This was easily my favorite book of my 2024 year of reading, and coming from one of my favorite writers (and friends – his words, not mine), it is no surprise. It is very much unlike the rest of his writing, aside from the recent dips into children’s literature – but he is very much a writer for all ages, and I would say the same thing about this book, despite it being categorized as middle-grade fiction. It is very reminiscent of a short piece I spent some time with in the past, George Saunders’ “Fox 8,” but with a more complete and vibrant approach and length.
Johannes, a domesticated dog who suddenly finds himself free, navigates life in a strange middle ground of wildness. He is part domesticated dog with leadership qualities, and part wild animal running as fast as he can with his zoomies of joy and devotion. Throughout the book, he finds himself in a variety of episodic interactions that have recurring characters that help or hinder his examination of the strange existentialism of his half-urban, half-wild life. There are seagulls, raccoons, squirrels, all somewhat aware of their circumstances but led by Johannes’ quick wit and organizational and rational mind from his domestication side of himself. Of course, the most memorable characters to me were the goats.
This book started as a bedtime book for my kids and me, but I found myself really invested and loving it entirely more than they did (and they loved it), so much so that I immediately began a second read-through when we were done, so I could experience it more personally and consciously. The writing is the best of Eggers’ style – humorous, deeply touching, and structurally perfect. While animal novels are the bane of some people’s existence, this text is a more mature but enjoyable addition to the genre that it really doesn’t entirely belong to anyway. As a child, I absolutely loved the Redwall books, books like Bunnicula, Watership Down, and other such classics, but The Eyes and The Impossible is in its own category and says a great deal about humanity in reflecting us in the mirror, Johannes’ experience, and great personality. I loved it and will absolutely be reading it again in the future. I already found myself widely recommending it, and want you to check it out, too.
Garrett Zecker 