"The danger of describing other people, of applying adjectives to human beings, is that words stick and flatten. The moment I say that my mother is X, I destroy every aspect of her that X fails to contain."
"A novelist's task is to get the insect pinned but keep it quivering. Most writers give up. Their books have moments that flutter and spurt, images or scenes brought to vivid life, but then readers want heroes and plot."
"Like many of Riley's earlier books, 'The Palm House' is narrated in the first person, by a woman—this time, her name is Laura—who grew up lower middle class, with a selfish, bumbling mom and a cruel, ignorant dad."
The Palm House features a first-person narrative by Laura, a woman from a lower middle-class background. The novel delves into the intricacies of human relationships, particularly focusing on the flawed dynamics between family members. Gwendoline Riley's writing style emphasizes dialogue and character interactions over traditional plot structures. The narrative captures the essence of human complexity, resisting the urge to simplify characters into easily digestible archetypes. Riley's work aims to reveal deeper truths about life and relationships, encouraging readers to confront rather than escape reality.
Read at The New Yorker
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