Good Dogs Don't Make It To The South Pole

 Hans Olav-Thyvold's novel, Good Dogs Don't Make It To The South Pole was written in Norwegian. The book was translated into English last year. The story is narrated by Tassen the dog. Tassen's owner, Major Thorkildesen, dies leaving Tassen and  the Major's wife alone to grieve together. Tassen copes with his grief by eating too many treats. The Major's wife copes with her grief by drinking too much liquor. Only Tassen doesn't call it liquor, he calls it dragon water. Tassen and the Major's wife spend their time researching the Roald Amundsen expedition to the South Pole. She even takes him to a museum  where the ship used in the expedition is on display as well as a pair of taxidermied Greenland dogs who survived the trip. Since Tassen can't understand the concept of numbers, the Major's wife cuts the shape of the 100 Greenland dogs out of paper to illustrate how many dogs were eaten.  He is horrified that Amundsen used most of the other Greenland dogs as food for the men and dogs. Tassen is a wry, funny dog who tries so hard to please. I enjoyed this book very much. I liked that it was set in Norway.