Squirrels in the Wall

<i>Squirrels in the Wall</i>--a novel told in stories by a collection of interspecies voices--presents a unique and darkly hilarious blend of human and animal perspectives in a single setting on a Wisconsin lake. The stories provide a kaleidoscope of heartbreak among both human and animal characters as they confront abuse and death. <p/> <p/>They call me Herziger but my real name is Woof one of the stories opens. They call me a dachshund but in reality I am just a dog. I live with my mother among a pack of wild humans in a big house on a lake. In the second story Squirrels in the Wall Herzie's human Barney Blatz experiences a fire in that house when he is just four. The<br> stories follow Barney from infancy to death tracing the epic ongoing conflict between him and Father--a bumbling tyrant guilty of shocking abuse but also capable of poignant redemption. <p/> <p/>On this rollicking journey we meet a suicidal toad a cat two mice a bee Grandfather's ghost and a turtle who possesses Barney in a climactic tale of environmental activism gone awry. Other stories reflect the points of view of Barney's mother sister and older brother; together they construct a collage of spectacular family dysfunction--and of healing love.