The best thing about this novel is a talking desert dog named Ibrahim – and he turns out to be a hallucination in the end

Jaap Hollander has made it big. Coming from humble beginnings, he has become one of the best neurosurgeons not only in his native Netherlands, and whenever complicated operations are required, people turn to him, the "magician."

In his private life, however, he doesn't enjoy comparable success. Before #MeToo was even mentioned, he nonchalantly approached colleagues and nurses. Then one of them, Nicole, unexpectedly became pregnant. To Jaap's dismay, the affair led to a marriage, which he soon found so "catastrophic" that even their daughter Lea couldn't prevent the divorce.

Leon de Winter's "City of Dogs" begins with a serious turning point in the lives of the long-separated couple: Lea, now eighteen, sets off for Israel with her American boyfriend to trace her Jewish roots (which her father was always completely indifferent to).

But the two never return from their trip to the Negev Desert. They remain missing, despite the Israeli authorities' efforts and Jaap's even seeking advice from a clairvoyant. Year after year, Jaap travels to Tel Aviv for several weeks, unable to accept the probable death of his daughter.

Time flies, at least in this novel, because after one chapter, ten years have already passed. Jaap has since been forced into retirement against his will. He maintains a passionless relationship with Geertje, the widow of his former tax advisor, renovates his house in North Holland, and makes one last attempt to track down Lea: A team of geologists is to leave no stone unturned in a cave-rich crater where Lea and her boyfriend are believed to have last been. But the complex undertaking comes with a hefty price tag: three million dollars.

Leon de Winter is an accomplished novelist. It's therefore all the more surprising that "City of Dogs" is such a strangely constructed text, one that gets more and more out of hand with each chapter. While one is initially astonished that the ten years since Lea's disappearance are narrated in a shabby, almost unloving way, one rubs one's eyes as the novel soon takes on fairytale-like qualities.

While Jaap is still negotiating with the lead geologist, the Israeli Prime Minister himself summons him to carry out a delicate mission. Saudi Prince Faysal needs Jaap's help because his seventeen-year-old daughter, Noora, suffers from a deep "arteriovenous malformation" in her brain, and Jaap—retirement or no retirement—seems to be the only surgeon in the world who is suitable for the job.

Jaap hesitates for a while, especially since he realizes that the case is almost completely hopeless and that he fears his own death if he fails. The one billion dollar fee from the Saudi coffers is certainly not bad—and gives Jaap the prospect of at least being able to finance his geological mission.

It happens as it must—at least in this novel: Noora is transported overland from Riyadh to Tel Aviv and undergoes the twelve-hour operation, which succeeds thanks to Jaap's brilliant dexterity. Thus, Jaap not only saves the young woman's life but also takes a step "toward peace" in global politics. Noora is destined to be the future ruler, and in Israel, too, this is seen as a sign of hope for the Middle East.

So far, so unbelievable, but unfortunately, Leon de Winter doesn't leave it at this happy-ending surgery. He fearlessly continues his confusing story and turns the doctor Jaap into a patient. On his way to a rendezvous with a colleague, he steps in dog excrement with his fine Italian leather shoes, slips, and during the necessary surgery, an overlooked tumor is discovered, which is responsible for Jaap's long-standing weakness in facial recognition.

The operation appears to be successful, but the aftereffects lead to hallucinations that not only suddenly cast Geertje in a bad light as an embezzler of his Saudi money, but also bring about the appearance of a talking desert dog named Ibrahim, who apparently knows ways to lead Jaap to his daughter.

Let's be honest: "City of Dogs" is an overambitious text that aims for far too much – even the Hamas attacks on Israel in October 2023 play a role in the end – and fails to find the right balance for its narrative leaps. The fact that part of what happens to Jaap with his companion, the cleverly chatty dog, is subsequently declared a dream experience doesn't make things any better. In literary terms, such postscripts are almost always makeshift solutions that satisfy no reader – not even those of Leon de Winter's failed novel.

Leon de Winter: City of Dogs. Novel. Diogenes Verlag, Zurich 2025. 267 pp., CHF 36.90.