Between a Wolf and a Dog (Georgia Blain, Scribe)

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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