The Barking Dog

By Cordelia Strube

Book Overview

"Told with such humour and suspense that it's hard to put down . . . A rare achievement, an unstintingly honest, hilarious, and dreadful delight." -- Globe and Mail

Greer Pentland is having a challenging year. Her teenaged son, Sam, is on trial for the murder of two senior citizens, a crime allegedly committed while he was sleepwalking. Greer is also battling breast cancer, a disease that has left her with a litany of physical side effects and deep anger toward the incompetence of the medical profession.

Yet, in the face of all these obstacles, Greer's story is full of hope and delicious dark humour. Her indelible strength is fuelled by her unconditional love for her son and the moral support she receives from her 88-year-old aunt, a chain-smoking, vodka-swilling, vitamin-popping senior whose continual commentary on the morbid news of the day is wickedly funny and provocative. This novel about one courageous woman's fight to survive in a post-millennium culture gone mad is heroic, heart stopping, and affecting.

The Barking Dog, the fifth novel from Cordelia Strube, Canada's pre-eminent writer of urban fiction, is an unforgettable portrait of modern life in these media-saturated, apocalyptic times.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1770413758
• ISBN13: 9781770413757
• Release Date: September 2016
• Publisher: ECW Press
• Length: 472 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

The Barking Dog

This book really surprised me. I hadn't read anything of substance for quite a while, so when I picked it out I expected to enjoy it. I didn't expect I would enjoy it so much, though. I couldn't put it down for days. I loved her humorous outlook and the point of view from which she observed life after knowing (relatively) how much time she had left. I could feel her love for those around her, and I literally laughed out loud and sobbed in the same chapter. I finished the book feeling as if I had really learned something, and can sympathize with her feelings on a day to day basis. This book will change your life.

LOVED IT!

This book tops my all-time-favourites list. It's "darkly funny" content had me laughing on one page and tearing up on the next. I enjoyed her style of writing, where you can "hear" her speaking as you read - it flows wonderfully and reads just as a person would speak. I had never heard of this author before until I read this book. Now I will be looking up more of her books!