The gift
By: Florence Noiville ; translated from the French by Catherine Temerson
Contributors: Temerson, Catherine
Publisher: Northwestern University Press
Published: 2012
Place of publication: Evanston, Ill
Language: eng
Number of pages: 99
ISBN-13: 9780810126763
Subjects: Manic-depressive illness; Fiction; Mothers and daughters
Work titles: Donation
Description: "This moving fictional memoir begins as a woman heads home after a meeting about her inheritance. Once on the train, she jots down a few notes, intended as a letter to her parents, which prompt the lyrical burst of memory and emotion that consitute this arresting novel. The narrator's mother had always loomed large in her life. Labeled "eccentric" or "Italian," her mother actually suffered from bipolar disorder. Without understanding the disease, the family treated the unpredictable ups and downs of her condition as best they could. During periods of paralyzing depression she was hospitalized, and the family felt abandoned. During periods of manic productivity, she was a dedicated pharmacist, an exemplary homemaker, and an exceptionally knowledgeable gardener."--P. [4] of cover.