the History Keepers, translated into 26 languages in over 40 countries. Previously, he worked as a screenwriter, and actor, on projects as diverse as The Phantom of the Opera and Puss in Boots and Young Indiana Jones. He lives, facing St Paul's Cathedral, on London's Southbank with his partner Ali and dog Dudle (From the publisher.)

Book Reviews
A grand sweep of adventure and travel, war and romance—along with a generous amount of face licking — that will have dog lovers enthralled.… Tomorrow offers a rich exploration of love, life and loyalty, in a world whose sensory atmosphere is irresistible.
NPR


(Starred review.) Celebrating the strength of human and animal ties, this compelling and satisfying novel is similar in spirit to Bruce Cameron’s A Dog’s Purpose…. But fans of time travel fiction…will also enjoy this work’s descriptive cultural and historical detail.
Library Journal


Humanity’s foibles and failings are on full display, as well as the more heartfelt and loving moments between people and their dogs. This reads like a memoir but includes a touch of magic.… [A] charmer.
Booklist


The dog's first-person narrative is both a joy and a frustration. The memoirlike story is beautifully rich in perseverance, love, the sweetness of life, and memorable, evocative scents. But the dog's owner and their nemesis …are known only through the dog's limited point of view.
Kirkus Reviews

Discussion Questions
We'll add publisher questions if and when they're available; in the meantime, use our LitLovers talking points to help start a discussion for TOMORROW … then take off on your own:

1. Other than sheer imagination and fun, why might the author have made the choice of using a dog's perspective to view the passage of human history?

2. (Follow-up to Question 1) What does the dog reveal about the human experience—our hope for peace but propensity for violence; our dual capacity for love and cruelty? What else? Does Champion have different ideas about what he sees as right?

3. Well, dear reader …what IS it about dogs? Were you moved—did your eyes moisten—by the plight of Champion and Sorco?

4. A man tells Champion, "You are the soul of all men." What does he mean?

5. What do you make of Sporco? Jean Zimmerman, in her NPR review, compares him to Sancho Panza, Don Quixote's side-kick. Do you see an analogy?

6. What are the pitfalls of a extra longevity that Valentyne and Champion experience? Does long life have any appeal for you? Would you sip from the cup of jyrh if offered?

7. Has reading Tomorrow added to your knowledge of history?

8. Do the book's shifting time frames enhance the narrative, or do you find them confusing and distracting?

(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online and off, with attribution. Thanks.)

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