Etna by Paul Yoon is a 208 standalone novel published by Scribner in August of 2026.

Genre

Literary Fiction

Description

Beloved author and winner of The Story Prize, Paul Yoon, is back with the unforgettable story of a working dog, Etna, who, after a devastating war, embarks on an odyssey in the hopes of returning home.

Set in a fictional country in the present day, this is a story told through the eyes of an ex-military dog, Etna. After surviving years of a devastating war, Etna decides one night to leave the men he has fought alongside for years and return home—to the place where he was taken from when he was young, in the thin but persistent hope that if a home exists for him, it might be there.

Thus begins an exhilarating odyssey told through the eyes of a dog as he traverses across ruined landscapes and fights to survive in a world that, even in peacetime, proves to be just as precarious. Along the way, he encounters other animals and humans who are attempting to figure out how to start again. What makes a life when there is no home to go back to? How do we begin to trust each other again after such profound loss?

This is a novel about the power of an idea, about never giving up, and ultimately a novel about finding hope in the most dire of times.

Opening Line

I was born near water.

My Thoughts

We need friends, Etna, the bird says. We need a pack.

Even if we lose our pack, I say.

Especially because of that, she says.

Well, I knew going in that this book would ruin me. Obviously that means it’s a contender for my favorite read of the year!

When he was basically still a pup, Etna was taken from the farm by the coast where he was born to be trained as working dog for the military. After four years of helping the troops locate landmines, UEX, and IEDs, he strikes out to try to find his way back home again across a war-ravaged land.

This is a literary novel told from the dog’s POV, with no quotations around dialogue. It is very emotional, as it deals with the devastation of war, both physically and mentally.

I got injured six times. Most times it was only the graze of shrapnel or a bullet or something else small and sharp…

Fuji: she got injured five times.

As time went on, the more hurt she was, the more she wanted to hurt.

And the blue in her eyes grew less blue, and I could never explain that.

He meets others on his journey, both animals and humans, and he is the goodest boy ever.

I highly recommend reading this if you also appreciate being emotionally damaged by books.