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review
Cortg
The Dog of the North: A Novel | Elizabeth Mckenzie
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Pickpick

I adored this book. It was funny and quirky and just when I thought the worst had come for poor Penny, I turned the page and her story got more outrageous. It was a fun read overall.

review
CSeydel
The Dog of the North: A Novel | Elizabeth Mckenzie
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Pickpick

I know this one was too aggressively quirky for some reviewers, but it hit me just right at the time I was reading it. I felt so much kinship with the MC, her loneliness and her struggles to communicate. My pick for August.
#2023readingbracket

review
CSeydel
The Dog of the North: A Novel | Elizabeth Mckenzie
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Pickpick

Oh my goodness 💔 this book 😭

I recommend going into this one cold, guys. I was glad to know very little about it going in, as it‘s a very difficult book to categorize and the publisher‘s blurb seems to be setting wrong expectations. For instance, “the Dog of the North” is a van, but this is NOT a “road trip story”.

All I‘ll say is it‘s an emotional journey for the MC, Penny Rush, who is quietly neurodivergent and extremely lonely.

CSeydel Penny Rush may be my favorite protagonist since Daniel Pecan Cambridge (The Pleasure of My Company, 2004). I could so relate to Penny‘s struggles to communicate, her longing to understand and to be understood, and her frustration at constantly being just slightly out of sync with all the communication happening around her. 8mo
CSeydel The plot is hilarious and heartbreaking, and there are layers of literary references and symbolism. Wacky, poignant, and deeply moving. 8mo
Itchyfeetreader Beautiful review have stacked - thank you 8mo
See All 8 Comments
Ruthiella Have you tried her other book? I DNFed because it was too cute for me (at least by the 50 page mark) 8mo
jlhammar Wonderful review! Glad to see some love for this book. I thought it was great. 8mo
CSeydel @Itchyfeetreader thank you! 8mo
CSeydel @jlhammar I think it was a tricky book to market. I‘ve been hearing a lot of disappointment around it and I think it‘s because people are expecting it to be something else. 8mo
CSeydel @Ruthiella No, this is the first one I‘ve read of hers! 8mo
45 likes2 stack adds8 comments
review
ChaoticMissAdventures
The Dog of the North: A Novel | Elizabeth Mckenzie
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Mehso-so

#womensprizelonglist

A bit of a disappointment to have this be my last 2023 long list read. It was fine but not memorable and compared to the other books on the list not nearly as creative or well crafted - though not as bad as Pod!
It felt as if the author was trying too hard to find cute silly ideas to bring in, and overall the atmosphere made me feel a bit grimy, but nowhere near as visceral as Children of Paradise.

review
Hooked_on_books
The Dog of the North: A Novel | Elizabeth Mckenzie
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Pickpick

Penny is at loose ends when her husband leaves her and her whole life blows up. She ends up following the wind a bit in a madcap adventure involving some very interesting people. This is whimsical and funny to balance the sad parts, but it‘s also a bit uneven in the writing, starting oddly flat and not so much ending as just stopping. Low pick for me.

squirrelbrain I didn‘t love this one either - I‘m not sure what it was trying to be or say. (edited) 11mo
Megabooks I was curious about this but my library doesn‘t have it. I‘ll probably skip if it‘s not an enthusiastic pick for you or @squirrelbrain 🤷🏻‍♀️ 10mo
Hooked_on_books @Megabooks I feel like if this had been reworked, it could‘ve been great. But instead it‘s a bit of a missed opportunity. You‘re not missing out by skipping it. 10mo
45 likes3 comments
review
Jen2
Dog of the North | Elizabeth Mckenzie
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Pickpick

Real weird!

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jlhammar
The Dog of the North: A Novel | Elizabeth Mckenzie
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Pickpick

This was just what I needed. So nice to laugh! A crazy ride filled with offbeat, endearing characters. Really enjoyed.

#WomensPrize

ashw21 Can‘t wait to read this !!! 11mo
jlhammar @ashw21 Hope you enjoy it! 11mo
74 likes4 stack adds2 comments
blurb
emmaturi
The Dog of the North: A Novel | Elizabeth Mckenzie
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I am really enjoying this a lot, still got 200 pages. But don't think it will make the shortlist though.

26 likes1 stack add
blurb
Deblovestoread
The Dog of the North: A Novel | Elizabeth Mckenzie
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#TemptingTitles #WithDog

Was hoping to get to this one before the #WomensPrize short list is announced on the 26th but I‘m running out of days.

ChaoticMissAdventures Same. I have been waiting for my library to release the copies they ordered but it doesn't seem to be happening. 11mo
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Cute graphic 🐾🐶 11mo
Eggs Looks really good 👍🏼 😊 11mo
55 likes1 stack add3 comments
quote
charl08
The Dog of the North: A Novel | Elizabeth Mckenzie
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I reached for the strange fixture in the shower that was too modern for its own good. It's my opinion that water taps should not be intelligence tests.

[This is me in almost every hotel I've been in recently!]

TrishB Same! Is there a degree in shower management? 12mo
BarbaraBB Lol, so relatable 🤣 12mo
Ruthiella OMG so true! 😆 12mo
61 likes1 stack add3 comments