One might believe, with the current popularity of Marley and Me, that man-and-dog memoir is a new genre. However, there is a great deal of wonderful writing that preceded Marley about canine companionship. One such was My Dog Skip, the moving tribute by Willie Morris, which went on to achieve even greater fame once it was adapted into a movie. Willie Morris himself, gave his book that title in homage to a book published in the mid-1960s called My Dog Tulip. In it, the distinguished British author and editor J.R. Ackerley recounts his relationship with Tulip, an Alsatian (what I believe we would call a German Shepherd). Mr. Ackerley, already a middle-aged bachelor when he came into possession of Tulip, lovingly and humorously recalls his sixteen years with her in what remains, more than forty years later, one of the finest examples of canine-man literature.
So I was delighted to learn today that a feature-length animated film based on My Dog Tulip is being released this fall in a limited number of theatres. It features the voices of Christopher Plummer, Lynn Redgrave, and Isabella Rossellini. As with all adaptations, it is wise to check out the book before seeing the movie. Thankfully the New York Review of Books has kept it in print. Read more about the film here. CFR