> THE READER
Catherine House, Elisabeth Thomas
“Catherine House” is unlike any other institution of post-secondary education. It’s insanely selective and the young people who are chosen tend to pursue what might seem eccentric scholarly pursuits, or “concentrations.” Yet they emerge to become society’s highest achievers, superstars in whatever fields they choose. But to acquire their free education (paid for by a generous alumni endowment), this diverse group of students must agree to stay within the college grounds, in a remote corner of Pennsylvania, for three years, summers included, relinquishing any connection with their pasts. White T-shirts and jeans are provided. This is their uniform.
We meet our narrator, Ines Murillo, on her first day at Catherine House, lying naked in an empty bathtub, hideously hungover following a party with her fellow first-year students. Ines seems hugely at odds with the stated goals of Catherine House: lazy, lacking goals, emotionally shut-down, the result of an incident in a hotel room she cannot forget.
And yet, the school’s director, Viktoria Varga, sees a great future for Ines if she’d buckle down and apply herself to her chosen concentration, the history of art. (Author Elisabeth Thomas is an assistant archivist at New York’s Museum of Modern Art.)
Ines slowly realizes the real academic focus at Catherine House is the new materials concentrators and their study of plasm, an ineffable ingredient that can be found in everything on Earth. And indeed, at the school’s opening assembly in first year, plasm pins are placed at various points on students’ bodies. And then there is the chanting. Ines becomes curious.
A first novel that brings together science fiction laced with classic gothic horror. It is deliciously unsettling and the last third of the book kept me up until dawn. Available Tuesday.
Darling Rose Gold, Stephanie Wrobel
Atense two-hander featuring a mother and daughter who take turns telling their stories. First, Patty Watts, the mother. She has been released after serving five years for aggravated child abuse. For18 years she secretly poisoned her daughter, believing this was the way for her to best keep her beloved child entirely dependent on her. Everyone in Deadwood felt sorry for them and Patty was regarded as a hero. When she was found out, the media dubbed her “Poisonous Patty.” She remains unrepentant and blames her ungrateful daughter for testifying against her.
Next, Rose Gold, the daughter. Growing up chronically ill, her hair fell out, her teeth rotted, she was so weak she spent much of her life confined to a wheelchair, reliant on a feeding tube for nutrition. Now her hair has grown back, she has a job, she has been saving her money to get her teeth fixed. And she has an infant son, Adam. She has led an interesting life since mom went to prison. Remarkably, the two women have managed during Patty’s incarceration to make their peace. Rose has agreed to let Patty come to stay with her. Patty is gleeful at a chance to get the family dynamic in balance once again. And so begins a devious game of cat-and-mouse.
Wrobel renders her protagonists with empathy, plausibility and acid humour.