Bret Easton Ellis and the Other Dogs

At a run-down brothel in Caudal, Spain, the prostitutes are collecting stray dogs. Each is named after a famous male writer: Dante, Chaucer, Bret Easton Ellis. When a john is cruel, the dogs are fed rotten meat. To the east, in Barcelona, an unflappable teenage girl is endeavouring to trace the peculiarities of her life back to one woman: Alba Cambó, writer of violent short stories, who left Caudal as a girl and never went back. Mordantly funny, dryly sensual, written with a staggering lightness of touch, the debut novel in English by Swedish sensation Lina Wolff is a black and Bolaño-esque take on the limitations of love in a dog-eat-dog world. Losing her son in a lorry accident, a woman abandons her lover and her life on the Mexican border and becomes a domestic servant in Madrid; following an awkward menage-a-trois, a timber agent is blackmailed into introducing his lover's boyfriend to his best client; a depressed, misfit French teacher rejects the overtures of students and would-be lovers; all the while sharp-eyed young Araceli watches over everything from her decrepit apartment. Nesting stories within stories, setting Bret Easton Ellis among his fellow mutts and enigmatic, love-hungry, dying Alba Cambo among her several lovers, Lina Wolff can really throw her readers a sucker punch. Upstairs/downstairs distinctions blur as Wolff's adroit and subtle novel turns the tables, allowing servants and subordinates to dominate their masters. With a Bolano-esque humor Wolff asks, what chance does love have in this dog-eat-dog world?Lina Wolff is a Swede who has lived and worked in Italy and Spain. During her years in Valencia and Madrid, she began to write her short story collection Many People Die Like You. Her novel, Bret Easton Ellis and the Other Dogs, was awarded the prestigious Vi magazine literature prize, given to writers to watch out for, and was shortlisted for the 2013 Swedish Radio award for Best Novel of the Year. She now lives with her family in Sweden. Frank Perry has translated many of Sweden's leading writers, including Stieg Larsson, Henning Mankell, and Katarina Frostenson. His work has won the Swedish Academy prize for the introduction of Swedish culture abroad At A Run-down Brothel In Caudal, Spain, The Prostitutes Are Collecting Stray Dogs. Each Is Named After A Famous Male Writer: Dante, Chaucer, Bret Easton Ellis. When A John Is Cruel, The Dogs Are Fed Rotten Meat. To The East, In Barcelona, An Unflappable Teenage Girl Is Endeavoring To Trace The Peculiarities Of Her Life Back To One Woman: Alba Cambó, Writer Of Violent Short Stories, Who Left Caudal As A Girl And Never Went Back. Mordantly Funny, Dryly Sensual, Written With A Staggering Lightness Of Touch, The Debut Novel In English By Swedish Sensation Lina Wolff Is A Black And Bolaño-esque Take On The Limitations Of Love In A Dog-eat-dog World.--provided By Amazon.com. Lina Wolff ; Translated By Frank Perry. First Published As Bret Easton Ellis Och De Andra Hundarna In 2012 By Albert Bonniers Förlag.