THE GALLERY OF LOST SPECIES by Nina Berkhout
From the award-winning poet Nina Berkhout comes the haunting debut novel, THE GALLERY OF LOST SPECIES. This is the story of a family fractured by addiction and obsession. Edith, the younger sister of a childhood beauty pageant queen, is tormented with the conflict of wanting to stave off and save her addicted sibling. It is also the story about finding solace in unexpected places- in works of art, in people and in animals that the world has forgotten.
Nina Berkhout is the author of five poetry collections, most recently Elseworlds (Seraphim Editions), which received the 2013 Archibald Lampman Award for the year’s best poetry. Her earlier work has been shortlisted for THIS magazine’s Great Canadian Literary Hunt, The Archibald Lampman Award and the John Hirsch Award. She currently lives in Ottawa.
World Rights: House of Anansi Press
Praise for The Gallery of Lost Species
“One of the most deeply moving stories I have read in many years” – Julienne Isaacs, The Globe and Mail
“The kind of book that ages you, that stays with you, that makes you think. “ – Robert Green, Bookshelf Reviews
“While the subject matter of The Gallery of Lost Species is fraught, Berkhout’s emotional and intellectual range make this novel a pleasure to read.” – Melanie Brannagan, Winnipeg Free Press
“Nina Berkhout brings a poet’s eye to her debut novel, writing with a haunting sadness about the scaling down of one’s most tremendous dreams. Despite the undertone of life’s fragility and disappointments, Edith’s sense of humour and ability to see things with detached irony makes her a powerful and endearing protagonist.” – Suzanne Desrochers, author of Bride of New France
“This artful, multi-layered novel describes a love between two sisters that idealizes and mythologizes in an attempt to stave off loss. Nina Berkhout is a master at showing how we trick ourselves into believing that we can hunt down and hold the elusive other.” – Claire Holden Rothman, author of My October
Nina Berkhout talks about the book with the Town Crier: town-crier.ca/interview/interview-the-gallery-of-lost-species/