Timbuktu is a book about a dog and his master. There is far more to it than just this, but this is one way to say what the book is about. It is about the death of a loved one, of a life lived and wasted, of a choice between two kinds of happiness, of old love and new love. It is also an exploration of what it means to be human and what it means to be dog.
I liked the book because it was complicated. It was original, full of interesting viewpoints and a lot of history. I did not like the long rambling monologes.