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Loving, Faithful Animal
Loving, Faithful Animal | Josephine Rowe
The much-anticipated debut novel from one of Australias most gifted young writersYour father. His head is a ghost trap. Its all he can do to open his mouth without letting them all howl out. Even so, you can still see them, sliding around the dark behind his eyes ... It is New Years Eve, 1990, and Rus father, Jack, has disappeared in the wake of a savage incident. A Vietnam War veteran, he has long been an erratic presence at home, where Rus allegiances are divided amongst those she loves. Her sister, Lani, seeks to escape the claustrophobia of small-town life, while their mother, Evelyn, takes refuge in a more vibrant past. And then theres Les, Jacks inscrutable brother, whose loyalties are also torn.A Loving, Faithful Animal is an incandescent portrait of one family searching for what may yet be redeemable from the ruins of war. Tender, brutal, and heart-stopping in its beauty, this is a hypnotic novel by one of Australias brightest talents.
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Bookwomble
A Loving, Faithful Animal | Josephine Rowe
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Bailedbailed

Yeah, I couldn't push myself through it. Picked up the book with a heavy feeling, noted the feeling, acted on the feeling: Bailed 🪂
This is no reflection on the book, per se; I'm a mood reader and this isn't my present mood. Onwards! 👣👣📚

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Bookwomble
A Loving, Faithful Animal | Josephine Rowe
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"That was the summer a sperm whale drifted sick into the bay, washed up dead at Mount Martha, and there were many terrible jokes about fertility."

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

I think too much thought went into making this an impactful first line, and the next 14 pages feel somewhat the same. I'm not sure I'm on the same wavelength as this author, but I'll read on a bit further and see if I get in tune.

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AceOnRoam
A Loving, Faithful Animal | Josephine Rowe
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Pickpick

A dark view of this family's history and a little light at the end for a new generation. Not my favourite read of late, but very well written and an important one to remind us about the horrible effects of war, especially when it is soldiers fighting against children, women and desperate men.

#ReadingOnRoam

53 likes1 stack add
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DrunkBooksellers
A Loving, Faithful Animal | Josephine Rowe
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"Something's coming. Les can smell it like weather. Can just about hear it, like a sound pitched so low only the blood can recognize."

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MrBook
A Loving, Faithful Animal | Josephine Rowe
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#TBRtemptation post 4! #BEA17 edition! Slated for a September release. This thinner novel is the anticipated debut from one of Australia's young writers. New Year's Eve 1990, Ru's erratic PTSD father, Jack, has disappeared after a savage incident. Her sister, Lani, wants out of small-town life. Her mother, Evelyn, takes refuge in the past. This is the portrait of one family looking for redemption. #blameLitsy #blameMrBook 😎

LitsyGoesPostal 😊👍🏻 8y
62 likes5 stack adds1 comment
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BethFishReads
A Loving, Faithful Animal | Josephine Rowe
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This caught my eye. Set in Australia with a focus on PTSD, a Vietnam War veteran, and a father and daughter. We rarely see novels about that war from a non-USA perspective

43 likes2 stack adds
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ManOSand
Loving, Faithful Animal | Josephine Rowe
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Pickpick

A darkly gorgeous portrait of a family falling to pieces. Rowe is a brilliant writer on a sentence level, but here she's added a smart structure, nuanced, damaged characters and real heart. So good.