 White Dog quickly became a bestseller in the United States after its English release . Phoebe Adams of The Atlantic felt the story was ironic , and noted that it was " presumably " true . She felt the depiction of Marlon Brando was " <unk> funny " and that story as a whole served " as an excuse for Mr. Gary 's comments on racial affairs in this country , a matter on which is somewhat less pessimistic than the natives and a good deal more sensible . " The Globe and Mail 's H. J. <unk> considered it a " <unk> , thoughtful work " that serves as a metaphor for American racism . Julien <unk> felt Romain 's depiction of the racial tensions in America at the time was " <unk> reconstituted , with a realistic , even documentary , rather exceptional dimension . " Julia Weldon of Harper 's Magazine remarked with amusement that the events of the novel were ones that " only a Frenchman " could have found himself in . She felt the novel was a " decathlon event " in which Gary turned a " household crisis into a full @-@ scale allegory . " Overall , she praised the book as a " memorable portrait of guilt and <unk> in black and white " , noting she felt Gary had lived to " witness his own maturity " though she also wondered if he stretched the truth to " make himself a legend in his own time . " 
