Demi-Gods

(Paperback)

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A bold debut novel reminiscent of Emma Cline's The Girls; a story of love, lust and the spaces in between, from a prizewinning, 'captivating' (New York Times) new voice in fiction. It is 1950, and nine-year-old Willas mother has remarried. Stepbrothers Patrick and Kenneth arrive at her familys British Columbia summer home from California, signalling the end of Willas sheltered yet fragile childhood. Willas older sister Joan pairs off with Kenneth, while Willa, ever the observer, watches Patrick with interest and follows him to the beach. He lures her into a dilapidated rowboat, and as it sinks and the ocean seeps in, she is stung by a jellyfish. Instead of helping Willa, Patrick delights in her pain, forging the pattern of their relationship into adulthood. Over the years, Willas mother disengages from her family, turning to alcohol and flirtations with a younger man. And when Joan marries Kenneth, she falls into the same pattern of boredom and despair. All the while, Willa is drawn further into Patricks sadistic games. Though they see each other only a handful of times, each of their encounters is increasingly charged with sexuality and desire. When Willa finally realizes the danger of her relationship with Patrick, she desperately tries to reverse their games, with devastating results. Daring, singular, and provocative, Demi Gods explores the dualities within ourselves, both the sublime and the sordid, and the male gazerising to it, but also subverting it. Sensitive, playful, and entirely original, Eliza Robertson is one of the most exciting new voices in contemporary literature.

Reviews

Reading Wallflowers, Eliza Robertson's debut story collection, is like taking a solo swim across a chilly lake. You become mesmerized by details--the silken texture of the water, the cool air on your arms as they rise and fall, the rhythm of your breath, the dark scrub of trees on the distant shore--without ever forgetting the mysteries and potential dangers that lurk beneath . . . Captivating. * New York Times Book Review *
A young writer who succeeds in imagining the world afresh. * Independent on WALLFLOWERS *
The stories in Eliza Robertson's first collection are filled with lush flora and fauna, both real and figurative. Assured and ambitious. * Guardian on WALLFLOWERS *
Confirms her as a significant new talent. The ordinary and everyday become imbued with a strange significance, albeit with a feather-light touch; Robertson's prose is never weighed down, even as it imparts a sense of uneasiness, anticipation. Robertson lets images vibrate with possibilities. Almost every story, individually, is sharp, illuminating. * Independent on Sunday on WALLFLOWERS *

Author Bio

Eliza Robertson was born in Vancouver and grew up on Vancouver Island. She studied creative writing and political science at the University of Victoria, then pursued her M.A. in prose fiction at the University of East Anglia, where she received a Man Booker Scholarship and the Curtis Brown Prize for best writer. She was a finalist for the 2013 CBC Short Story Prize, won the 2013 Commonwealth Regional Prize for We Walked on Water, and was shortlisted for the 2013 Journey Prize. She is the author of the short story collection, Wallflowers. She lives in Norwich, England.