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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.
“HERE LIES is a novel of both big ideas and intimate moments. At the same time speculative and familiar, the book sews patterns of longing and loss into a shape that anyone who has ever needed and found a non-traditional family will recognize and cherish. Like most great books to come out of the South, the relentless skill and grace of the author makes a simple story of Louisiana transcend far beyond its borders. Make no mistake: Olivia Clare Friedman is one of the most singular voices in American literature and this book, like all of her work, belongs in your hands.”
-- M.O. Walsh, New York Times Bestselling author of My Sunshine Away and The Big Door Prize
