Fictional Rallying Cry in “A Dog in Georgia” https://ift.tt/JQlLzDP
In Laura Grodstein’s A Dog in Georgia, Amy Webb is a devoted wife, mother, animal lover, and food writer living a rather cushy and privileged life in New York City. However, one night after her husband Judd receives a few racy sexts from the newest hostess at his restaurant, Amy has had enough of her husband’s infidelities. While she could embark on a journey of pettiness, revenge, or divorce, Amy chooses a different path to healing. She decides to venture to Georgia to find a missing dog — the internet-famous Angel — who, before her disappearance, protected schoolchildren as they crossed the street.
The Georgia Amy visits, however, is not the state of peaches, peanuts, and diverse geography. No, it’s the country of Georgia, known for its wine, stunning scenery, rich and unique culture, and the spirit of a people still trying to escape the former Soviet Union’s grasp.
Grodstein’s novel spans continents and emotional planes. Through Amy’s determination and self-reflection, the novel explores American wealth, materialism, privilege, and freedom’s true meaning.
And it captures some of America’s — and the globe’s— hottest sociopolitical talking points, by weaving together issues including the socioeconomic oppression of women, animal welfare, the Russo-Ukrainian war, and Georgia’s ongoing fight for sovereignty. Through the depiction of Amy’s marriage, the novel’s audience peer into one woman’s reliance on a man for stability and her growth into a woman who recognizes her need for physical and socioeconomic independence.
Amy is an inspiring character. After recognizing how harmful Judd’s adulterous behavior is, she ventures to Georgia to complete a task that is personally meaningful and takes her first step toward self-reclamation. Her self-reclamation continues in Georgia, where she meets the sexy, sultry, and in-hiding Russian, Andrei. Her sexual attraction to Andrei not only surprises her but also awakens her to the failings in her marriage.
Amy’s journey to Georgia doesn’t just provide her with a brief but life-changing romance. While in Georgia, she interacts with common Georgians who have one daily task — to survive. Yes, despite their poverty, the government’s oppression, and their seemingly inescapable circumstances, the Georgians whom Amy encounters offer her a new outlook on love, life, and relationships.
First and foremost, there is Maia — the young, queer, goth Georgian teenager who stands in opposition to her mother, Irine, an old-school Georgian who knows too well the corrupt political ties that bind Georgia to modern-day Russia and the Soviet Union’s former legacy. Amy and Maia understand one another, especially as Amy reflects on her own history of protest and advocacy work. Maia embodies everything that young, freedom-wanting Georgians possess and desire — a willingness to sacrifice themselves so that they and their nation may live under “self-rule.” Maia not only stands in contrast to Irine, however; she is also the antithesis to Amy’s husband, Judd — a man who hails from wealth and privilege and, because of Amy’s portrayal of him, represents the worst trappings of American capitalism and materialism.
Andrei may be the novel’s most controversial character. He represents the occupation of nearly 20% of Georgia’s territory by Russian forces since 2008. A Russian man living and working remotely in Georgia, Andrei left Russia in order to escape Russian military conscription. His wife, who remains in Russia, knows the truth, but his daughter does not, and Andrei spends much of his time crafting stories for his daughter about serving in the Russian military and fighting Ukrainians. At first, Amy and Andrei collide because of Andrei’s views about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Although she cannot support Andrei’s position on the war, she also cannot deny their attraction.
The occupation dominates many of Amy’s conversations with the Georgians she encounters and show the cloak of ignorance under which many Americans live. Maia frequently chides Amy for this ignorance, although Amy challenges the conventional stereotypes of Americans by attempting to learn about Georgian culture and the Georgian language — both of which were historically usurped by Russian culture and the Russian language. These conversations about imperialism and colonialism implicate the United States. While involved tangentially in the Georgian people’s ongoing protests against their government, Amy finds herself wondering why Americans do not protest more when their rights are violated.
In this way, Grodstein addresses not only America’s reluctance to accept at face-value its own blood-stained history but also the complacency that led to a second Trump presidency.
A Dog in Georgia is a story of self-reflection and self-reclamation, as well as an exploration of the human connections and fulfillments one can find in places one never thought imaginable. But it is also a fictional rallying cry — one that can be heard by any concerned American citizen paying attention to America’s ongoing political spiral. It is both refreshing and necessary — for dog lovers and the politically-minded alike.
FICTION A Dog in Georgia
By Lauren Grodstein
Algonquin Books
Published August 5, 2025
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