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The Gift: A Novel
This moving fictional memoir begins as a woman heads home after a meeting regarding her inheritance. Rebeling against the legalese uttered by the attorney, her mind drifts back to her childhood and she sees her life with sudden clarity. On the train, she jots down a few notes, which prompt the poetic outpouring of memory and emotion that make up this delicate novel.
The narrator’s mother looms large in her psyche. Labeled “eccentric” or “Italian,” her mother in fact suffered from what was later found to be manic depression. Without understanding the disease, the family treated the unpredictable ups and downs of her condition as they struck. During periods of paralyzing depression she was hospitalized, and the family felt abandoned. During periods of manic productivity and overdrive, she was a dedicated pharmacist, an exemplary homemaker, and an unusually knowledgeable gardener.
This sparse novel draws the portrait of a grand and unforgettable lady, loving and unable to love at once. Her bequest is as much a material one as it is an emotional one, and, the author surmises as she glances at her own daughters, a genetic one.
The narrator’s mother looms large in her psyche. Labeled “eccentric” or “Italian,” her mother in fact suffered from what was later found to be manic depression. Without understanding the disease, the family treated the unpredictable ups and downs of her condition as they struck. During periods of paralyzing depression she was hospitalized, and the family felt abandoned. During periods of manic productivity and overdrive, she was a dedicated pharmacist, an exemplary homemaker, and an unusually knowledgeable gardener.
This sparse novel draws the portrait of a grand and unforgettable lady, loving and unable to love at once. Her bequest is as much a material one as it is an emotional one, and, the author surmises as she glances at her own daughters, a genetic one.
112 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 2, 2018
French: a family meets with a notaire to legally pass on an inheritance from parents to daughters.
However, this act also brings to light the possible inheritance of the mother's bi-polar and manic-
depressive maladie and the feelings of fear and abandonment the sisters have experienced throughout
their lives.
However, this act also brings to light the possible inheritance of the mother's bi-polar and manic-
depressive maladie and the feelings of fear and abandonment the sisters have experienced throughout
their lives.
June 8, 2017
3.5 il finale mi ha lasciato con l'amaro in bocca... però questo romanzo l'ho trovato unico *-*
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews