COMING SEPTEMBER FROM SERVING HOUSE BOOKS
“Memory and grief are at the heart of Garruba’s tale; the author explores the ways in which the two are intertwined and shape those who are left behind when loved ones die. Frances and Claire try, in their respective ways, to hold on to and understand Rose, a woman they failed to truly grasp in life . . . Garruba’s writing is descriptive and stirring, placing readers fully in the sisters’ memories.”
— Kirkus Reviews
About The Vanishing of Rose B. :
Rose B. defied mid-century expectations of what a woman could be and do: not only a devoted wife and mother, Rose B. was the family’s main breadwinner. Exemplary, yes—but in private, Rose suffered her charismatic husband’s abuse, abuse witnessed by their twin daughters Claire and Frances. Now Rose has died and Frances, long estranged from the family, returns home to help Claire sort through Rose’s clothes. Told in two voices—that of the dynamic, conflicted Frances and the tender, diffident Claire—The Vanishing of Rose B. explores the nature of compassion, the largely unsung lives of mothers, and the difficulties mothers and daughters encounter in defining themselves within the world and against each other.
“Nancy Garruba’s The Vanishing of Rose B. is a beautiful meditation on the intricacies of memory, and of family. The reflections of twin sisters Frances and Claire on their mother’s quiet, yet forceful and memorable, life may make you rethink the lives of your own family members—as powerful fiction often does.”
— Joyce Hinnefeld, author of The Dime Museum
“With gorgeous, elegant, and spare prose, The Vanishing of Rose B. underscores the strength of women and reveals how differently twin sisters can perceive and process their family’s history. Garruba’s women are luminous and captivating. A beautiful achievement.”
— Katrina Denza, author of Burner and Other Stories
“A tender and intimate portrait of a family, The Vanishing of Rose B. is a spiral of a novel in two voices. Moving back and forth in time, Frances and Claire unravel the intricate layers of their childhood with their mother Rose and the meaning of what’s left behind when she’s gone. In taut and poignant prose, the novel asks us to consider the stories and objects of our past: what do we cherish, what do we turn away from, what must we reckon with.”
— Ellen Meeropol, author of The Lost Women of Azalea Court
Read an excerpt here.