Böcker av Rachel Bower

Infused with the dark and strange against the landscapes of Northern England, an unforgettable debut about violence, resilience - and survivalThe three women flinch: feel something pass outside. A reek of singed fur, scorching damp. Flaming eyes. A creature. It knows these women. They feel its wanting.From the river it comes.To the river it always returns.Alex is trying to hold her growing family together with a husband who is becoming more and more difficult to keep happy. Lauren hopes that the new man in her life might present a fresh start for her and her two boys. And Nancy's son has moved her into a care home where she feels entirely out of place, longing for her lost dog while dreaming of her own escape. But there is something else at play here. Something lurking in the water or at the end of an unlit street; a shadow in a bag of strangers' clothing; a chorus of voices calling in the distance. As each woman's world spirals from her grasp, they feel it getting closer, revealing the truth of what binds them together, and what must be done to set each of them free . . .

Infused with the dark and strange against the landscapes of Northern England, an unforgettable debut about violence, resilience - and survivalThe three women flinch: feel something pass outside. A reek of singed fur, scorching damp. Flaming eyes. A creature. It knows these women. They feel its wanting.From the river it comes.To the river it always returns.Alex is trying to hold her growing family together with a husband who is becoming more and more difficult to keep happy. Lauren hopes that the new man in her life might present a fresh start for her and her two boys. And Nancy's son has moved her into a care home where she feels entirely out of place, longing for her lost dog while dreaming of her own escape. But there is something else at play here. Something lurking in the water or at the end of an unlit street; a shadow in a bag of strangers' clothing; a chorus of voices calling in the distance. As each woman's world spirals from her grasp, they feel it getting closer, revealing the truth of what binds them together, and what must be done to set each of them free . . .

Rachel Bower''s accomplished debut collection seeks to recover the lived experiences of women who have often appeared only fleetingly in official histories. The poems push towards a more expansive concept of motherhood, including our collective responsibilities for lives, environments and natural worlds. With heartfelt lyricism, Bower weaves stories of labour and love. In moments of fear and determination for survival, this collection is a hymn to the people and places which shape us."In Rachel Bower''s powerful new collection, you will find mothers displaced, mothers deceived, mothers labouring to stay sane and alive. But woven amongst any vulnerability is a fierce celebration of the mother-body, opened up to prove the unique and complex stories each one holds. I am grateful to Bower for finding these women - historical, biblical, autobiographical - and offering me such inventive, arresting poems, brim-full with blistering truths."- Rebecca Goss, Poet"Powerful, compelling and exquisitely crafted, These Mothers of Gods is a tour-de-force of female-focussed storytelling."- Teika Marija Smits, Writer and Editor"Rachel Bower''s poems show us mothering as we''ve never seen it before, through time, history, and mythology. The collection centres the voice of the other, while conveying poignant experiences of joy, elation, triumph and hardness. These image-rich verses are poems of intense curiosity and beauty."- Jason Allen-Paisant