I attended an incredible book launch of Angie Spoto’s The Grief Nurse at the Portobello bookshop. Chaired by Katalina Watt and published by Standstone Press the book is available now.

How would you feel if there was a person who could take your grief away? That is precisely what Lynx can do. Set on an isolated island with a wealthy family at the heart of a big encompassing house. The Aster family is bubbling over with secrets and the arrival of a new grief nurse causes Lynx to reflect on who she is.

The idea for The Grief Nurse took six years to come to fruition and steamed from many ideas. One including that in Victorian times, sometimes a wealthy person in mourning would hire someone else to wear black for them. I had never heard this before and I was fascinated.

Angie Spoto spoke about understanding the different kinds of grief that there were and understanding how we all see grief differently. In the book grieves form is in a physical object such as an ivy or an orange and Kataline Watt (chair) said that after reading the book you will reflect on what object your own grief would be.

The Aster family are named after constellations. Angie Spoto made the comparison of us seeing the constellations in the sky and comparing it to grief. Because the constellations are there and we see them and talk about them but really we know nothing about them. Which is the same as grief. It is there and it is overpowering and haunting. It is such a strong emotion but yet you can’t touch it and it is hard to explain the feelings and presence it has.

The landscape of the island is inspired by a fusion of The Netherlands and Scotland. Scottish coastal landscape is so empowering with the sea which looks so pretty but it has the power to kill you at the same time. All that natural power and beauty play an important part in the book.

It was a refreshing and thought-provoking launch, the book sounds like it has multiple layers to it and the world-building sounds so superb, I am so eager to review it.

Blurb

Imagine you could be rid of your sadness, your anxiety, your heartache, your fear.

Imagine you could take those feelings from others and turn them into something beautiful.

Lynx is a Grief Nurse. Kept by the Asters, a wealthy, influential family, to ensure they’re never troubled by negative emotions, she knows no other life.

When news arrives that the Asters’ eldest son is dead, Lynx does what she can to alleviate their Sorrow. As guests flock to the Asters’ private island for the wake, bringing their own secrets, lies and grief, tensions rise.

Then the bodies start to pile up.

With romance, intrigue and spectacular gothic world-building, this spellbinding debut novel is immersive and unforgettable.

Angie Spoto is an American writer living in Scotland. She grew up near Chicago, lived in the Netherlands, and eventually moved to Scotland to get her PhD in Creative Writing at the University of Glasgow. She loves stories that are dark and surreal, strange and magical, and is inspired by writers like Ursula Le Guin, Octavia Butler, Leonora Carrington, and Naomi Novik. She loves fairy tales, especially Scottish ones. She lives beside the shore with her husband and son.

Katalina Watt is published in magazines and anthologies including Haunted Voices, Unspeakable, Reclamation, and Extra Teeth. They were longlisted for Penguin Write Now 2020, awarded a 2021 Ladies of Horror Fiction Writers Grant, and 2022 Ignyte award-winning ​founding Audio Director for khōréō magazine. She is represented by Robbie Guillory at Underline Literary.

Buy Links

https://www.theportobellobookshop.com/9781914518171

https://amzn.to/401ZmEc

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