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Georgia under water : stories
Sellers, Heather
Adult Fiction SELLERS
From Publishers' Weekly:
Too often collections of vaguely related stories are given chapter numbers and passed off as a novel here what is essentially a novel is divided into short stories. The nine sections are chronological installments in the life of Georgia Jackson, from ages 12 through 15. Georgia lives in Daytona Beach and later Orlando, and comes from a deeply dysfunctional family. Her father, Buck, is an irresponsible alcoholic; her mother is depressed and irrational much of the time; her brother, Sid, is her mischievous ally at the beginning, but slowly drifts away. Though extremely bright, Georgia is, like most girls her age, confused about love and life in general. She is obsessed with her developing body and sexuality, but she often has to play the adult when dealing with her parents such as when her father gets drunk and makes a scene at a block party or when she is forced to hide out in an apartment with her mother, who sleeps in the tub. There is more than a hint of a not quite incestuous relationship between father and daughter, and it reaches a crescendo during a bizarre, seedy road trip to Atlanta. Sellers's prose is strong and vibrant, full of striking imagery and inventive turns of phrase. She perfectly captures the harrowing experience of adolescence and infuses even the darkest situations with an appealing absurdity. Readers will find it hard not to be charmed by Georgia's buoyant precociousness, and will want to read the gloomy final story as the end of her trial by fire and the beginning of a better life. (May) Forecast: Sarabande is a small but lively press without a big marketing budget, so a few prominent reviews and handselling will be crucial to the success of this title it's perfect for fans of Lynda Barry. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
From Library Journal:
In "It's Water It's Not Going to Kill You," the first story in this eccentric, edgy collection, Georgia Jackson wonders if her parents "might be mental cases." This fretting echoes like a drumbeat in the pages that follow. Throughout these nine interconnected stories, Georgia and her brother, Sid, who swim in the ocean in Orlando nearly every waking moment, seem more like fish than humans. Sid enjoys hanging from the balcony railing by his feet, and their mother, Mary Carolyn, unhappy in her marriage and her life in general, curls up like a crab on the couch night after night. Buck Jackson, meanwhile, is oddly happy-go-lucky, blotting out the world with his drinking. In fact, he can't drive anywhere without a supply of plastic cups and booze bottles on his front seat. If her parents and brother aren't crazy, they are as close to it as they can get; neurotic behavior clings to them like mold on cheese. Georgia learns at a very young age (she is 12 when the book opens) to overcompensate for her parents' shortcomings Sid compensates by leaving home yet during this time she also grapples with the same issues that any adolescent would. The fact that she crosses the line at times and looks for attention in the wrong places is her own way of making up for what she doesn't get at home. These stories are provocative and melancholy; they will seep under your skin and stay there. Recommended for public library collections. Lisa Nussbaum, Dauphin Cty. Lib. Syst., Harrisburg, PA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Sellers, Heather
Adult Fiction SELLERS
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From Publishers' Weekly:
Too often collections of vaguely related stories are given chapter numbers and passed off as a novel here what is essentially a novel is divided into short stories. The nine sections are chronological installments in the life of Georgia Jackson, from ages 12 through 15. Georgia lives in Daytona Beach and later Orlando, and comes from a deeply dysfunctional family. Her father, Buck, is an irresponsible alcoholic; her mother is depressed and irrational much of the time; her brother, Sid, is her mischievous ally at the beginning, but slowly drifts away. Though extremely bright, Georgia is, like most girls her age, confused about love and life in general. She is obsessed with her developing body and sexuality, but she often has to play the adult when dealing with her parents such as when her father gets drunk and makes a scene at a block party or when she is forced to hide out in an apartment with her mother, who sleeps in the tub. There is more than a hint of a not quite incestuous relationship between father and daughter, and it reaches a crescendo during a bizarre, seedy road trip to Atlanta. Sellers's prose is strong and vibrant, full of striking imagery and inventive turns of phrase. She perfectly captures the harrowing experience of adolescence and infuses even the darkest situations with an appealing absurdity. Readers will find it hard not to be charmed by Georgia's buoyant precociousness, and will want to read the gloomy final story as the end of her trial by fire and the beginning of a better life. (May) Forecast: Sarabande is a small but lively press without a big marketing budget, so a few prominent reviews and handselling will be crucial to the success of this title it's perfect for fans of Lynda Barry. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
From Library Journal:
In "It's Water It's Not Going to Kill You," the first story in this eccentric, edgy collection, Georgia Jackson wonders if her parents "might be mental cases." This fretting echoes like a drumbeat in the pages that follow. Throughout these nine interconnected stories, Georgia and her brother, Sid, who swim in the ocean in Orlando nearly every waking moment, seem more like fish than humans. Sid enjoys hanging from the balcony railing by his feet, and their mother, Mary Carolyn, unhappy in her marriage and her life in general, curls up like a crab on the couch night after night. Buck Jackson, meanwhile, is oddly happy-go-lucky, blotting out the world with his drinking. In fact, he can't drive anywhere without a supply of plastic cups and booze bottles on his front seat. If her parents and brother aren't crazy, they are as close to it as they can get; neurotic behavior clings to them like mold on cheese. Georgia learns at a very young age (she is 12 when the book opens) to overcompensate for her parents' shortcomings Sid compensates by leaving home yet during this time she also grapples with the same issues that any adolescent would. The fact that she crosses the line at times and looks for attention in the wrong places is her own way of making up for what she doesn't get at home. These stories are provocative and melancholy; they will seep under your skin and stay there. Recommended for public library collections. Lisa Nussbaum, Dauphin Cty. Lib. Syst., Harrisburg, PA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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