The Dog of the North

* Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize * A New Yorker Best Book of the Year * A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice * Nominated for the WomenΓÇÖs Prize for Fiction * ΓÇ£IΓÇÖm in love with a grieving misfit driving around with a donkey-shaped pi├▒ata in an old van held together by duct tapeΓǪthe great miracle of McKenzieΓÇÖs writingΓǪ is how she manages to transform misery into gentle humorΓǪdarkly hilarious.ΓÇ¥ ΓÇöThe Washington Post ΓÇ£An addictive read with an ultimately hopeful core that recalls Haruki Murakami,Sayaka MurataRichard Brautiganand Miranda JulyΓÇ¥ ΓÇô Sanjena Sathianauthor of Gold Diggers Penny Rush has problems. Her marriage is over; sheΓÇÖs quit her job. Her mother and stepfather went missing in the Australian outback five years ago; her mentally unbalanced father provokes her; her grandmother Dr. Pincer keeps experiments in the refrigerator and something worse in the woodshed. But Penny is a virtuoso at whatΓÇÖs possible when all else fails. Elizabeth McKenziethe National Book AwardΓÇônominated author of The Portable Veblenfollows Penny on her quest for a fresh start. There will be a road trip in the Dog of the Northan old van with gingham curtainsa pi├▒ataand stiff brakes. There will be injury and peril. There will be a dog named Kweecoats and two brothers who may share a toupee. There will be questions: Why is a detective investigating her grandmother. What is ΓÇ£the ScintillatorΓÇ¥? And can Penny recognize a good thing when it finally comes her way? This slyly humorousthoroughly winsome novel finds the purpose in lifeΓÇÖs curveballsinsisting that even when we are painfully warped by those we love mostwe can be brought closer to our truest selves.