The Red Collar
Jean Christophe Rufin
2015, 158 pages
Fiction
If you had to explain to someone what it means to be human, you could give them this book. The Red Collar is about Wilhelm, a briard sheepdog mix, who followed Jacques Morlac when he was mobilized to fight in the French army in 1915. When the book opens, Morlac is in prison and Wilhelm is outside “baying relentlessly.” Major Hugues Lantier du Grez is the officer investigating Morlac’s case. When he arrives in the village to question Morlac, Lantier is taken with the dog’s loyalty.
We learn that Lantier witnessed an extreme act of canine bravery and loyalty in his childhood that predisposes him to admire Wilhelm. We also learn that Morlac feels respect for Wilhelm but no particular affection, even though the dog followed him all the way to Macedonia and is responsible for the events that led to Morlac’s Legion of Honor. Lantier finds out that Valentin, Morlac’s pre-war love and the mother of his child, has not seen him since his return from the war, and has a connection to Wilhelm as well. Through these three lives, and Wilhelm’s, author Jean Christophe Rufin compares human and animal nature, explores the hopes and disillusionment of the people sent to fight in World War I and the civilians they left behind, and most of all, dissects the concepts of faithfulness and pride.
Rufin manages, in a very entertaining story, to distill the human heart. He gets to the essence of human experience as manifested in philosophy, politics and love. And he pays tribute to dogs’ fidelity. All in about 150 pages. A terrific read.
Deb Baker
Concord Public Library
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