The first novel by an author who grew up in Nelson and Kaslo is being distributed by a major U.S. publisher.
Molly Lynch’s The Forbidden Territory of a Terrifying Woman was released in June by Catapult Books and distributed by Penguin Random House.
She read from and discussed the book at a launch attended by about 90 people at the Nelson Museum on July 5.
The novel’s central character disappears from her home, prompting a nation-wide search. This turns into a phenomenon that looks like an epidemic — across the world, women are leaving their homes and their families, and no one knows why. Perhaps the women themselves don’t know why.
The novel is set up to pose questions about the reasons, Lynch says, and there are no easy answers.
“I am hoping for the reader to think about would be the possible causes of such a thing, particularly against the backdrop of the climate crisis and social collapse in other forms.”
Writing the book involved “looking at the chaos of life and not running away.” The book does not fit the genres of mystery or speculative fiction, she says.
Despite the context of social breakdown and ecological collapse, Lynch says the story is focused on family relationships.
“It’s a domestic drama in which something unusual is happening. It’s about the characters, it’s about their relationships.”
Lynch teaches creative writing as well as literature courses on social justice at the University of Michigan.
bill.metcalfe@nelsonstar.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
