Dog Boy (novel)

Book by Eva Sallis

Dog Boy

First edition

Author| Eva Hornung
Language| English
Genre| Novel
Publisher| Text Publishing, Australia

Publication date

| 2009
Publication place| Australia
Media type| Print (Hardback and Paperback)
Pages| 293
ISBN| 9781921520426
Preceded by| The Marsh Birds

Dog Boy (2009) is a novel by Australian author Eva Hornung.[1][2] It won the 2010 Prime Minister's Literary Award for fiction and was inspired by the story of feral child Ivan Mishukov.[3][4]

## Plot summary

[edit]

Romochka is a feral child, raised by dogs and found on the streets of Moscow in the summer of 1998. He appears to be six years old and has been with the pack for two years. This novel examines his life on the streets and the changes he undergoes as he transforms from "dog" to "boy".

## Dedication

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This book is "For Philip Waldron".

## Reviews

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Writing in The Guardian reviewer John Burnside called the book "a wonderful novel, a tour de force, even."[5]

In Australian Book Review Judith Armstrong noted that "the whole novel is beautifully written".[6]

## Awards and nominations

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* 2009 shortlisted Victorian Premier's Literary Awards — The Vance Palmer Prize for Fiction[7]
* 2010 shortlisted Australian Literature Society Awards — ALS Gold Medal
* 2010 shortlisted Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) — Australian Literary Fiction Book of the Year
* 2010 winner Prime Minister's Literary Awards — Fiction[8]

## Translations

[edit]

* German: Dog Boy. Translation by Thomas Gunkel. Suhrkamp Verlag 2011. ISBN 978-3-518-46288-1.
* Spanish: El Niño Perro. Editorial Salamandra 2010. ISBN 9788498383072.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Dog Boy by Eva Hornung". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
2. ^ Knight, David. "Eva Hornung's garden of literary delights – The Adelaide Review". Retrieved 28 February 2025.
3. ^ Langan, Michael D. "A gripping tale of survival in 'Dog Boy'". archive.boston.com. The Boston Globe. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
4. ^ ca. 02:50 to 03:25
5. ^ Burnside, John (13 February 2010). ""Review: Dog Boy by Eva Hornung"". The Guardian. The Guardian, 13 February 2010. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
6. ^ ""Standing on its own hind legs"". Australian Book Review, April 2009. 31 March 2009. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
7. ^ ""Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2009 shortlists announced", Readings". Archived from the original on 30 June 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
8. ^ "Awards: Prime Minister's Literary, Graphic Short Story Winners". Shelf Awareness. 8 November 2010. Archived from the original on 13 February 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2024.

* v
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Prime Minister's Literary Award – Fiction

2008-2009|

* The Zookeeper's War by Steven Conte (2008)
* The Boat by Nam Le (2009)

2010-2019|

* Dog Boy by Eva Hornung (2010)
* Traitor by Stephen Daisley (2011)
* Foal's Bread by Gillian Mears (2012)
* Questions of Travel by Michelle de Kretser (2013)
* A World of Other People by Steven Conte (2014)
* The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan (2014)
* The Golden Age by Joan London (2015)
* The Life of Houses by Lisa Gorton (2016)
* The Natural Way of Things by Charlotte Wood (2016)
* Their Brilliant Careers by Ryan O'Neill (2017)
* Border Districts by Gerald Murnane (2018)
* The Death of Noah Glass by Gail Jones (2019)

2020–present|

* The Yield by Tara June Winch (2020)
* The Labyrinth by Amanda Lohrey (2021)
* Red Heaven by Nicolas Rothwell (2022)
* Cold Enough for Snow by Jessica Au (2023)
* Anam by André Dao (2024)

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