John Hughes

The Dogs John Hughes

From the Miles Franklin-shortlisted author of No One comes a haunting gem of family secrets and impossible decisions.

Is it possible to write about the living without thinking of them as already dead?

Michael Shamanov is a man running away from life's responsibilities. His marriage is over, he barely sees his son and he hasn't seen his mother since banishing her to a nursing home two years earlier. A successful screen writer, Michael's encounter with his mother's nurse leads him to discover that the greatest story he's never heard may lie with his dying mother. And perhaps it's her life he's been running away from and not his own. Is the past ever finished? Should we respect another's silence? And if so, is it ever possible to understand and put to rest the strange idea of family that travels through the flesh?

'A stealth manoeuvre of the emotions. Beautifully restrained, deeply moving.'
Peggy Frew, award-winning author of House of Sticks