Abacus pre-empts David Wroblewski’s ‘unforgettable’ novel Familiaris

Abacus has acquired the follow-up to David Wroblewski’s novel The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, entitled Familiaris. 

Publisher Clare Smith pre-empted UK and Commonwealth rights from Zoe Ross at United Agents, on behalf of Eleanor Jackson at Dunow, Carlson & Lerner. Familiaris will be published by Blackstone Press in the US in June 2024 followed by Abacus in August.

The novel’s synopsis reads: “Spring 1919, and John Sawtelle’s imagination has got him into trouble... again. Now John and his newly-wed wife, Mary, along with their two best friends and their three dogs, are setting off for Wisconsin’s north woods, where they hope to make a fresh start – and to live a life of meaning, purpose and adventure.

“But the place they are headed for is far stranger and more perilous than they realise, and it will take all their ingenuity, along with a few new friends – human, animal, and otherworldly – to realise their dreams.”

Described by the publisher as “by turns hilarious and heartbreaking, mysterious and enchanting", Familiaris “takes readers on an unforgettable journey from the halls of a small-town automobile factory, through an epic midwestern firestorm and an ambitious Second World War dog training programme, examining the dynamics of love and friendship, the vexing nature of families, the universal desire to create something lasting and beautiful and, of course, the species-long partnership between Homo sapiens and Canis familiaris.”

Smith said: “Familiaris is an extraordinary, unclassifiable, warm-hearted hug of a book that takes you into a world that feels entirely vivid, fresh, immediate. I fell into the lives of John, Mary, Frank and Elbow as well as the Sawtelle dogs Vi, Gus and Mr Needles, unable to put their stories down. A magnificent novel for readers new to David Wroblewski’s wonderful writing as well as for existing fans of The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, we are so proud to be publishing later this year.”

Wroblewski said: “I’m thrilled and honoured that Familiaris will be published by Clare Smith under Little Brown’s Abacus imprint, editor to and home of so many writers I admire.”