Why We Are Here
Briohny Doyle
Why We Are Here
Briohny Doyle
When life knocks you down, have faith in Dog.
After her partner and father die in quick succession, BB moves to a glamorous, condemned beachside apartment at the edge of a glittering city so memory-saturated it might be a mirage. Her plan? To rediscover the person she was before finding, and losing, the love of her life. To heal she'll party like it's 1999, walk her motley dog, Baby, and surrender to the simple joys of life alone by the sea.
When a neighbour mistakes her for a dog trainer, and enlists her in correcting the murderous tendencies of his Doberman, BB feels close to a meaningful new life. Harnessing the tenets of Cesar Millan the dog whisperer, and other less canine-centric canons, she helps local dogs and their wealthy, oblivious owners to distinguish between the things they can and cannot change. She even takes tentative steps towards new intimacies-with safely unavailable Franz, and sultry, free-spirited Vera.
But life in Balboa Bay is increasingly surreal. Baby is sending telepathic messages. A nearby prison quotes philosophers over the intercom. The other dog trainers think BB is scab labour. And somewhere on her street there's a dog that sounds like the wind.
Cinematic, heart-breaking, often hilarious, Why We Are Here is a singular love story for strange days. Doyle's witty prose revels in the solace of the natural world, in conversing with writers who have lost and endured, and above all in the profound connection between a woman and her dog.
Review
Aurelia Orr
From the author of the Miles Franklin Award-longlisted Echolalia comes a brilliant new novel about grief, life during lockdown, and the overwhelming love of a dog.
Why We Are Here follows the story of BB as she moves to Balboa Bay, a glittering city whose vibrant night life and beautiful beachside views are a welcome distraction from the recent deaths of her father and partner. All she wants is to party all night, walk her dog, and remember who she used to be before she lost the love of her life. But as lockdown follows her, socialising and rebuilding her life has to be put on hold, and now BB is alone, isolated, and threatened with the possibility of coming to terms with her grief and everything she has lost.
So when her neighbour mistakes her for a dog trainer, BB is suddenly caught up in the dramas of taming a Dalmatian with murderous tendencies, and she turns to the advice of dog-whisperer Cesar Millan for help. Soon, every wealthy, oblivious dog-owner in Balboa Bay is calling for her help, and BB feels she is given a new purpose in life.
With universally recognised pains such as grief, death, and the hardships that lockdowns around the world caused, it is easy to wonder, why are we here? Is there enough good in humanity to outweigh the bad? But Doyle doesn’t ask these questions. She instead chooses to only answer with the light and love that life still has to offer despite how lost we become in the dark: the friends we meet, the new sparks of love we feel in our hearts, or the great privilege it is to have felt a dog’s love. These are the reasons why we are here, and every small joy can give us the greatest sense of fulfilment and meaning.
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