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Why We Are Here

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Why We Are Here

By: Briohny Doyle
Narrated by: Briohny Doyle
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About this listen

When life knocks you down, have faith in Dog.

After her partner and father die in quick succession, BB moves to a glamorous, condemned beachside apartment at the edge of a glittering city so memory-saturated it might be a mirage. Her plan? To rediscover the person she was before finding, and losing, the love of her life. To heal she'll party like it's 1999, walk her motley dog, Baby, and surrender to the simple joys of life alone by the sea.

When a neighbour mistakes her for a dog trainer, and enlists her in correcting the murderous tendencies of his Doberman, BB feels close to a meaningful new life. Harnessing the tenets of Cesar Millan the dog whisperer, and other less canine-centric canons, she helps local dogs and their wealthy, oblivious owners to distinguish between the things they can and cannot change. She even takes tentative steps towards new intimacies-with safely unavailable Franz, and sultry, free-spirited Vera.

But life in Balboa Bay is increasingly surreal. Baby is sending telepathic messages. A nearby prison quotes philosophers over the intercom. The other dog trainers think BB is scab labour. And somewhere on her street there's a dog that sounds like the wind.

Cinematic, heart-breaking, often hilarious, Why We Are Here is a singular love story for strange days. Doyle's witty prose revels in the solace of the natural world, in conversing with writers who have lost and endured, and above all in the profound connection between a woman and her dog.

©2023 Briohny Doyle (P)2023 Penguin Random House Australia
Fiction Literary Fiction Dogs Witty Funny

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Exquisite

Extraordinary, beautiful, intelligent novel about grief and existence. It’s set during the lockdowns in a coastal suburb. The protagonist is a writer who has lost her partner and her father in quick succession. It jumps around in time. She has a dog, Baby, and they telegraph messages to each other. She has friends, lovers, people she tries to reach, people who try to reach her; she is often alone, time passing. She trains a dog. She walks on the golf course. She observes, externally and internally. She recalls books, films. She philosophises on the concept of aftermath. The writing never resorts to cliche, to simplification, and yet it’s crisp, clear, rhythmic. There is light and dark. I want to read it in print as well so I can go back and highlight innumerable smart, moving sentences. I’ve enjoyed all Briohny’s writing but this is next-level: it’s a novel with such integrity, such honest searing searching truth. An instant favourite.

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Wow, just wow!

I loved this so much. Deeply personal but so relatable. Briohny Doyle, you have captured everything perfectly- loss, love, loneliness and dog feelings. I will read this again.

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