The Erratics A Memoir
—Margaret Atwood via Twitter In this award-winning memoir, two sisters reckon with the decline and death of their outlandishly tyrannical mother and with the care of their psychologically t. Learn more about The Erratics in the CLAMS digital collection. The bleak beauty of the Canadian landscape set against this wry memoir of a daughter's journey with her sister through their parents' decline into ill-health and dementia is an extraordinary read.' Candida Baker 'The Erratics grabbed me by the throat and never let go. The Erratics: A Memoir by Vicki Laveau-Harvie (2020, Hardcover) Be the first to write a review. About this product. Brand new: Lowest price. The lowest-priced brand-new, unused, unopened, undamaged item in its original packaging (where packaging is applicable). The Erratics by Vicki-Laveau Harvie Photograph: Carly Earl/The Guardian With agile humour and moments of tenderness, The Erratics by Vicki Laveau-Harvie evokes the Canadian winter and the trauma of. In this award-winning memoir, two sisters reckon with the convalescence and death of their outlandishly tyrannical mother and the care of their psychologically terrorized father, all relayed with dark humour and brutal honesty.When Vicki and her sister learn their mother has been hospitalized for a.
The Erratics is the 2019 winner of the Stella Prize, which celebrates female writers in Australia. There’s an interesting story to the lead up to that moment. The book had actually gone out of print after the original publisher folded, but it was since picked up by Harper Collins for re-publication.
Vicki Laveau-Harvie is a debut novelist, and The Erratics is a memoir of a difficult time in her life, coping with the demise of her elderly parents who she had gotten estranged from. The striking thing about the book, almost immediately, is her unique voice. It reads like poetry. Something rhythmic, like a haiku.
The bleak and harsh winter of Canada is the backdrop, described beautifully by Laveau-Harvie, which complements the cruelty with which her mother treats her father. Although a diagnosis is never mentioned, it is clear that her mother suffers from severe psychiatric illness – almost certainly a personality disorder, and possibly a concurrent mood disorder. The book delves into the devastating impact that psychiatric illness has on families, but it is written with a distance. It is almost unemotional. Laveau-Harvie does have a good sense of humour about her, which is dark and dry. I did catch myself having a little chuckle to myself at times, despite the intense tragedy of the book.
The glaringly missing thing from this memoir is any reference to childhood. Most children with abusive parents have complex trauma that affects them well into adulthood, which would have been an important piece for this memoir. The ending is also somewhat unsatisfying. However, the beauty of the book is really in the writing rather than the plot. It can be at times repetitive – her mother’s broken hip being referred to as “powder” one too many times – and the modern pop-culture references are a bit cringe-y, but there is no denying that Laveau-Harvie is a gifted and experienced writer. Her metaphors are original and delicate. This piece of narrative non-fiction is truly art.
Happy reading,
The Erratics Memoir
Miko xx