The unconventional U.S. debut of prizewinning Dutch author Gerritsen. Diagnosed with a terminal illness, a mother known for her lack of empathy reunites with her daughter, but will the pair finally be able to connect?
The handful of characters, circumscribed setting, and spare prose style effectively highlight the complexities of a mother-daughter incompatibility that is never quite resolved. Award-winner Gerrsiten’s first novel to be translated into English from the Dutch will appeal to readers interested in exploring world literature.
Bizarre interior landscapes are exposed to the light in Gerritsen’s off-kilter, at times blackly comic work of fiction ... Gerritsen’s searching story of alienation and separation may well engender discomfort in the reader, yet there’s empathy too, especially in Elisabeth’s slow fade from the picture. The lives of others, in all their peculiarity, are given sympathetic scrutiny in this diverting European oddity.
