oh man wow the beginning of this book is an “editor’s preface” by a dog scholar talking about debate over the former existence of humanity and the bizarre form of reverence accorded them in the legends of the city (which may or may not have existed). i completely forgot this framing device apparently, but the novel is presented as a series of legends that have been bound together into a single volume by “doggish” scholars. i guess this answers the question of which civilization comes last, haha














