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In a Land Without Dogs the Cats Learn to Bark - by Jonathan Garfinkel (Paperback)
About this item
Highlights
- In his wildly ambitious and darkly funny debut novel, Jonathan Garfinkel probes the fractured nature of identity, the necessity of lies, and the bloody legacy of the Soviet Empire.
- Author(s): Jonathan Garfinkel
- 424 Pages
- Fiction + Literature Genres, Literary
Description
About the Book
"In 1975, Gary Ruckler attends classes at Moscow State University as part of the first American Fulbright program in the USSR. Here he befriends Anna, her boyfriend Zaza, and their enigmatic friend Aslan. When Aslan mysteriously disappears into the mountains of Kazbegi, Georgia, Gary is swept up in events beyond his understanding and control. Fifteen years later, Tamar and Giorgi struggle through the "lost" decade of the 1990s in Tbilisi. Through three civil wars, a refugee crisis, and near-total societal collapse, the pair come of age in the underground arts scene. Then Tamar meets Rachel Grabinsky, head of an international pro-democracy NGO, who changes her life forever. In Toronto, 2003, Tamar and Rachel's son Joseph uncover astonishing truths about a woman they thought they knew. Who was Rachel Grabinsky? What was she really doing in Georgia? And how was she connected to Gary Ruckler? Part political mystery and part family drama, In a Land Without Dogs the Cats Learn to Bark is an energetic, gritty, and darkly funny novel that unfolds across multiple generations and explores the fractured nature of identity, the necessity of lies, and the bloody legacy of the Soviet Empire."--Book Synopsis
In his wildly ambitious and darkly funny debut novel, Jonathan Garfinkel probes the fractured nature of identity, the necessity of lies, and the bloody legacy of the Soviet Empire.
Spanning generations, continents, and cultures, In a Land without Dogs the Cats Learn to Bark is an electric tale about a nation trying to emerge from the shadow of the Soviet Union to embrace Western democracy. Driven by a complexly plotted mystery that leads from Moscow to Toronto to Tbilisi, punctuated by wild car chases and drunken jazz reveries, and featuring an eccentric cast of characters including Georgian performance artists, Chechen warlords, and KGB spies, Garfinkel delivers a story that questions the price of freedom and laughs at the answer.
With exhilarating prose reminiscent of Rachel Kushner and more twists than a John le Carré thriller, In a Land without Dogs the Cats Learn to Bark is a daring, nuanced, and spectacularly entertaining novel by an exceptional talent.
Review Quotes
Cinematic ... In a Land without Dogs the Cats Learn to Bark is an entertaining, sometimes funny book, perhaps more Graham Greene than John le Carré ... Garfinkel's novel is at its best at high speeds, twisting through city streets and dirt tracks.
-- "Literary Review of Canada"Suspense-driven prose that jumps through time and milks the temporal gap for dramatic tension. ... Garfinkel navigates the complex environment of post-Soviet Georgia with confidence, drawing persuasively from the country's political history to contextualize his characters' personal narratives.
-- "Quill & Quire"This is a complex story with a theme of lies and deception in the Soviet Union, a land with a history of terror used to control the public. Garfinkel shows the chaos that ensues when a corrupt system falls apart, only to be replaced by one not fully realized.
-- "Miramichi Reader"