Dog: A novel

(Paperback)

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"DOG is a novel full of deft humour and escalating tenderness - a tale about misfits, human and canine, and the currents of hope and courage that bring them together." -Ross Raisin, author of God's Own Country

When 18-year-old Benjamin Glass goes to look at a dead whale that has washed up on the beach, he meets an unfamiliar dog who follows him home to his caravan. Benjamin isn't equipped to take care of a dog - he has a chronic fear of germs, and is currently living alone while his grandmother is in hospital.

But when a delivery driver recognises the dog as The Mighty Gary, the fastest greyhound in the country, and tells Benjamin about his unsavoury owners, Benjamin is forced to trust the stranger on his doorstep and devise a plan to keep Gary safe. As Benjamin becomes more attached to the dog, it becomes clear that his trust in the delivery driver may well have been misplaced. He will have to leave his comfort zone, take some unhygienic risks, cross paths with dangerous and powerful men and confront his very worst fears if he has any hope of protecting what he loves the most.

Reviews

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"I don't really like dogs, but I absolutely loved this book."

' - John McGregor, author of Lean Fall Stand

'"DOG is a novel full of deft humour and escalating tenderness - a tale about misfits, human and canine, and the currents of hope and courage that bring them together."' - Ross Raisin, author of God's Own Country and A Hunger

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"A deeply touching tale about the complexities of being human, and the journey we make to become our true self."

' - Jon Ransom, author of The Whale Tattoo

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"With humour and unwavering empathy, Rob Perry uncovers the imperfect specimens and misfits who survive on the edge of society, revealing the complexity of the human experience in even the bleakest or most circumscribed of lives. With a pure-hearted hero and a cast of messy extras stumbling towards goodness, this novel is a picaresque delight."

' - Karen Powell, author of Fifteen Wild Decembers

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"A beautiful coming-of-age tale of a young man who finds genuine purpose in the most unlikely of places, DOG is both laugh-out-loud funny and quietly devastating. Full of fantastic characters that wouldn't be out of place in a Shane Meadows movie, Rob Perry brings to life a corner of British life rarely covered in fiction. Funny, heartbreaking, lyrical and exciting, if you're looking for the next big thing in 2024, DOG will be your new best friend."

' - Owen Nicholls, author of Love, Unscripted

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Author Bio

Rob Perry was born in 1987. He is a graduate of the UEA Creative Writing program. In 2020, his novel Dog was shortlisted and highly commended in the Peggy Chapman Andrews First Novel Award. In 2019 he was selected for the National Centre for Writings Escalator programme. Hes been shortlisted for the Bridport Short Story Prize, the Bristol Short Story Prize and the Fish Short Story Prize. He won the Nottingham Short Story Prize and was first runner-up in the Moth International Short Story Prize and The Winston Fletcher Memorial Prize. Rob was a copywriter for several years, and has worked as a firefighter and a weightlifting coach. He lives in the Peak District.