What’s in a name? Personal misfortune, or so it would appear if your name happens to be "Flam Grub." This touching contemporary novel shows how our lives are entwined with our names and how our destinies are never certain.

Full of humour and sadness, quirky wit, and quiet moments of beauty, Flam Grub tells the tale of a young man’s misadventures and his retreat to the security of reading books, work in a bookstore, and a career as an undertaker until fame unexpectedly comes his way.

Both an endearing tale and a shrewd send-up of contemporary life, Flam Grub is the second book from the rich imagination and skillful pen of new Canadian author Dan Dowhal.

Dan Dowhal is the author of two previous novels, Skyfisher and Flam Grub. Born and raised in Toronto, Dan was drawn to the North, and now lives in Dawson City, Yukon, where he is a fourth-line winger for the Dawson City Gold Diggers.

Dan Dowhal's profile page

Readers will, I think, find echoes of Charles Dickens and John Irving in the way that this mans life story is told.

Whitehorse Star

"This is a funny novel with a dark underlay about a young man coping with the bedlam he was born into. A wonderful yarn of todays chaotic world."
Maggie Siggins, author of Riel, Bitter Embrace, Revenge of the Land

"Dowhals rich, evocative prose lets his hapless young hero leap off the page, an abused child whose brutal adolescence makes him candidate for either suicide or celebrity. Flam Grub is touching, startling, funny, romantic, and eminently hypnotic; once you pick it up you wont be able to put it down."
George Anthony, author of Starring Brian Linehan: A Life Behind The Scenes

"A terrific read from a strong new voice."
Barbara Gowdy, author of Falling Angels, The Romantic, Helpless

so, all the original ideas aren't gone.

by Rebellion Dog