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"I write because there are things I can't sing. There are ways of writing that can't be sung. I write because I watch," says Jeb Loy Nichols, an internationally acclaimed musician and artist, about his literary art. In this unforgettable novel, Suzanne has arranged her life to suit her solitariness, living quietly on her untended hill farm. Her days are a word-shy negotiation, caught between indifference and uncertainty. Into this world comes Gertrude, a wandering donkey. Together they form an unlikely alliance; each protecting the solitude of the other.
Suzanne and Gertrude is a tale of intermittent griefs and wonderments. How do we live, not just with each other, but with memories, with impermanence, with the inevitable melancholy of being?
Suzanne and Gertrude is a spare novel with a profound impact.
About the author
Jeb Loy Nichols was raised in Missouri and Texas . He studied art in New York City and for many years has lived off the grid in Wales where he writes, produces art, makes music, and plants trees. His first novel, Suzanne and Gertrude, was published by Pushcart to international praise.
He lives in rural Wales and comments: "I live here in the hills because I don't want to be anywhere else. There are 9 million people in London, 8 million in New York, 16 million in Lagos. That's a whole lot of people, a whole lot of neon, an army of cars, mountains of plastic, oceans of oil. That's a whole heap of trouble right there. I'm not saying it's better or cleaner or less trouble out here, but it's definitely quieter. I try and be the least I can be. Bring the least disruption, the least intrusion, the smallest footprint, do the least prettifying; shut up and be still."
