The Lost Dog by Michelle de Kretser

The Lost Dog

Michelle de Kretser

Tom and his dog are lost: the dog in the Australian outback, Tom in society. He is a man who knows his knots, but he doesn’t know the ropes of Australian life. And he has a mystery to solve that connects these segments in his own life. Following Tom as he attempts to navigate contrasting scenes through jungle and city provides an intriguing and refreshing alternative to the stereotypical view of Australia.

Extract
These images reminded Tom of a toy he had owned when very young, a waxy slate he would cover with childish scribbles. When he lifted the plastic sheet on top, the marks disappeared, magically expunged. Yet here and there on the clean overlay the faint imprint of his hand’s labour could still be discerned. The toy, which had enchanted him, afforded three pleasures: inscription erasure and remembering. It was concerned, like Nelly’s work, with what was discarded and ephemeral yet caught in the tatters of memory.
Parallels
  • A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz
  • Sweetmeat by Luke Sutherland