Dog on Fire - (Flyover Fiction) by Terese Svoboda (Paperback)

About the Book

Think George Saunders channeling Willa Cather. A ghost story wannabe, Dog on Fire begins with a vision of a brother with a shovel, and ends in Jell-O.

Book Synopsis

Out of a Shakespearean-wild Midwest dust storm, a man rises. "Just a glimpse of him," says his sister; "every inch of him," says his guilt-filled lover. "Close your eyes," says his nephew. "What about it?" asks his father. The cupboard is filled with lime Jell-O, and there are aliens, deadly kissing, and a restless, alcoholic mother who carries a gun. "Every family is this normal," insists the narrator. "Whoever noticed my brother, with a family as normal as this?" the beleaguered sister asks. Against the smoky prairie horizon and despite his seizures, a brother builds a life. Imbued with melancholy cheer, Dog on Fire unfolds around a family's turmoil, past loves, and a mysterious death.

Review Quotes

"Svoboda's writing is beautiful, rich, and poetic. This surprising novel is an intriguing and thought-provoking read."--Milana Marsenich, Roundup Magazine

"At turns hilariously absurd and gut-wrenchingly heartfelt, Terese Svoboda's Dog on Fire, published by the University of Nebraska Press, defies genre. Svoboda juggles comedy, mystery, tragedy, horror--and masters them all."--Brennie Shoup, Superstition Review

"Svoboda's most recent novel finds the pulse between the every day and the absurd. A richly imaged novel from a writer at the top of her form."--Wendy J. Fox, Electric Lit-- (6/30/2023 12:00:00 AM)

"If the novel's focus on the warping effects of grief, with only glancing speculation about what precisely is being grieved, makes it typical of contemporary fiction, Ms. Svoboda distinguishes herself with the peculiarity of her prose, which takes a darting, indirect approach that almost attains the abstraction of a tone poem."--Wall Street Journal-- (3/10/2023 12:00:00 AM)

"The mystery at the heart of Dog on Fire is compelling, but the real pleasure of the reading experience is Svoboda's punctuated lyricism, sentences and paragraphs that engulf the reader like the dust storm with which the novel begins."--Clifford Garstang, Southern Review of Books-- (3/8/2023 12:00:00 AM)

"Terese Svoboda has written a continually wonderful novel about grief, family, and the mysterious particularity of each human creature, and the natural secrets we insist on carrying. A terrific book."--Joan Silber, author of Secrets of Happiness and Improvement

"A lyrical Midwestern gothic."--Publishers Weekly

"Tense, poignant, urgent, and at times scathing, with Dog on Fire Svoboda has performed the astonishing dual feat of writing what could be called a contemporary Dust Bowl Gothic novel and creating a pitch-perfect work depicting the feelings of rage, grief, and isolation that come with losing a loved one. Without a doubt, Dog on Fire is Svoboda at her finest."--Rone Shavers, author of Silverfish

"Dog on Fire is a blisteringly perceptive novel about grief, secrets, and the intractability of love. The mysteries surrounding one man's death, narrated alternately by his sister and his lover, yield no easy answers in this haunting and darkly witty reckoning."--Dawn Raffel, author of Boundless as the Sky

"With its fierce wit and insight, Dog on Fire is thrillingly alive to this bewildering moment. This novel about family, grief, and all the ways we remain mysteries to one another is both memorable and brilliant. I'm grateful for Terese Svoboda's searing vision and for her singular, inventive prose, which always makes me see the world in an entirely new way."--René Steinke, author of Friendswood

About the Author

Terese Svoboda is the award-winning author of twenty-one books of poetry, prose, memoir, biography, and translation, including the novel Bohemian Girl (Nebraska, 2011), the memoir Black Glasses Like Clark Kent, and two forthcoming books of fiction, Roxy and Coco and The Long Swim.