A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice Nominated for the Women's Prize for Fiction "I'm in love with a grieving misfit driving around with a donkey-shaped pinata in an old van held together by duct tape the great miracle of McKenzie's writing is how she manages to transform misery into gentle humor darkly hilarious." The Washington Post "An addictive read with an ultimately hopeful core that recalls Haruki Murakami, Sayaka Murata, Richard Brautigan, and Miranda July" Sanjena Sathian, author of Gold Diggers Penny Rush has problems. Her marriage is over, she's quit her job. Her mother and stepfather went missing in the Australian outback five years ago, her mentally unbalanced father provokes her, her grandmother Dr. Pincer keeps experiments in the refrigerator and something worse in the woodshed. But Penny is a virtuoso at what's possible when all else fails. Elizabeth McKenzie, the National Book Award nominated author of The Portable Veblen, follows Penny on her quest for a fresh start. There will be a road trip in the Dog of the North, an old van with gingham curtains, a pinata, and stiff brakes. There will be injury and peril. There will be a dog named Kweecoats and two brothers who may share a toupee.