Boo Trundle, author of The Daughter Ship

SUNDAY, JULY 2 at 2 pm.

This irreverent debut delivers a headlong human comedy of trauma and triumph, narrated by the concealed inner selves of a woman on the brink. Katherine, a lost creative soul and the mother of two lovely teenagers with her strapping provider of a husband, has struggled into her forties with compulsive self-harm and intermittent fears of sexual intercourse. This brisk, mesmerizing version of her life is told in alternating short chapters by Truitt, Star, and Smooshed Bug-her inner children, each with their particular strategy for coping with Katherine's past at the hands of a hopeless mother and a terrifying, seductive father. Several of her female ancestors, Confederate widows and their daughters, who've imposed a legacy of racism and damage on her bloodline, also join the telling. The assembled ghosts and contenders for Katherine's ear are gathered in a rusting WWII submarine off the coast of Virginia Beach where her childhood shame unfolded, whether she remembers it or not. The truth of her life is, quite literally, submerged. Will they surface with it? Will they protect her from it, or deliver it to her? This unforgettable chorus of charming selves, battling over Katherine's wellbeing, is unified by their hope for her future, as they collaborate to shape a personal narrative like no other we've experienced in fiction

BOO TRUNDLE is a writer, artist, and performer whose work has appeared across various platforms and publications, including The Brooklyn Rail, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, and NPR’s The Moth. She has released three albums of original music with Big Deal Records. She lives in New Jersey. The Daughter Ship is her first novel.

Event date: 
Sunday, July 2, 2023 - 2:00pm to 3:30pm
Event address: 
109 E. Main Street
Norfolk, VA 23510-1613
The Daughter Ship: A Novel By Boo Trundle Cover Image
$27.00
ISBN: 9780593317297
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Pantheon - June 27th, 2023

This irreverent debut delivers a headlong human comedy of trauma and triumph, narrated by the concealed inner selves of a woman on the brink: Katherine, a lost creative soul and suburban mother of two, who has struggled into her forties with the urge to self-harm.