Between a Wolf and a Dog
Georgia Blain
Scribe Publications
ISBN: 9781925321111
Description:
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 the evocative and powerful prose Blain is known for, 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. Ultimately, it is a joyous tribute to the beauty of being alive.
My View:
Exquisitely painful, melancholy, reflective, poignant and yet so beautifully written you will not be able to put this book down.
Without doubt one of the best book I have read this year!
This book should have been depressing but it wasn’t, it was a celebration of life and the joy of the everyday; sitting round the table with your family as a child, holidays with family, kids playing dress ups, cooking together in the kitchen, singing out loud, art… breathing in, breathing out, being in the moment….simple joys, beautiful locations (this author can write!) This is a celebration of life, family and a peak at complex dynamics that make a family; of the fragility of love, the durability of love and moving on. Beautiful.
Reading, Writing and Riesling 
Oh, yes, Carol! I remember that you said you loved this book. It certainly sounds like a deep and complex look at the messiness of human relationships and the good side of that messiness. And I always admire a strong writing style. Glad you had such a good experience with this one.
A stunning read Margot!
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I am about to collect this book from the library. I read a couple of Georgia Blain books some years ago, and read recently that she had died. I feel so sad. I didn’t realise her mum was Anne Deveson. she is/was such an amazing writer . I am looking forward to reading ‘Between a wolf and a Dog’ so much more poignant now.
And it is very poignant and relevant. I read one of her earlier books – whilst I enjoyed it this one is … lyrical and topical and I loved it