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Between a Wolf and a Dog

ebook
2 of 2 copies available
2 of 2 copies available

WINNER OF THE 2017 VICTORIAN PREMIER'S LITERARY AWARD FOR FICTION
WINNER OF THE 2016 UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND FICTION BOOK AWARD
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2017 STELLA PRIZE
ONE OF BOOKPEOPLE'S '100 BEST AUSTRALIAN BOOKS OF THE 21ST CENTURY'

'Whenever I need reminding of the preciousness of ordinary life I return to this stunning novel of forgiveness and family, which gives clear, beautiful voice to the fierce luck of being alive.'
Charlotte Wood

Ester is a family therapist with an appointment book that catalogues the anxieties of the middle class: loneliness, relationships, death. She spends her days helping others find happiness, but her own family relationships are tense and frayed. Estranged from both her sister, April, and her ex-husband, Lawrence, Ester wants to fall in love again. Meanwhile, April is struggling through her own directionless life; Lawrence's reckless past decisions are catching up with him; and Ester and April's mother, Hilary, is about to make a choice that will profoundly affect them all.

Taking place largely over one rainy day in Sydney, and rendered with evocative and powerful prose, the multi-award-winning Between a Wolf and a Dog is a celebration of the best in all of us — our capacity to live in the face of ordinary sorrows, and to draw strength from the transformative power of art.

PRAISE FOR GEORGIA BLAIN

'[An] elegant, intelligent and affecting novel from a writer at the height of her powers.' The Saturday Paper

'Like all her novels, Between a Wolf and a Dog explores the often unarticulated complexities of the intersection of the personal and the political with exquisite grace and intelligence.' Australian Book Review

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    • Books+Publishing

      February 24, 2016
      Georgia Blain’s Between a Wolf and a Dog explores the intricacies of modern family life with the emotional veracity you might expect of a book with a therapist as a co-protagonist. Set over one rainy day in Sydney, the book also jumps around in time and space, drip-feeding the reader titbits from the past to flesh out its cast of characters: estranged sisters Ester and April; their mother Hilary; and Ester’s ex-husband Lawrence. All of them are intriguing and fully realised characters, with each giving a different take on the anxieties of upper-middle-class semi-Bohemian youths as they progress into adulthood. Blain avoids getting bogged down by the big concepts she explores—relationships, grief, loss and ennui—and instead paints a picture of full lives encapsulated inside this one dreary day. Blain’s fans, and those of authors such as Helen Garner, Charlotte Wood and Julian Barnes, will enjoy this book, which would also be suitable for a mature YA audience. Hannah Cartmel is an editor, membership manager for the Small Press Network and co-founder of the Rag & Bone Man Press

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  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

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  • English

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