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A
startling and ambitious novel, as funny as it is poignant, The
Petty Details of So-and-so’s Life tells the story of Blue
and Emma Taylor, who, despite an almost telepathic connection,
respond to the sudden disappearance of their explosive father
in remarkably different ways. Emma sets off in pursuit of a new
family, and discovers a sense of belonging in the most unexpected
places. Burly, tattoo-stamped Blue, haunted by the brutal, disparaging
voice of their father, embarks on a cross-country search for the
elusive parent. Emma and Blue share a most intimate connection,
one forged in the secret worlds and wordless communications of
childhood. As they grow, they discover the limits of the language
they share.
Camilla Gibb’s
debut novel, Mouthing the Words, won the 2000 City of Toronto
Book Award, and has been published in twelve countries. Camilla
is one of two Canadian authors named to the Orange Futures List,
compiled by the Orange Prize jury to celebrate twenty-one promising
writers to watch in the new century.
REVIEW QUOTES
“Suggestive of Wilde at his spirited best . . . Gibb’s narrative
leaves you poised — sometimes within a single sentence — between
laughter and heartbreak.” — The Globe and Mail
Praise for Mouthing the Words:
“Mouthing the Words rings with an authority rarely found
in first novels. By dint of Gibb’s lush, visceral prose, Mouthing
the Words persuasively charts one woman’s journey back to
wholeness.” — The Washington Post
“Gibb’s debut novel is both gut-wrenching and gut-busting. Ridiculously
good for a first novel.” — NOW Magazine
“Gibb scales her story small, twists her sentences into prickly,
unsentimental assaults and ends up with a portrait of terrible,
comic humanity.” — The New York Times
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Camilla Gibb was born in London, England, and grew up in Toronto.
She has a Ph.D. in social anthropology from Oxford University.
She lives in Toronto.
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