Synopsis
‘Reminiscent of Edna O’Brien, with shades too of Jean Rhys.’ – The Irish Times
Things to Come and Go showcases the incomparable talent of Bette Howland in three novellas of stunning power, beauty, and sustaining humour.
‘Birds of a Feather’ is a daughter’s story of her extended, first-generation family, the ‘big, brassy yak-yakking Abarbanels’. Esti, a merciless, astute observer, recalls growing up...
Details
27 July 2023160 pages
9781529035926Imprint: Picador
Reviews
Howland's striking prose breathes life into the everyday, the domestic world sung with a lyrical note . . . reminiscent of Edna O'Brien, with shades too of Jea Rhys.Sarah Gilmartin, Irish Times
Beneath the bright patter and eye-catching descriptions, each story has sadness at its core . . . a flood of energetic storytelling.Marion Winik, Washington Post
A writer of unusual talent, power and intelligence . . . A vigorous, original voice, an incisive mind and an uncompromised lyrical vision . . . Stunning power and beauty abound in this book; it is a trove of lyric riches.Johanna Kaplan, New York Times
The three novellas that constitute Things to Come and Go feel, at moments, like thinly disguised autobiography. With her flexible stance toward reality, her eye for the amusing, curious minutiae of existence, and her tonal range . . . Howland recalls the short-story writer Lucia Berlin.Abigail Deutsch, Harper's Magazine
