In White Ink

Elske Rahill's debut collection, In White Ink, explores motherhood, nurture, and violence through realistic and poetic stories. It portrays the psychological and physical realities of pregnancy and childbirth, as well as the expectations and failures of assigned roles. The stories are crafted snapshots of our condition, with moments of harsh poetry. Rahill's prose and narrative gaze reveal characters caught up in emotionally violent situations, but the endurance of motherhood is brilliantly and compassionately rendered.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 304 pages
Publication date: 01 June 2018
Publisher: Head of Zeus

Motherhood, nurture, and violence are the central themes of Elske Rahill's remarkable first collection, In White Ink. Rahill brings to life the psychological and physical reality of mothering, pregnancy, and childbirth in ways that few other writers have attempted. Here is a biting realism in the relations between men and women and in the expectations and failures of their assigned roles. Each story is illumined by moments of harsh poetry. They are carefully crafted snapshots of our condition. In the title story, an isolated young mother is locked in a custody battle with her abusive husband. Right to Reply shows three generations of women confronting the terrible legacy of their family's past. In Toby, a woman obsessed with hygiene finally snaps when she finds her home is infested with fleas. The precision of Rahill's prose and the stoicism of her unflinching narrative gaze reveal characters caught up in violently emotional situations. The version of motherhood found here is painful. Yet its endurance, as nature's greatest force, is brilliantly and compassionately rendered.

Weight: 222g
Dimension: 198 x 130 x 20 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781786691064