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.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
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
'...rings with an authority rarely found in first novels... Mouthing the Words persuasively charts one woman's journey back to wholeness.' -- Washington Post
'A bold and ambitious debut from a writer who sows the seeds of great promise' -- Daily Express
'A memorable debut' -- Daily Mirror
'An arresting study of a doomed and stolen childhood.' -- Sunday Times
'Camilla Gibb's combination of real insight and deranged detail makes this novel moving and comic at once.' -- Boston Globe
'Gibb describes the fallout from childhood sexual abuse with painful intensity...' -- The Times
'Her tales of growing up in Canada with neglectful parents are both funny and alarming...' -- Guardian
'Read it: it will change the way you see childhood forever.' -- Red
'[a] startling debut... she challenges both the reader and narrator, eliciting an examination of the self...' -- Vogue
'[an] excellent novel... desperate and funny details and a tentative happily ever after that is not false or forced' -- Observer
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Seller: The Book Scouts, Sanborn, NY, U.S.A.
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
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Seller: Wally's Books, York, ON, Canada
Soft Cover. Condition: Very Good +. Stated 1st Editon 1st Printing. Please email us if you would like further information or if you would like us to send you a picture of the book. Thanks for looking! Size: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Seller Inventory # 205697
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Seller: Booked Experiences Bookstore, Burlington, ON, Canada
Soft cover. Condition: Fine. First. pp.186 clean tight copy Size: 12mo - over 6¾" - 7¾" tall. Seller Inventory # 017171
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Seller: Hourglass Books, Vancouver, BC, Canada
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
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Paperback. Condition: Very Good. First Edition, 1999. Signed and Inscribed by author on Title page. Seller Inventory # 978096818845C
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Seller: Book Deals, Tucson, AZ, U.S.A.
Condition: Very Good. Very Good condition. Shows only minor signs of wear, and very minimal markings inside (if any). 0.55. Seller Inventory # 353-0968188451-vrg
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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
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Seller: Libris Redux, Dundas, ON, Canada
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
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Seller: Purpora Books, Comox, BC, Canada
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
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Seller: Old Goat Books, Waterloo, ON, Canada
Soft cover. Condition: NF. Novel. Toronto Book Award winner. Seller Inventory # 1130014
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