Even if The Boy and the Dog rests in the familiar "dog story" niche, the novel is notable for the story it tells in the background ... Most compelling by far are the parts of the story grounded by Japan’s great 21st-century disaster—the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami ... Translator Alison Watts does a charming job rendering into English a story that is in turns sentimental and grim ... It is a charming, sentimental story set against the backdrop of a Japan that is still invisible to many people outside of the country. But it is also worth reading as a work of popular post-disaster "Fukushima fiction".
When Tamon finally reaches his destination, the reunion waiting for him is indeed moving. Seishū imbues Tamon with a nobility that never feels sentimental or overdrawn. With this tender display, he proves himself a gifted storyteller.
Heartbreakingly moving in its simplicity ... Hase’s staccato sentences and straightforward narrative structure should not be mistaken for shallowness... Hase’s novel is ultimately a touching meditation on shining lights in the face of trauma and hopelessness.
