Cubbie Chats

Do horrible people deserve forgiveness? This was the question constantly asked throughout the novel, All Them Dogs by Djamel White. Recently, longlisted for the Booker Prize, the novel follows Tony Ward, attempting to escape retribution, as he heads back home to West Dublin, Ireland. After five years, he begins to realize his past may be closer than he thinks, and aligns himself with Darren ‘Flute’ Walsh, the right-hand man of crime boss Aengus Lavelle. However, when a mutual attraction begins to flourish between Tony and Flute, Tony finds the protection offered by Flute and Aengus beginning to fade. Can Tony escape the shadows of his past, or will the cycle of violence claim him next?

I need you to trust me now. Please power through the first couple of chapters, because at times it can feel like you’re reading the book of Genesis and Moses is listing off the biblical family tree. There were so many characters being introduced in the gang hierarchy, I had to pull out the handy dandy notebook to keep track of everyone.

From then on, the reader gets to explore themes of violence, toxic masculinity, vulnerability, queer desire, retribution and guilt. The violence is really everything you’d expect from a season finale of Sons of Anarchy, but Djamel beautifully highlights how these gangs see no humanity. There are no victims to these crime bosses, only people who have wronged them. It is definitely a timely reflection of today’s society, as story after story comes out of horrific tragedies around the world, yet people are so quick to ignore the victims and highlight the perpetrator. Ugh.

Toxic Masculinity and Queer Desire

How do you explore queer desires in a hyper-masculine field of work? I guess the answer is… you don’t. Tony’s queerness isn’t necessarily the thing he struggles to accept—the problem is that tenderness, vulnerability, and intimacy don’t fit comfortably within the masculine identity he’s constructed for himself. Tony has built an armor of protection around himself, an armor built from layers of toxic masculinity: violence, reputation, fearlessness, and physical dominance to shield anyone from thinking he doesn’t check every outdated criterion of what he believes a man should be. It’s a self-sustaining mask where being dangerous means being respected. It seems he’s quite open to his queer desires, and he spends much of the novel longing for Flute. Their relationship represents belonging and hope, something the reader will find themselves wishing for both of them. The admiration they have for one another, both emotionally and physically, brings warmth to an otherwise dark and violent novel. It’s a manifestation of Tony’s desire for male affection, for the idea that not every connection he makes with another man has to result in violence, and that intimacy can exist without weakness.

Now, obviously, he isn’t going to be waving the Pride flag anytime soon, but when you’ve spent your life hiding in the shadows of crime, keeping one more secret hardly seems like a burden.

All Them Dogs explores the balance between vulnerability and masculinity, longing and acceptance, guilt and retribution, leaving us yearning for a happy ending that won’t come. Djamel White creates a character who has grown to believe that a man means being hard, dominant, and emotionally impenetrable while being forced to confront desires that demand the exact opposite. Tony’s past casts a shadow over his life, leaving him unable to fully trust those around him. His inability to feel remorse and the chip on his shoulder make him destructive not only to himself but to those around him. Knowing the crimes he has committed, how do we find ourselves rooting for his redemption? Do horrible people deserve forgiveness?

I really hope to see this book shortlisted for the Booker Prize. My final verdict is…

4.5/5 ⭐️