Below Luck Level - by Barbara Erasmus (Paperback)

About the Book

"Hannah always finds a way to get what she wants. Daughter to Chloe Cartwright, an eccentric prize-winning writer more interested in politics than parenthood, and sister to a rugby-star brother, Hannah has never excelled at much besides shoplifting. Discovering a talent for petty crime, she steals what she needs to fit in with her wealthier school friends, while at home, her mother's sporadic paychecks often mean an empty fridge. As an adult, Hannah falls, almost by chance, into a successful career as partner to one of South Africa's leading chefs. But the universe has a dark sense of humor. When her mother's increasingly erratic behavior forces Hannah home again, she finds herself in a bizarre role reversal, caring for the mother who never had time to care for her. As she searches for ways- both conventional and radical- to ease Chloe's suffering, past and present blur"--

Book Synopsis

Hannah always finds a way to get what she wants.

Daughter to Chloe Cartwright, an eccentric prize-winning writer more interested in politics than parenthood, and sister to a rugby-star brother, Hannah has never excelled at much besides shoplifting. Discovering a talent for petty crime, she steals what she needs to fit in with her wealthier school friends, while at home, her mother's sporadic paychecks often mean an empty fridge.

As an adult, Hannah falls, almost by chance, into a successful career as partner to one of South Africa's leading chefs. But the universe has a dark sense of humor. When her mother's increasingly erratic behavior forces Hannah home again, she finds herself in a bizarre role reversal, caring for the mother who never had time to care for her. As she searches for ways- both conventional and radical-- to ease Chloe's suffering, past and present blur.

Review Quotes

"Erasmus perfectly captures the emotional kaleidoscope experienced by adult children caring for parents with dementia or Alzheimer's disease in this emotional and darkly funny novel about what life looks like when you're forced to grieve for the living." - Sierra Godfrey, author of A Very Typical Family

"South African writer Erasmus' haunting North American debut begins and ends with a mother's death. Erasmus writes with raw urgency....Despite the unfolding tragedy, Erasmus deftly inserts surprising humor and charm, even channeling novelist and philosopher Iris Murdoch, to create an empathic journey of death and, also, life." - Booklist

"Erasmus captures the heroic way in which those soldiering through trauma live simultaneously in the past and present, often because the future is shrouded in darkness and uncertainty. A beautiful book about a mother daughter bond in the face of fatal disease." - Zoe Fishman, The Fun Widow's Book Tour

"A haunting, funny exploration of Alzheimer's disease. Erasmus always surprises and delights." - William Saunderson Meyer, Sunday Times (South Africa)

"Harrowing and intensely sad, but Erasmus structures her novel so cleverly and has such a lively, witty style that you never feel bogged down [...] This is one of those rare books that will make you laugh and cry. Highly recommended." - Jane Vorster, YOU Magazine (South Africa)

"Barbara Erasmus has achieved something remarkable here. [...] Erasmus's elegant and skilled writing hooks you in from page one [...] The pace is beautifully controlled; there is no wallowing in horrors, though horrors are present." - Margaret Van Klemperer, The Witness (South Africa)

"Barbara Erasmus writes with acute perception about human behaviour, dissecting the motivations of her characters with a surgeon's skill. [...] [A] consummate story teller." - Janet Van Eeden, LitNet (South Africa)

About the Author

Barbara Erasmus is a writer and journalist living in Cape Town. Having grown up in Zimbabwe, she spent twenty-five nomadic years following her husband's career, which sparked an award-winning career in travel writing. Barbara has published three novels in South Africa: Kaleidoscope (Penguin, 2004), nominated for the Commonwealth Best First Novel; Even with Insects (Penguin, 2005); and Below Luck Level (Penguin, 2012). Her crime novel, Chameleon, was published in installments on the blog Crime Beat, which she edited for three years. This is her North American debut.