Here Lies (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780802129390)

The debut novel from the "Munro-esque" (Houston Post) author of Disasters in the First World, Here Lies is Olivia Clare Friedman's visceral and portentous look at mourning, memory, and motherhood in an alternate Louisiana ravaged by climate change.

Louisiana, 2042. Spurred by the effects of climate change, states have closed graveyards and banned burials, making cremation mandatory and the ashes of loved ones state-owned unless otherwise claimed. In the small town of St. Genevieve, Alma lives alone and struggles to grieve in the wake of her young mother Naomi's death, during which Alma failed to honor Naomi's final wishes. Now, Alma decides to fight to reclaim Naomi's ashes, a journey of unburial that will bring into her life a mysterious and fiercely loyal stranger, Bordelon, who appears in St. Genevieve after a storm, as well as a group of strong, rebellious local women who, together, teach Alma anew the meaning of family and strength.

With poignance, poeticism, and deep insight in Here Lies, Olivia Clare Friedman gives us a stunning portrait of motherhood, friendship, and humanity in an alternate American South torn asunder by global warming. This is a stunning first novel from a unique and inventive writer.

Author: Olivia Clare Friedman
ISBN-10: 0802129390
ISBN-13: 9780802129390
Publisher: Grove Press
Language: English
Published: 03/22/2022
Pages: 208
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 0.75lbs
Size: 8.60h x 5.50w x 0.90d
Award: Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards - Bronze Medal Winner

Review Citation(s):
Library Journal Prepub Alert 10/01/2021 pg. 3
Publishers Weekly 01/03/2022
Kirkus Reviews 01/15/2022
Booklist 02/15/2022 pg. 16