Carolyne has contributed poetry and fiction to a number of Irish publications, including the WOW Anthology, Boyne Berries, Poetry Bus, The Stony Thursday Book, Crannóg etc.
Motherlode is Carolyne Van Der Meer's creative reinterpretation through short stories, poems, and essays of the experiences of her mother and other individuals who spent their childhood in Nazi-occupied Holland or were deeply affected by wartime in Holland.
The book documents the author's personal journey as she uncovers her mother's past through their correspondence and discussion and through research in the Netherlands. Motherlode also considers mother-daughter relationships and the effect of wartime on motherhood.
Advance Reviews
"Motherlode is Carolyne Van Der Meer's Orphic journey to reclaim the past of her mother, a child during the five years of Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. The mosaic of poetry, fiction, and reminiscence is her Dodenherdenking, a remembrance of the dead, but also her immersion in the Lake of Memory. Her quest to understand a loved one expresses the need of every child and every parent to know and to be remembered. If the past is a foreign country, Van Der Meer shows us that with empathy and imagination we can enter that land as more than mere tourists." - Steven Manners, author of Ondine's Curse and Valley of Fire.
"A mesmerizing journey through occupied wartime Netherlands; the voices emerging from the pages are haunting: replete with powerful emotions and modernity." - Isabelle Laflèche, author of J'adore New York and J'adore Paris.
If you would like to request a copy to review for a publication or blog or to examine as course material, please click here to fill out a form with your contact information. To purchase a copy for personal use, please visit your favourite bookstore or online bookseller. The book can also be purchased directly from the publishers' website.
Thank you, Michael! And a post all the way from Australia too!
ReplyDeleteLovely!