To really understand Paul Yoon's new novel, I went back and read his tribute to his dog, Oscar, which was one of the short pieces in the collection THE BEST DOG IN THE WORLD: Essays on Love. While I didn't cry while reading ETNA, I did when I reread “Oscar,” substituting the fictional Etna for Yoon's actual dog. 

It's in the essay that I can see the evolution of Etna's story and the brilliant way that Yoon created this near-magical creature, a shepherd mix, to be the epitome of what a dog can be. “Oscar” shares his thoughts on his own dog: “I grow to need him beside me on the couch as I write my books. That it's because of him, as he literally lies on my lap, a few levels down from my gaze, that I learn to think about how to present things in my stories from different angles.” Those feelings are beautifully translated into the lovely, lyrical story about Etna, a dog of not-very-noble lineage but with a huge and noble heart.

"[Yoon's] feelings [about his dog, Oscar] are beautifully translated into the lovely, lyrical story about Etna, a dog of not-very-noble lineage but with a huge and noble heart."

Etna was born on a farm near the coast of an unnamed country. He lived there with his mother and siblings and two humans who cared for them. His country is at war, and other nations (including America) are sending soldiers to help. Etna is taken from the farm by a unique woman who can communicate with dogs. She delivers him to soldiers who train him not only to sniff out bombs, but also to keep them safe. In the novel, Yoon describes how Etna's relationship with the soldier who is his handler evolves. They sleep together, with Etna under his cot and protecting him. In fact, he protects all humans he connects with; it's in his genetic makeup.

In his essay, Yoon also writes about his parents and their refusal to connect with Oscar. It was something foreign to what they knew, having lived in South Korea after the war, “when home invasions and theft were rampant.” Dogs were chained outside the homes as protectors and nothing more. Many of the people in ETNA see dogs simply as tools to work with and then discard, as weapons to use against their enemies. But others love dogs, so we see both sides of human nature.

Yoon loves Oscar with his whole being, and we come to love Etna with our whole being. Etna is tired of the war, the fighting, the violence, the cruelty and the loss. At this point in his life, he just wants to go home to the farm where he was born and see what is there. He has been told that there will be nothing left, which is easy to believe after reading his first-person narrative about the terribly destroyed country. He hasn't even seen a bird since before the war. Humans, wildlife and domestic animals have suffered horribly and senselessly.

While those who wreak such devastation on this poor country are single-minded and ruthless, the individuals who become Etna's pack are wonderful people --- from the soldier who selflessly saves his life to the doctor who takes medication meant for humans and heals his wounds. We want Etna to find peace after all he's been through and lost.

But (I'm being really honest here) I didn't understand the ending of ETNA. So that's when I reread Yoon's essay about Oscar, and that helped everything come together for me. In fact, the whole piece is insightful as we can see how Yoon was influenced in writing the book by his parents' experiences living in a country at war, and the horrific violence and death they saw. In the novel, the heartrending sense of loss and grief alternate with Etna's encountering humans and animals who become his pack, his family. 

Yoon says that he wanted to write a book from the point of view of a dog because he fell in love with one. He was curious about what would happen in a story if he pushed humans to the side and made animals front and center. What he accomplished is to make all of us fall in love with Etna, not to mention Fuji and Semeru. While I'm furious that we aren’t privy to Semeru's fate, in life there's always something we don't know and people we have cared for in the past whom we wonder about years later. 

I hope that some of the love readers feel for Etna makes its way across the universal consciousness into Oscar and helps him live many more years. For Etna. For Paul Yoon. For all of us.