by Erica Van Horn

Published 11 April 2022

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Assembling fragments of past and present Erica Van Horn describes a life laid out in detail, quietly registering the fuzziness of the line between eccentricity and madness. In this mosaic portrait of a singular everywoman, an undutiful daughter details her mother's immutable rituals and her irrepressible anarchy.

Preview the first chapter
See reviews in the Irish Times and on the Elliptical Movements blog

‘It’s placid, careful and caring, only ever distantly ironic. Like Lydia Davis, but played straight, without the need to interrogate every word, every phrase. I’m enjoying it very much.’ – Jonathan Gibbs, author of The Large Door, on twitter

‘Erica Van Horn’s astonishing attention unfolds galaxies from small things. A hard boiled egg or a blank gift card illuminate essential truths in this affecting and compelling portrait of her mother. Every word wrapped with infinite care. Tender and funny yet never sentimental. Smart, spare, and exact. And apparently effortless. A masterclass in depth from simplicity. More than that: it changed the way I see. I loved LOVED this book. The most perfectly formed thing.’ – Keggie Carew, author of Dadland

‘In a work as personal and universal as that of her fellow American writer-artist Joe Brainard, Van Horn focuses on the small but revealing particulars of her mother’s life; the loves, the hates, and the obsessions. Told, as only Van Horn can, with unaffected, yet sympathetic, candour, grace, and humour, the result is a subtle affirmation of the familial — the personalities and relationships, the memories, and the tensions that make all of us who and what we are.’
– Ross Hair, author of Avant-Folk

‘For a story that takes as its starting point the ongoing task of writing the obituary for its protagonist, this is a remarkably (and for Van Horn, characteristically) unsentimental book. Like mother like daughter: both abhor waste. Gathered here are ‘details’ that are unlikely to find their way into the final draft of the obituary. These document some of the mother’s rituals, preferences, and characteristic way with things, including eggs, envelopes, coins, clocks, calendars, Broadway musicals, and the United Nations. We read these through the tender, amused, exasperated gaze of the daughter, and the wry observational style that makes Van Horn’s writing such a delight.’
– Dr Julie Bates, Trinity College Dublin

‘A masterpiece in simplicity and acute observation. I laughed, smiled and was utterly beguiled. And something deeper... a perfect gem.’
– Keggie Carew, on Erica Van Horn’s By Bus

Paperback original with French reverse flaps & lilac endpapers
180 pages, 180 x 120 mm
ISBN 978-1-7397783-0-9

NB: For orders to the EU, please contact us about your local retailers, or order through an alternative UK online retailer
This book ships to North America, including Canada.