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LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN’S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2023

The darkly comic new novel from the bestselling author of The Portable Veblen

‘Incredibly funny and very moving’ BELLA MACKIE

‘A blissful novel that I want to give to everyone I love’ NINA STIBBE

‘Even funnier, even more romantic than McKenzie’s wonderful last’ KAREN JOY FOWLER

Penny Rush has problems. Her marriage is over, she’s quit her job, her parents have been missing in the Australian outback for five years and now she’s back home in Santa Barbara, dealing with mounting family crises and living out of a borrowed van named The Dog of the North.

The Dog is replete with gingham curtains, wood panelling, a pinata, clunky brakes and difficult steering. It’s also Penny’s getaway car from the curveballs life’s throwing at her. With an uncertain future ahead of her, could the road she’s on lead her back to herself?

Publisher Review

'Incredibly funny and very moving' Bella Mackie, author of How to Kill Your Family 'Penny must surely remind readers of Eleanor Oliphant, Bernadette, Lisa Simpson, and - brilliantly - themselves. The mix of oddness, mystery, pain and joy is perfectly blended. All in all, this is a blissful novel that I want to give to everyone I love' Nina Stibbe, author of Reasons to be Cheerful 'Even funnier, even more romantic than McKenzie's wonderful last, The Portable Veblen. You will be surprised, delighted, and grateful to be aboard The Dog of the North with the admirable Penny Rush as she faces every challenge her wild and crazy family can throw at her. A book that lifts the spirits' Karen Joy Fowler, author of We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves 'Darkly absurd and slyly insightful. A genuinely comic novel and a potent, poignant investigation into grief and the myriad ways we flailingly, failingly attempt to avoid the pains of loss' Miranda Popkey, author of Topics of Conversation 'Gloriously entertaining, intelligent, presented with great insight and skill. An exuberant comedy of human behaviour at its nuttiest' The Times 'Elizabeth McKenzie is clearly some sort of genius' Paul Lynch, author of The Bee Sting Praise for The Portable Veblen... 'Seriously funny and extraordinarily well written' Jonathan Franzen 'I can't remember a book I enjoyed more' Nina Stibbe 'McKenzie has a wonderful eye for the craziness that is everywhere in ordinary life' Tessa Hadley