The Last of the Winnebagos

By: Connie Willis

Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris

In this Hugo Award-winning novella, dogs have become extinct after an epidemic, and the Humane Society has been granted extraordinary police powers to protect the remaining animals. As the Society investigates the death of a jackal on a highway, its attention turns to a photojournalist whose own dog was one of the last to survive.©1988 Connie Willis (P)2008 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

• Hugo Award, Best Novella, 1989
• All-Time Best Novellas (Locus Magazine)

Great short listen

Would you listen to The Last of the Winnebagos again? Why?

Yes, it was different. Made me think about the world a bit differently.

What did you like best about this story?

It was unusual.

What about Dennis Boutsikaris???s performance did you like?

He embodied the main character.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Discovering man's best friend means discovering ourselves.

Any additional comments?

No

Very interesting and Original

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Last of the Winnebagos?

The ending which tied all the plot elements together

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Definitely yes

Any additional comments?

This story is so original and unexpected. There are so many subtle twists and turns that make for a very satisfactory listern.

Strange and yet familiar

It’s a futuristic cop procedural that also feels like old school detective noir. It gives dystopian vibes of a militarized animal Humane Society and water trucks delivering life to Arizona- and yet today’s Arizona streets and cities are discussed as if this could be set in current times. It involves The Society investigating a coyote’s death, but through the POV of the photographer witness.

I loved that the story felt like a classic murder mystery and, at the same time, explored new ideas with unique premises. It took a little bit to get going and really hook me, but by the end I was quite captivated.

Very Moving

Would you consider the audio edition of The Last of the Winnebagos to be better than the print version?

Very artistic in that it touches the heart. It speaks of things that happen in a future we have not seen yet, and is believable. Spoiler...One man's realization of himself. Wow. Connie Willis is a great author!

Quick and fun listen!

This was a wonderful novella. It was quick, interesting and heartbreaking in a way. A world without dogs – which I can't image as a person who loves dogs. For a quick read that keeps you thinking, this was great.

Hugo and Nebula Award Winner

After a virus has killed all of the dogs on Earth, the Humane Society (???The Society???) has been given the power to prosecute and punish anyone who, even accidentally, harms an animal. The government has started putting walls around highways, tracking vehicles with videocameras, and banning recreational vehicles from the roads.

After a photojournalist stops to report a dead jackal on the highway, he becomes involved in The Society???s investigation. During the process he meets an elderly couple who claim to own the last Winnebago, and he visits the woman who accidentally killed his own dog, one of the last to survive, 15 years earlier. Along the way, he keeps hoping to get a candid photo that will show, through its owner???s face, one of these beloved dogs who???ve been lost.

The Last of the Winnebagos, which won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards for Best Novella after it was published in Asimov???s in 1988, is a touching story about guilt and forgiveness, the pain of the loss of a beloved animal companion, and the extraordinarily stupid things that the government sometimes does in its quest to do the right thing.

The Last of the Winnebagos is a beautifully written and often poignant story. The last scene is particularly moving. However, I had a hard time giving in to the premise that the Humane Society had such free rein, so to speak, in the U.S. government.

I listened to Dennis Boutsikaris narrate Audible Frontiers??? version which is 2 hours long. He did a great job.

Just OK

Still looking for a comparable novel to her Doomsday Book... that was a great novel...