Outside, the rain continues unceasing; silver sheets sluicing down, the trees and shrubs soaking and bedraggled, the earth sodden, puddles overflowing, torrents coursing onwards, as the darkness slowly softens with the dawn.

Ester is a family therapist with an appointment book that catalogues the woes of the middle class. 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 be able to let herself fall in love again. Meanwhile, April and Lawrence are battling through their own messy lives, and Ester and April's mother, Hilary, is facing the most significant decision she'll ever have to make.

Taking place 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 novel about dissatisfactions and anxieties in the face of relative privilege. Yet it is also 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 recognition of the profound beauty of being alive.

Georgia Blain published novels for adults and young adults, essays, short stories, and a memoir. Her first novel was the bestselling Closed for Winter, which was made into a feature film.
Her books have been shortlisted for numerous awards including the NSW, Victorian, and SA Premiers' Literary Awards, the ALS Gold Medal, the Stella Prize, and the Nita B. Kibble Award for her memoir Births Deaths Marriages. Georgia's works include The Secret Lives of Men, Too Close to Home, and the YA novel Darkwater.

In 2016, Georgia published Between a Wolf and a Dog and the YA novel Special (Penguin Random House Australia). Between a Wolf and a Dog was shortlisted for the 2017 Stella Prize and for the Australian Literature Society’s Gold Medal. It was awarded the 2017 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Fiction and the 2016 Queensland Literary Award for Fiction.

Sadly Georgia passed away in December 2016.

A substantial review written by Kerryn Goldsworthy is here :
https://sydneyreviewofbooks.com/between-a-wolf-and-a-dog-georgia-blain/

sending on a little journey around eastern Australia...
first to meganh (vic)
then to jeniwren (nsw ) in time for her book group discussion in july
and back to me

happy reading

;)

Happy reading

;)

Book was waiting for me when I arrived home this afternoon together with a lovely little note. - thank you LadyIndigo; made me feel quite special and reminiscent of letter writing days which have almost now been replaced by emails and social media.
I look forward to reading this, I have never read Georgia Blain before.

What a wonderful piece of literature. I love the way Georgia Blain uses language, every sentence is exquisitely put together and asks to be re-read.
I had not read any of her work before, and think I must have added it to my Wishlist after scrolling through the Forum of the best books read for the month which I do from time to time.
A very sad story made more poignant by the author’s early passing from Cancer. I liked the way she weaved the lives of a family torn apart and eventually brought them all together through tragedy.
I read this quicker than planned as I am heading off to Qld today for the Commonwealth Games, closely followed by a month in France for the anniversary convention in Bordeaux.
Thanks for sharing this beautiful story with me LadyIndigo and I am putting it in the mail to jeniwren today.

Just a quick message to say book has arrived and I will journal again once read. Thanks for sharing :)

I have just finished this novel and I always make a habit of heading to Good Reads to see what others think. I am in the ‘loved it ‘camp which I can see a lot of reviewers do not share my feelings. I thought it profound in the portrayal of how we can hurt the ones we are supposed to love and for me it is a very human story and feel enriched for the reading experience.

Returning this book home to it's owner and a big thankyou for making this one available for my book group read.

thankyou so much for returning georgia to me
and for your comments meganh and jeniwren

georgia has a distinctive voice and her early death leaves quite a hole in australian literature, especially our women authors

thanks also for the amazing bundle of surprises jeniwren as you return georgia to my shelves

;)