THE MAN WHO LOVED CROCODILE TAMERS

A daughter's unforgettable portrait of a complex man, by a writer with the narrative gifts of Elizabeth Strout, Anne Tyler, Jane Gardam and Carol Shields

‘THE MAN WHO LOVED CROCODILE TAMERS takes us into the “cracks and susceptibilities of the human heart” — a wise and witty authorial voice.' — Lyndall Gordon

‘Dowling's fiction has its own special flavour, achieved by an alchemy of wit, irony, acuity, common sense and
desperation.' — Jane Rosenthal, Mail & Guardian

Gina knows hardly anything about her father apart from the fact that he was once engaged to Koringa, a crocodile tamer, and that he is buried in an unmarked grave. In between shifts at a call centre, with Doubt always looking over her shoulder, she works on a novel about him, ultimately drawing back the curtain on a complex life, in a narrative that is by turns enchanting, funny, and heartbreaking.

Moving between England and South Africa, WWII and the present day, THE MAN WHO LOVED CROCODILE TAMERS is a story of love and family, creativity and courage: a celebration of strong women and a haunting defence of a ‘nervous' man.

Finuala's earlier novel HOMEMAKING FOR THE DOWN-ATHEART (SA: Kwela, 2011) is a warm, funny and deeply moving exploration of the complexities of family life in the ‘sandwich years' — caring for both an ageing parent and a troubled teenager.

Praise for Finuala Dowling:

‘Witty and wise.' — Jackie Kay, Guardian

‘Brilliantly funny. In years to come Dowling will be recognised for the home-grown Austen that she is.' Diane
Awerbuck, Sunday Times (SA)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Finuala Dowling is a prize-winning poet and novelist and an acclaimed poetry teacher. She lives in Kalk Bay, Cape Town. Her first novel was WHAT POETS NEED, followed by FLYLEAF. HOME-MAKING FOR THE DOWN-AT-HEART won the M-Net Prize 2012 and was shortlisted for the University of Johannesburg Prize in the same year. Her novel THE FETCH won the 2016 Herman Charles Bosman prize for English fiction.