Cartoonist George Booth has spent four decades at the New Yorker constructing a universe so distinct, it would be immediately identifiable even without his signature on the bottom of the panel. In Booth’s world a bare lightbulb dangles precariously . . . a frayed carpet barely covers the living room floor . . . flies buzz . . . a couple speaks matter-of-factly . . . a man looks up from behind his newspaper. And somewhere, in the foreground or off to the side, a dog twitches involuntarily. In Booth’s cartoons dogs act as a Greek chorus, serving as a proxy for the reader by pointing out the mundane absurdity of life that is obviously lost on their owners. This 40th-anniversary collection highlights George Booth’s best and funniest dog cartoonswith a special introduction by Bill Cosby.
