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We trust that what we know to be normal is normal simply because it is known to us. Worlds meet in collision and the coherence of our histories crumble. I feel it in the blank looks I tend to receive at dinner parties. When other people recount stories, I habitually interject with statements like, "Oh yeah, I know exactly what you mean. I used to feel just like that when my father held me over the bridge by the armpits."So begins Camilla Gibb's debut novel Mouthing the Words, the compelling account of one young woman's years of abuse. When Thelma emigrates with her English family to Canada as a child, she packs away a large assortment of imaginary friends: there is Heroin, who is "the biggest, the bravest, the most grown-up"; Janawee, who cried an "awful lot because she was scared of almost everything" and Ginniger, who "sometimes played mother, sometimes Heroin's baby girl and sometimes Daddy's naughty secretary". Thelma's fertile imagination is blamed for a lot of things, particularly her rather elaborate stories about Daddy. Granted access to Thelma's inner world, the reader cannot turn a blind eye and is consequently spared nothing. This is not easy reading but Gibb's simple, lucid prose conveys the horror of the situation without ever reducing it to the voyeuristic. In her mind's eye, Thelma can turn into a stick insect, pinned to the ceiling, "safe there and rigid and tight and looking down on the immense world below" and an icicle "hard as ice, and as shiny and beautiful and clear as pure water" while her father stays down below with the other Thelma.
Gibb's exquisite prose translates a harrowing world of child abuse, mental illness and institutionalism into the most startling, powerful imagery with such simplicity and directness that she leaves you in awe. The episodes in which this spirited, puritanical child clashes with the grown-up world are sometimes hilarious, always poignant, with occasionally heartbreaking results: "I am eighteen and I am still not adopted. How many people have I asked? Mr Foster my biology teacher took that as an invitation to stick his tongue in my mouth--and after that, well, that was only recently, but I've decided to give up". Camilla Gibb's debut novel Mouthing the Words is not only a testament to her ability as a writer but testimony of a voice that all too often goes unheard. --Nicola Perry
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Book Description Softcover. Condition: Fine. First Edition. We're happy to combine shipping to save you some money. We're also always buying collectible book collections. Contact us for details. We're happy to provide pictures of any and all books for you, please just ask! SIGNED & INSCRIBED Canadian SOFT COVERED first edition, first printing. Signed & Inscribed on the title page by author. Virtually no wear to covers. Covers are clean and bright. Edges are sharp. No tears or creases. The book itself is in Near Fine condition. The binding is straight and tight. NO remainder mark. Signed. Seller Inventory # ABE-1490785652243
Book Description Soft cover. Condition: Fine. First. pp.186 clean tight copy Size: 12mo - over 6¾" - 7¾" tall. Seller Inventory # 017171
Book Description Condition: Good. Buy with confidence! Book is in good condition with minor wear to the pages, binding, and minor marks within. Seller Inventory # bk0968188451xvz189zvxgdd
Book Description Soft cover. Condition: Very Good+. Canadian First. First edition stated on verso of title page; inscribed and dated Dec '99 on the title page by Camilla Gibb; a bit of edge wear to card covers; gift inscription on half-title page; otherwise a solid, clean copy with no marking or underlining; collectible condition. Inscribed by Author(s). Book. Seller Inventory # 022164
Book Description Paperback. Condition: Very Good. First Edition, 1999. Signed and Inscribed by author on Title page. Seller Inventory # 978096818845C
Book Description Condition: Very Good. Book is in Used-VeryGood condition. Pages and cover are clean and intact. Used items may not include supplementary materials such as CDs or access codes. May show signs of minor shelf wear and contain very limited notes and highlighting. Seller Inventory # 0968188451-2-3
Book Description Soft cover. Condition: As New. No Jacket. 1st Edition. As new copy. (see picture) 186 pages. Signed by the author on the title page. Signed by Author(s). Seller Inventory # 008350
Book Description Soft cover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. 1st Edition. First Edition, First Printing softcover of the author's first book in Fine condition. Signed by the author. Signed by Author(s). Seller Inventory # 000204
Book Description Trade Paperback Original. Condition: Fine. First Edition. Debut novel by Canadian author. 186 pages. Briefly inscribed by author on title page "For ___ / With best wishes, Camilla Gibb". Signed by Author. Seller Inventory # 20676
Book Description Soft cover. Condition: NF. Novel. Toronto Book Award winner. Seller Inventory # 1130014