Search results for ""Author Rivka Galchen""

AN OBSERVER BOOK OF THE YEAR A droll and dazzling compendium of observations, stories, lists, and brief essays about babies. ‘Beguiling … A wunderkabinett of baby-related curios … A peculiar book, and astonishing in its effect.’ Boston Globe One August day, a baby was born, or as it seemed to Rivka Galchen, a puma moved into her apartment. Her arrival felt supernatural, she seemed to come from another world. And suddenly, the world seemed ludicrously, suspiciously, adverbially sodden with meaning. But Galchen didn’t want to write about the puma. She had never been interested in babies, or in mothers before. Now everything seemed directly related to them and she specifically wanted to write about other things because it might mean she was really, covertly, learning something about babies, or about being near babies. The result is Little Labours, a slanted enchanted miscellany. Galchen writes about babies in art (with wrongly shaped head) and babies in literature (rarer than dogs or abortions, often monstrous); about the effort of taking a passport photo for a baby not yet able to hold up her head and the frightening prevalence of orange as today’s chic colour for baby gifts; about Frankenstein as a sort of baby and a baby as a sort of Godzillas. In doing so she opens up an odd and tender world of wonder.

Read more less

‘Riveting’ Margaret Atwood ‘I loved this book intensely’ Lauren Groff Guardian The plague is spreading. The hundred year war is beginning. Katharina Kepler is believed to be a witch. Known for her herbal remedies and successful children – among them Johannes, Imperial Mathematician and author of the laws of planetary motion – Katharina’s life is changed by an accusation of witchcraft. Facing financial ruin, torture and even execution, she tells her side of the story. Witty, engaging and vividly imagined, Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch draws on historical documents to illuminate a society undone by collective aggression and hysterical fear – a narrative with true resonance for today. ‘Darkly funny … Her prose, which recalls Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall, is light, pared back and subtly archaic’ Financial Times ‘Superbly voiced … funny’ Telegraph ‘A magical brew of absurdity and brutality’ Washington Post ‘Galchen expertly weaves together a story told from multiple perspectives, showing how easy it is for a mob mentality to take hold in a climate of fear and ignorance when a woman simply exists outside of the norm’ New York Times

Read more less

J. G. Ballard – author of ‘Crash’ – explores the extremes of ecology and feminism in this highly acclaimed modern fable. Newly reissued with an introduction by Rivka Galchen. Dr Barbara Rafferty is a fearless conservationist, determined to save a rare albatross from extinction. Her crusade gains widespread coverage when earnest young environmentalist Neil Dempsey is shot and wounded. Support for the conservationists grows and well-wishers flock to the island, bringing with them specimens of other endangered creatures to be protected by Dr Barbara and her crew. The island seems a new Eden. But is Dr Barbara as altruistic as she appears? Why are the islanders committing acts of self-sabotage? And what’s keeping Neil alive while the other men sicken? A classic exploration of the extremes of human behaviour from J.G Ballard, this is a brilliantly unsettling novel in which all preconceptions are overthrown. This edition is part of a new commemorative series of Ballard’s works, featuring introductions from a number of his admirers (including Robert Macfarlane, Martin Amis, James Lever and Ali Smith) and brand-new cover designs from the artist Stanley Donwood.

Read more less