When Mr Dog Bites - Hardcover

Brian Conaghan was born in 1971. He was raised in the Scottish town of Coatbridge but now lives and works as a teacher in Dublin. He is the author of The Boy Who Made It Rain and has a Master of Letters in Creative Writing from the University of Glasgow. Over the years Brian has made his dosh as a painter and decorator, a barman, a DJ, an actor, a teacher and now a writer. He currently lives in Dublin with two beauties who hinder his writing: his wife Orla and daughter Rosie. @BrianConaghan

I loved Dylan Mint. He made me laugh out loud and his tenacity had me rooting for him from the first page * Stephen Kelman * It's the F-word - funny, foul-mouthed, fantastic! * Charlie Higson * Conaghan conveys Dylan's quirky worldview with a variety of stylistic tics ... Through harrowing scenes of bullying Conaghan evokes the way in which outsiders in society are often judged negatively by their peers. In the end, Dylan comes to terms with his difficulties and looming death in a fashion that's so surprising and charming it would be hard not to feel a little uplifted * Observer * Energetic, confident and compassionate ... There's a genuine exuberance about it ... [Conaghan] is one to watch * Scotland on Sunday * What a rip-roaring ride it is! Sixteen-year-old Dylan Mint has Tourette's Syndrome which leads him to shout unsavoury - and sometimes downright obscene - things in moments of stress. In the back of his mind Mr Dog growls and the more the stress the louder Dylan barks. So if you enjoyed Curious Incident or My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece by Annabel Pitcher then keep your eyes peeled for When Mr Dog Bites * New Books Magazine * I loved, loved, loved this story. Loved it ... I loved Dylan. I loved his mum. I loved his best bud Amir. I loved Michelle Stroppy Malloy. I loved Dylan's incredibly honest and incredibly politically incorrect use of language outside of his Tourette's - it's meaning, not words, that do the hurting ... I won't forget Dylan Mint in a very long time * TheBookbag.co.uk * Entertaining * Big Issue * A fun read that still manages to tackle issues of disability, race and poverty * RTE Guide * Brave and ambitious * Daily Mail * One of the book's most engaging characteristics, its often hilarious (and often scatological) humour ... This is a portrayal of young male bonding, complete with all the lively banter of true camaraderie, at its most tender and affectionate * Irish Times * Beautifully observed and hilariously uncomfortable ... Mint has a certain charm, and his mangled language and omnivorous approach to slang suggest a lively, inquiring brain * Philip Womack, Guardian * There is a sense of exhilarating authenticity in the wordplay of this his second novel ... After all When Mr Dog Bites' breath-taking pleasure partly is that it manages to make a difficult subject charmingly feelgood. "Heart: swollen," writes Mint at one point - and I felt that too * Glasgow Herald * Hilarious * Stylist *