Meet Jeffrey Watson-Johnson: hydrologist, husband of Martine, father of Bern, model citizen of Mildura.
But after he inherits a small fortune from an obscure aunt and has a disconcerting encounter with his cousin Pam, Jeffrey decides it’s time to change everything.
He tells Martine he wants to live as if he were the family pet.
Sleeping through the day or wandering beside the river, he discovers a new power: he can sense secret grief in others. What to do with this gift? Or with his awareness of the endless streams of water flowing unseen beneath the earth?
Michael Winkler’s first novel Grimmish became a cult hit. Griefdogg is another triumph. Funny, sad, always entrancing, it tells a crazy-sane story about identity, love, family and forgiveness.
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Readings
andGriefdogg
‘Winkler is hugely talented.’
‘I think it’s spectacular…I’m rationing it page by page because the prose is so incredible.’
‘At once absurd and unsettling, Griefdogg is an exploration of modern masculinity, existential despair, self-awareness and guilt, circling persistent questions about freedom and the meaning of a life well lived…consistently thought-provoking.’
‘The Aussie book to read right now…deeply thoughtful, humane – and human.’
‘Griefdogg is a wonderfully eccentric novel.’
‘Griefdogg is both vigorously subversive and courageously daggy, offering a tale for he end times that asks a question as old as time: ultimately, what matters?’
‘Winkler has succeeded not only in publishing boundary-pushing work but in becoming a male artist unafraid to mock masculinity.’
‘I thought it was absolutely wonderful… a very very fine book.’
‘An intensely Australian book and I really like it.’
‘Winkler writes with a casual intellect, reminding me of a parent giving succinct, seemingly obvious advice that nags at your edges until you suddenly find the heart of their counsel already seated within you. The issue is not fixed but quietened; human simplicity can exist within the most complex issues and the comfort of a non-answer can, momentarily, be enough – because it’s all we have.’
‘Combines the intimate and the planetary, comedy and tragedy, science and mysticism…. the book’s central image – a man who tries to escape all domestic and social responsibility but is compelled to absorb (and sink under) collective grief – has tremendous force.’
‘Griefdogg is essential reading for members of book clubs who love lively debate; emotionally repressed dog-men who refuse to reciprocate; capitalists experiencing existential ennui; and anyone who wishes they could opt-out of everything.’ [4 stars]
‘I’m calling this one the male All Fours - it’s about a mid-life fitness-obsessed married man who lands a surprise inheritance and decides to become the family pet. No responsibilities and no rights. It’s wild and weird and also tackles big things about identity and forgiveness.’
