Matt
Haig’s cult black comedy THE
LABRADOR PACT: A Novel (Viking: On-Sale
Date: March 3, 2008; ISBN: 978-0-670-01852-9;
$23.95; 352 pages) was a word-of-mouth
hit in Europe and the film rights
have been sold to Brad Pitt’s
Plan B production company. In this
unconventional tale, the author explores
the quirks and crises of family life
from the perspective of Prince, a
black lab. This canine narrator, who
nobly abides by the “Labrador
Pact” (Duty Above All) views
it as his sacred duty to watch over
his family and to guard its integrity—no
matter what the cost.
The
Hunters—Adam and Kate and their
teenage children Hal and Charlotte—are
your typical family with typical concerns:
work, money, love, adolescent angst.
When Kate’s father passes away
and her mother comes to live with
the family, Prince suddenly finds
his world turned on end. He tussles
with the family cat, is suspicious
of Adam’s relationship with
his fetching new friend Emily, finds
himself befuddled by the unruly behavior
of Hal and Charlotte, and is devastated
when his trusty canine companions
meet unhappy ends. As Prince uses
every resource to keep the Hunter
clan together, he gradually comes
to realize that in order to save the
family, he may well need to betray
the ancient Pact of the Labradors.
Matt
Haig has created a poignant narrator
in Prince, offering a truly unique
perspective on the foibles of domestic
relationships. A bestseller when it
was published in the United Kingdom,
THE LABRADOR PACT has garnered lavish
praise overseas. The Times of London
called it “a comic tour-de-force.”
The Daily Mail declared it “an
incisive insight into contemporary
life, somewhere between Animal Farm
and Watership Down” and Jeanette
Winterson said “it will go down
among the great animal books.”
ABOUT
THE AUTHOR:
Matt Haig is also the author of The
Dead Fathers Club (movie rights for
which have been optioned by Harry
Potter producer David Heyman) and
the award-winning children’s
book Samuel Blink and the Forbidden
Forest. His writings have appeared
in The Guardian, The Sunday Times,
The Independent and The Sydney Morning
Herald. He lives in England.
THE LABRADOR PACT: A NOVEL
By Matt Haig
Book: Hardcover | Viking Adult | 352
pages | 28 Feb 2008 | 9780670018529
| $23.95
Also available from the Penguin Group
(USA) Inc by Matt Haig:
The
Dead Fathers Club
Book: Paperback | Penguin | 336 pages
| 18 Dec 2007 | 9780143112945 |$14.00
The
Dead Fathers Club
eBook: Palm reader | Viking Adult
| 336 pages | 01 Feb 2007 | 9781429508780
| $23.95
Samuel
Blink and the Forbidden Forest
Book: Hardcover | Putnam Juvenile
| 352 pages | 21 Jun 2007 | 9780399247392
| $16.99 |
