5 Days: Between a Wolf and a Dog

We read Georgia Blain's Between a Wolf and a Dog for book group. I've just finished it and I've been blown away by this penultimate novel of a recently deceased novelist.

The title has been haunting me since I saw the book in a bookshop for a start.

A bit of internet digging tells me that it comes from the French, “L’heure entre chien et loup”.

According to the blogger, At Twilight, "It’s a reference to those ambiguous hours we English call dawn, dusk or twilight."

He then goes onto explain, "The French linguist would explain that the term refers to a specific time of day, when the light is such that one can’t distinguish between a dog or wolf.  A Scot may refer to this as the “darking” hour or “the gloaming.”  It doesn’t surprise me at all that folks who tend to flocks in fog-shrouded valleys and moors would have a certain reverence for the ambiguous light that complicates the matter of distinguishing friend from foe - the dog from the wolf."

As I finished the book, I can see where the title comes into play. How do we see the truth from the mire. How do we know our enemies from our friends, and how strange is it that this can turn with an action, a word or a matter of timing.

That the book was written while Georgia Blain was being treated for brain cancer, a disease to which she succumbed at the end of 2016 makes it all the more poignant. The death of one of the major characters who is also dying of brain cancer who makes some very brave decisions must have been front of mind for her.

Interestingly enough, I was questioned as to how my novel was going. Out with a friend and her very well behaved son for lunch (you gotta love four-year-old boys - they almost makes up for the rest of the male race for when the hormones kick in). Katya is an editor - who has been at me to continue.

"Well, I have been busy."
"I know this," said Kayta - knowing she is just as busy as I am.
"And I committed to write every day for 100 days - I've nearly done this."
"I know."
"But do I keep blogging daily, or do I get to work on that novel?"
"Why not both..."

I was also thinking about all of this as I made my way to the tram this morning. Is now the time to get back into fiction? Is this the time to face the demons that have got me started on the themes of aging, death and society? Is this something I might be able to kick start while I'm in Bali?

I do no know as yet.

All I do know is that Georgia Blain's effortless prose as affected me. She was honest. She was brutal in places. She turned a forgiving eye on that which may not be forgiven easily.

She is a great loss to the world of Australian Literature.

Oh, to have her courage.


Today's Song: