'Incredibly funny and very moving' Bella Mackie, author of How to Kill Your Family 'Penny must surely remind readers of Eleanor Oliphant, Bernadette, Lisa Simpson, and - brilliantly - themselves. The mix of oddness, mystery, pain and joy is perfectly blended. All in all, this is a blissful novel that I want to give to everyone I love' Nina Stibbe, author of Reasons to be Cheerful 'Even funnier, even more romantic than McKenzie's wonderful last, The Portable Veblen. You will be surprised, delighted, and grateful to be aboard The Dog of the North with the admirable Penny Rush as she faces every challenge her wild and crazy family can throw at her. A book that lifts the spirits' Karen Joy Fowler, author of We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves 'Darkly absurd and slyly insightful. A genuinely comic novel and a potent, poignant investigation into grief and the myriad ways we flailingly, failingly attempt to avoid the pains of loss' Miranda Popkey, author of Topics of Conversation 'Gloriously entertaining, intelligent, presented with great insight and skill. An exuberant comedy of human behaviour at its nuttiest' The Times 'Elizabeth McKenzie is clearly some sort of genius' Paul Murray, author of The Bee Sting Praise for The Portable Veblen. 'Seriously funny and extraordinarily well written' Jonathan Franzen 'I can't remember a book I enjoyed more' Nina Stibbe 'McKenzie has a wonderful eye for the craziness that is everywhere in ordinary life' Tessa Hadley.