The Book of Mother

Leslie Camhi ’81 (translator)

This semi-autobiographical novel by Violaine Huisman, originally published in French as Fugitive parce que reine, has garnered a host of critical accolades, including being named to best-of-2021 lists by the New York Times and Library Journal. It’s the first book-length translation for Camhi, a journalist and essayist who majored in English on the Hill and holds a doctorate in comparative literature from Yale. The plot involves a daughter named Violaine who struggles to understand and forgive her mother—a magnetic, difficult, and troubled woman whom she deeply adored. Says Kirkus in a starred review: “Camhi’s translation from the French of Huisman’s debut novel conveys Violaine’s steady compulsion to understand and explain, interspersed with gorgeous details.”

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