All Them Dogs
A Novel
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
LONGLISTED FOR THE 2026 BOOKER PRIZE
“All Them Dogs is all that—a book you inhale, devour, grapple with, and reel from more than read.” – Booker Prize winner Marlon James
“A fast-paced tale of underworld revenge and star-crossed love that never waits for readers to catch their breath.” – NPR
“In the best Irish style, Djamel White uses a local voice to blast through language and make it new. All Them Dogs is a stylish, adroit, and gritty debut.” – Booker Prize winner Anne Enright
A young Irish gangster is caught in a brutal dance between desire and loyalty
Tony Ward is back in Dublin. After five years in England, where he fled after murdering a rival gang member, he returns to find that his mentor is dead and his best friend has gone straight.
Keen to reestablish himself, he jumps at the chance to work for the enforcer of a local crime boss. But Flute Walsh is a far cry from the boy Tony once knew. Drawn to Flute in ways he never expected, Tony finds that the boundaries he thought he understood are breaking down in a world where nothing stays buried and where retribution is just a bullet away.
By turns savage, erotic, and unexpectedly tender, All Them Dogs is a gripping story of violence, lust, and greed that explores one man’s struggles to find balance in an unsparing world.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
White debuts with a riveting and tender literary thriller about a young man exploring his sexuality while trying to find his footing in the crime world. Tony Ward has returned to his native Dublin from England, where he fled after fatally stabbing the man he believed to have killed his mentor. A friend connects him with enforcer Darren "Flute" Walsh, who collects money for his drug kingpin stepfather, Aengus Lavelle. After Tony partners with Flute to shake down a series of Aengus's debtors, he is unsettled by the violent work and by the attraction he feels toward Flute. The pair share a kiss while high on cocaine during a party, and then embark on a secret relationship. Meanwhile, Tony navigates tension with his family and the creeping sense that his past is catching up with him. After he learns a hard truth, the story lurches toward a wrenching conclusion. In between taut action sequences, Tony reflects with piercing insight on the violence he commits ("it leaves a layer of grime on you like a charred bit of toast, and when you scrape it all away into the sink some of you goes with it"). It's a memorable story of a man's ill-fated attempt to transcend his hopelessness.
