Zany and fun . . . Penny is always sharp, ready for the other shoe to drop, and lovable. This spinning, upside-down rollercoaster of a novel is a delightful portrait of the definitive chaos of love and family and perfect for fans of Carl Hiassen and George Saunders.” — Booklist With what passes for optimism, she declares, “My future was up for grabs.” Her greatest goal is to “achieve a conventional lifestyle.” It doesn’t look promising. She is plagued with problems related with her grandma, Dr. Pincer who is under the radar of Adult Protective Services Darkly absurd and slyly insightful. A genuinely comic novel and a potent, poignant investigation into grief and the myriad ways we flailingly, failingly attempt to avoid the pains of loss. Miranda Popkey, author of Topics of Conversation Those moments seemed like the natural way to transition out of sequences with a lot of chaos. To have her pause and try to ascertain what it all meant or what she’ll do next.

Very few novels prompt me to truly laugh out loud, but THE DOG OF THE NORTH did. Penny's misadventures might prove cathartic not only for her, but for readers as well." Stop That Girl is a heart-wrenching story of a girl, Ann Ransom, who in the process of growing up discovers the world and its people through her innocent, confused and curious eyes. Ann’s life is divided into many parts, thus, making the novel a collection of stories. In each story, Ann is haunted by nameless things and people and discovers the complexities of this universe. Human emotions and their unpredictability are showcased in such a beautiful and real way that this would be very hard for you to get over with. Penny is thrust into these situations where she must help support people or put out fires. She’ll be embroiled in an overwhelming conversation or predicament and then at the end of a chapter, we’ll get a moment where Penny is alone, meditating on the nature around her.The oddness starts with the main character and is compounded by how she tells her story. Penny Rush is a woman in her thirties who has been so deeply damaged by her childhood and her marriage that she's reached a point where she is unsure of her right to be anywhere. She struggles with the most humdrum human interactions. Her first instinct is to be as invisible as possible and, when that's not possible, to apologise for her own existence. Penny is confused and she has difficulty being honest with herself about how she feels and what she wants. As Penny is the one telling the story, it shouldn't be surprising that I was also confused as I read the story. Not so much beyond the dog’s name, but I did understand that Penny is on a type of quest. And I think one thing she admires about Burt is his quixotic optimism. So, I think [the Don Quixote connection] kind of resonates. It was remarked that the van in Dog of the North is sort of like Don Quixote’s horse Rocinante, which, again, was not a connection I had thought of…but I love that the spirit of that beloved novel might hover near this one. When I read the Portable Veblen by the same author several years ago, I didn't like the book because of a "heaping overdose of quirk" and stated in my review that "this book is trying so hard to be whimsical and odd that it just looks foolish and gets in its own way." So I suppose it is my own fault that I ended up listening to this book, and being (surprise!) fatally annoyed by the manic quirkiness of the plot and manic hapless quirkiness of our heroine. Many thanks to Penguin and NetGalley for the eARC of this fantastic, hilarious, charming read. I'm not familiar with the author's other books, but I read that she was a past National Book Award nominee, so I figured I couldn't go wrong with this, and I was correct. By the way, the publisher seems to have gotten ahead of itself with that statement. The Dog Of The North is on the Women's Prize For Fiction Longlist but the Shortlist won't be announced until 28th April, more than a month from now.

I have been — with Elizabeth for a few hours — in the Saratoga library one mid week morning years ago … Embedded in [ The Portable Veblen] were some issues that were pretty heavy to me, like the treatment of volunteers in clinical trials or the mismanagement of those trials, veterans’ issues, medical marketing, and so forth. I spent a lot of time on research because those matters were weighty and significant and it was important to get them right and completely absorb the material so that I could write about them naturally. Perhaps that’s how this novel was influenced by the past book, in that I wanted it to be different. With this one, it was much more of an intuitive process.I also think there is also a lot to be said for the exercise of keeping a tight focus on time and the very everyday things that a character goes through moment to moment. It really fleshes them out.

I love Penny’s first person perspective. She’s such an interesting character who is so passive, yet has a resolve and patience so solid that it makes her almost active in a way. Penny must surely remind readers of Eleanor Oliphant, Bernadette, Lisa Simpson, and - brilliantly - themselves. The mix of oddness, mystery, pain and joy is perfectly blended. All in all, this is a blissful novel that I want to give to everyone I love.” - Nina Stibbe, author of Reasons to be Cheerful In the meantime, twin health crises --- Penny's and Burt's --- are complicating matters further, along with Burt's tiny shedding dog and his oddly attractive brother. Tying together all of these elements is Burt's ancient, dilapidated van, the titular Dog of the North, which serves as Penny's transportation and her temporary home for much of the novel. There's so much more to mention about what happens next, including a spontaneous trip to Australia and a reunion with Penny's childhood pediatrician. But suffice it to say that THE DOG OF THE NORTH unfolds at a rapid pace with nary a dull moment.

Her beloved grandpa, Arlo (formerly married to Dr. Pincer) is graded senile by his second wife Doris and wants to leave him to care home. If you’re looking for a book that takes you on an adventure with twists and turns that nobody could guess then look no further. Although I did finish the Dog of the North with far too many questions for which I didn’t find my answers, I think it’s safe to say that it will be a book that is remembered and thought on fondly for a long time to come. Likely the origins of the book are in my family’s immigration to Australia, thoughts about expatriation, and the realization that feelings of joy can exist side by side with loss. An addictive read with an ultimately hopeful core that recalls Haruki Murakami, Sayaka Murata, Richard Brautigan, and Miranda July”– Sanjena Sathian, author of Gold Diggers Penny leaves her job with dwindling bank account to set the chaos straight. We see her moving around trying to handle one situation after another. She meets new people like Burt and his brother Dale with their own stories.