Dogs at the Perimeter

Fiction like this, clear-eyed and truthful, can give a shape to the chaos of history... The quiet elegance of Thien's writing makes a brutal story powerful and moving -- Kate Saunders * The Times *
Extremely moving and honest while maintaining lyricism and beautifully balanced prose. She takes you into the nightmare on Year Zero with extraordinary assurance -- AL Kennedy
Thien is a gifted and compassionate author. Her writing is a pleasure to read, pared down yet highly charged, harrowing yet lyrical, peppered with acute observation and psychological insight, unforgettable -- Yvvette Edwards, author of 'A Cupboard Full of Coats'
A moving, densely poetic narrative which implicitly asks us to consider the essence of who we are, our personal connections and why they are precious * Metro *
Thien's powerful new novel reminds us that leaving the past behind is rarely simple... Brilliantly evokes 1970s Cambodia, from the chaos of Phnom Penh to the sweltering, filthy work camps, from the interrogation centres to the lush forests. But she's equally adept at bringing cold, clean Montreal to life... Her novel leaves the reader deeply moved and, ultimately, hopeful * Irish Times *
Thien's sparse, elegant writing gives Dogs at the Perimeter a beauty that is all the more poignant for its subject matter... The strife in Indo-China has inspired some astonishing writing in recent decades. Dogs at the Perimeter belongs with the best of such works. It tells a universal story about being borne back into the past - and the inescapability of history * Economist *
Sure-footed and utterly convincing in how it weighs the psychological damage inflicted by a regime that demands denial of family, friends and self as a condition of survival... Gripping * Financial Times *
Captures the random terror and chaos of Year Zero and presents a credible portrait of Phnom Penh... Thien's observations of the ravaged country maintain a fine balance between lyricism and horror -- Alfred Hickling * Guardian *
Thien's prose is like poetry, rich with detail... [She] displays a quiet power... her cast has genuine complexity... Haunting and moving -- Steve Crashaw * Asian Review of Books *
Dogs at the Perimeter explores the aftermath of war with a quiet power ... Thien writes with an elegant economy whose spare sentences heighten the horror ... This is a beautiful, deeply moving novel that addresses universal questions -- Julie Wheelwright * Independent *
A nightmare account of the horrors of man's inhumanity to man and its damage to the psyche -- John Harding * Daily Mail *
An achingly beautiful novel about one of last century's most horrendous catastrophes ... Dogs at the Perimeter is a remarkably crafted book by an author who hasn't flinched from the challenge -- Sara Dowse * Canberra Times *
Intimate... Written with great poetry * Cambodia Daily *