--- product_id: 8019310 title: "Laika" price: "฿215" currency: THB in_stock: true reviews_count: 8 url: https://www.desertcart.co.th/products/8019310-laika store_origin: TH region: Thailand --- # Laika **Price:** ฿215 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Laika - **How much does it cost?** ฿215 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.co.th](https://www.desertcart.co.th/products/8019310-laika) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Review: A great story for everybody - This is a book that everyone needs to read and should enjoy. Based on the true story of the Soviet space dog, Laika is undoubtedly a heartbreaking yet powerful story of unnecessary suffering and sacrifice. With the addition of fictional characters as well as a wonderfully developed plot, it really induces an even more emotional impact and emphasizes the tragedy of the story that you would not really be able to grasp in any other form. Not only that, but the graphic illustrations give you an even more in-depth experience to the text that you would not get just reading this story as a regular novel. I know some adults might be turned away from this book based on the fact that this is a graphic novel. But this is a book that is suitable for people of all ages. It has many adult themes to it, as well as underlying details in the graphics that emphasize the importance of parts of the book. I was assigned to read this book for an English class, however, this is most definitely something I would have read on my own for my own enjoyment. One of the most interesting parts about this book was the choice of art style, and the details pertaining to it. Some of them I did not even catch the first time I read it. In certain parts of the book, especially parts of great significance, the novel's typical boxed pictures, white background, with a dark and grainy feel, changes significantly. One good example of this is on pages 51 through 55, showing the dream sequences of both the daughter and Laika. These few pages are full of bright colors, squiggly lines, no borders and full of art. These few pages and every time dreams and imagination are expressed in the book, show openness and freedom away from all the struggles and that Laika endures in real life. It really makes you realize how in sleep, it was the only place for her to feel real peace and joy. Another example of how the art emphasizes the text is in the beginning of the book on pages 4 through 7. When we see the Chief Designer escape the Gulag, the background of the pages starts at a dark grey and gradually fades to white. All the graphics on these pages have dark mellow colors. Then when it suddenly jumps to eighteen years in the future after the success of the Sputnik launch, the page's graphics are bright and red. I think this is a great example of how the art style really emphasized the major changes, the suffering endured, and the inner deep meanings of the characters' thoughts and emotions. Lastly, the most important aspect of this book is how we get to see Laika’s internal thoughts, or at least a perceived version of them. Laika is a dog, and obviously cannot speak for herself, but the author did an outstanding job of using the other characters, such as Yelena, to give Laika a voice. Towards the end of the book on pages 154 and 155, Yelena converses with Laika, and questions how much Laika really understands right before the launch. “I wonder...how much do you really understand? Anything at all...? Is it just the tone of my voice you respond to . . .? How do you seem to know? And she responds to her “what is this place?” Conversations between them like this really exemplifies just how unknowing Laika was to her fate. It shows just how much she was exploited; an innocent creature being used after already suffering so much in her life. Overall, this book and the way the author illustrated it as well as how he gave a voice to Laika who could not be heard, in the end made the tragedy of the story so much more impactful. Review: ... Soviet space dog Laika (aboard Sputnik 2) but this terrific and poignant graphic novel by Nick Abadzis fills in ... - I was already well aware of the 'official' story of the Soviet space dog Laika (aboard Sputnik 2) but this terrific and poignant graphic novel by Nick Abadzis fills in the missing pieces of Laika's story with skillfully (and seamlessly) interwoven fact and fiction (not too unlike James Cameron's "Titanic" in that regard). Real characters like rocket designer Sergei Korolev and fictional characters such as Laika's various previous owners are well integrated. Laika and the various other dogs in the Soviet training program have their simple, primal (touching) thoughts conveyed to the reader via thought captions which really 'feel' how a dog would/should think. The details of the period (late 1950s Soviet Union) are very authentic, and the characters are all part of a lovely (and heartbreaking) tapestry of Laika's life. The story moved me very deeply. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #1,192,190 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #137 in Children's Modern History #4,416 in Children's Dog Books (Books) #49,362 in Science Fiction (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.6 out of 5 stars 241 Reviews | ## Images ![Laika - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71CvwydMy+L.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A great story for everybody *by E***5 on April 24, 2021* This is a book that everyone needs to read and should enjoy. Based on the true story of the Soviet space dog, Laika is undoubtedly a heartbreaking yet powerful story of unnecessary suffering and sacrifice. With the addition of fictional characters as well as a wonderfully developed plot, it really induces an even more emotional impact and emphasizes the tragedy of the story that you would not really be able to grasp in any other form. Not only that, but the graphic illustrations give you an even more in-depth experience to the text that you would not get just reading this story as a regular novel. I know some adults might be turned away from this book based on the fact that this is a graphic novel. But this is a book that is suitable for people of all ages. It has many adult themes to it, as well as underlying details in the graphics that emphasize the importance of parts of the book. I was assigned to read this book for an English class, however, this is most definitely something I would have read on my own for my own enjoyment. One of the most interesting parts about this book was the choice of art style, and the details pertaining to it. Some of them I did not even catch the first time I read it. In certain parts of the book, especially parts of great significance, the novel's typical boxed pictures, white background, with a dark and grainy feel, changes significantly. One good example of this is on pages 51 through 55, showing the dream sequences of both the daughter and Laika. These few pages are full of bright colors, squiggly lines, no borders and full of art. These few pages and every time dreams and imagination are expressed in the book, show openness and freedom away from all the struggles and that Laika endures in real life. It really makes you realize how in sleep, it was the only place for her to feel real peace and joy. Another example of how the art emphasizes the text is in the beginning of the book on pages 4 through 7. When we see the Chief Designer escape the Gulag, the background of the pages starts at a dark grey and gradually fades to white. All the graphics on these pages have dark mellow colors. Then when it suddenly jumps to eighteen years in the future after the success of the Sputnik launch, the page's graphics are bright and red. I think this is a great example of how the art style really emphasized the major changes, the suffering endured, and the inner deep meanings of the characters' thoughts and emotions. Lastly, the most important aspect of this book is how we get to see Laika’s internal thoughts, or at least a perceived version of them. Laika is a dog, and obviously cannot speak for herself, but the author did an outstanding job of using the other characters, such as Yelena, to give Laika a voice. Towards the end of the book on pages 154 and 155, Yelena converses with Laika, and questions how much Laika really understands right before the launch. “I wonder...how much do you really understand? Anything at all...? Is it just the tone of my voice you respond to . . .? How do you seem to know? And she responds to her “what is this place?” Conversations between them like this really exemplifies just how unknowing Laika was to her fate. It shows just how much she was exploited; an innocent creature being used after already suffering so much in her life. Overall, this book and the way the author illustrated it as well as how he gave a voice to Laika who could not be heard, in the end made the tragedy of the story so much more impactful. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ... Soviet space dog Laika (aboard Sputnik 2) but this terrific and poignant graphic novel by Nick Abadzis fills in ... *by S***6 on June 24, 2016* I was already well aware of the 'official' story of the Soviet space dog Laika (aboard Sputnik 2) but this terrific and poignant graphic novel by Nick Abadzis fills in the missing pieces of Laika's story with skillfully (and seamlessly) interwoven fact and fiction (not too unlike James Cameron's "Titanic" in that regard). Real characters like rocket designer Sergei Korolev and fictional characters such as Laika's various previous owners are well integrated. Laika and the various other dogs in the Soviet training program have their simple, primal (touching) thoughts conveyed to the reader via thought captions which really 'feel' how a dog would/should think. The details of the period (late 1950s Soviet Union) are very authentic, and the characters are all part of a lovely (and heartbreaking) tapestry of Laika's life. The story moved me very deeply. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A tale of injustice *by J***E on December 15, 2017* Beautiful and tragic. I don't know if I have the heart to read this book again. Nick Abadzis’ LAIKA is a fictionalized account of the short life and sad death of Laika, the Soviet space dog. Be forewarned: it’s a three-handkerchief, bucket-of-tears kind of novel. Laika’s story is one of loyalty and trust repaid with callous abandonment and deception, and the injustice of this tale resonates deeply. “Do not worry,” Laika is told, again and again. “Trust me.” Meanwhile, death waits for her, implacable. Reading Abadzis’ graphic novel, I found myself saying “It’s not fair! It’s just not fair!” A very childlike reaction, one that I’m usually too jaded, or too adult, to voice so vehemently. But the pointless suffering of an innocent animal tends to trigger that kind of vehemence. We want to the world to be less cruel, and when we see a devoted animal suffering and dying precisely because she’s so devoted, then the rationalizations we’re usually able to make as adults don’t work so well anymore. Abadzis isn’t the first artist to engage with Laika’s tragic history. One of my favorite films is Lasse Hallstrom’s My Life as a Dog, available from the Criterion Collection. It’s the story of Ingemar, a young Swedish boy growing up in the fifties and struggling with feelings of abandonment and betrayal. Ingemar’s father is gone, his mother is desperately ill, and no one wants to tell him that his dog isn’t coming back. Sent away to live with relatives, Ingemar sits and looks at the stars and thinks of Laika, who got sent into space without any food, left there to die. “You have to compare,” he tells himself. “You always have to compare.” His grief at being sent away is sustainable, if only because he identifies with Laika, who had it so much worse. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.co.th/products/8019310-laika](https://www.desertcart.co.th/products/8019310-laika) --- *Product available on Desertcart Thailand* *Store origin: TH* *Last updated: 2026-04-23*