Name: Fluke
ISBN: 9780330376174

James Herbert

He was a stringy mongrel wandering the streets, driven by a ravenous hunger and hunting a quarry he could not define. Somewhere in the depths of his consciousness, the dog they called Fluke knew that he was once a man.

Fluke

A paperback edition of a horror novel published simultaneously in hardback, which follows a mongrel as he wanders the streets of the city, tormented by a memory deep in his consciousness that he had once been a man. By the author of THE MAGIC COTTAGE, THE RATS and THE FOG.

Narah Quinn

So this was not the first time I read this book, but I reckon it must easily be about 20 years and while I remember the story, there were little bits that I had forgotten entirely, and the one thing I really didn't recall was how much it made me smile. 

Herberts description of life as a dog, the way Flukes sight is not quite right because of his human memories, his sense of smell, how he becomes aware of his own back end when his tail is wagging and how sometimes a dogs instincts are just too much to ignore are some of the purest things I have read in a long time. Seemingly, so very basic, straightforward language, but just perfect. He's a dog, he has flashes of a life, he knows he's not the same as others, but his language isn't flowery, he was a man of plastics, not of literature!

And I love the revelation of how Fluke came to be, how our lives determine how we end up, and that a shorter lifespan (like a fly or a slug) is considered a blessing as oppose to those who led crappy lives and get to live for 200 odd years as a turtle (which I'm not so sure is a bad thing if you don't remember the human life you had!)
I also adore the concept of animal telepathy across all the species! 

Its a quick little read, and 100% worth it :)