In my youth I read a novel with the following plot:  A person (in
Northern  Europe, poss. Holland) grows up with the desire to paint,
studies from two teachers, one of whom is a control freak, the other a
dissolute wildman, but decides to stick to a reliable career as
harbormaster, painting as a hobby, until his retirement when he goes
to live and paint in Paris on a barge;
then one day a dog with two hearts which escaped from an experiment
swims by, he brings it on board, and then there's a legal battle over
custody, and, I think, they both die.


So what is the name of this book, and who wrote it?

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Request for Question Clarification by pinkfreud-ga on 09 Mar 2005 17:01 PST

The only novel that I can think of that involves a painter who lives
on a barge in Paris is William Wharton's "Scumbler," from 1984.
Unfortunately, I don't recall whether there was a dog in the book.
Does the name "Scumbler" ring a bell?

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Request for Question Clarification by juggler-ga on 09 Mar 2005 17:39 PST

In approximately what year did you first encounter this book?

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Clarification of Question by seanbou-ga on 10 Mar 2005 07:01 PST

Not "Scumbler".  Believe I read a Reader's Digest Condensed book form
of the novel  back in the late 70's/early 80's, but that RDCB could
have been from anytime. The dog with 2 hearts is an experimental dog
and they need the hound back in the lab BEFORE it dies to disect it
and our hero won't let them take it claiming his houseboat is Dutch
terrirory, etc.