Dogs at the Perimeter

Item: Dogs at the Perimeter
Author: WhichBook

Madeleine Thien

A most beautifully written novel, full of insight, truth and honesty, the horror of the Khmer Rouge and their atrocities; the nightmare that was Cambodia over 30 years ago. Lives, families and secrets of the past are lost, but resurface in the minds of the wounded. A deeply moving and powerful account of how memories and history will stay with you no matter what.

Extract

My mother once told me that when a child is born, threads are tied round the infant's wrists to bind her soul to her body. The soul is a slippery thing. A door slammed too loudly can send it running. A beautiful, shining object can catch its attention and lure it away. But in darkness, unpursued, the soul, the PRALUNG, can climb back in through an open window, it can be returned to you. We did not come in solitude, my mother told me. Inside us, from the beginning, we were entrusted with many lives. From the first morning to the last, we try to carry them until the end.

Parallels