Julius Winsome

Julius Winsome lives in a cabin in the hunting heartland of the Maine woods, with only his books and his dog for company. That is until the morning he finds that his dog has been shot dead - and not by accident.



Gerard Donovan weaves an extraordinary tale of revenge that is also a tender and heartbreaking paean to lost love. Narrated by the unforgettable voice of Julius himself - at once compassionate, vulnerable and threatening - it reads like a timeless, lost classic.

"'Clear genius... brilliant and original.' Independent"

Gerard Donovan is the author of two highly acclaimed novels, Schopenhauer's Telescope, winner of the 2004 Kerry Group Irish Fiction Award and longlisted for the 2003 Booker Prize, and Doctor Salt. Born in Ireland, he currently lives in a former railway station cottage in New York.

Masterly, moving and frightening. Scotland on SundayJulius Winsome lives in a cabin in the Maine woods, with only his books and his beloved dog Hobbes for company. On a cold winter afternoon, Julius finds Hobbes dying in the snow, shot at close range. He soon realises the death was not an accident. Heartbroken and desperate for justice, Julius goes in search of the killer, only to discover how easily violence can overwhelm a life . . .With exquisite skill, Donovan touches upon the raw heart of grief and loss . . . It is a memorable tale, distinguished by masterful prose, an intriguingly peculiar sensibility and something harder to define that many great works of art have: a kind of dignity. Such books are rarer than publishers hype encourage us to believe._ Michel Faber, GuardianA story that magnetically absorbs you with every page turned. Irish IndependentStarkly beautiful and compelling . . . An exposure of the tragedy of violence and the brutality of loneliness. Simon Willis, Literary Review

An extraordinary and moving novel of love, solitude and violence. Julius Winsome lives in a cabin in the hunting heartland of the Maine woods, with only his books and his dog for company. That is until the morning he finds that his dog has been shot dead - and not by accident. Gerard Donovan weaves an extraordinary tale of revenge that is also a tender and heartbreaking paean to lost love. Narrated by the unforgettable voice of Julius himself - at once compassionate, vulnerable and threatening - it reads like a timeless, lost classic.

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