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Mohrbooks Literary Agency
Sebastian Ritscher
Original language
English
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IT IS WOOD, IT IS STONE

Gabriella Burnham

This lyrical debut novel is set in the back drop of São Paulo over the course of a year. It explores the complexities of marriage, privilege, sexuality, and history through the lives of three very different women.
Linda is an anxious and restless American writer-turned-painter struggling to find her way in a new and unfamiliar place as she and her husband, Dennis, are growing away from each other. With the unexpected appearance of Marta, the strong-willed Brazilian maid who comes to them courtesy of Dennis' university post, Linda's hopes of focusing all of her energy and time in creating a comfortable home her are thwarted, leaving her feeling insecure and uninspired. In a bar near home Linda meets Celia, a charismatic and sensual actress that takes her on a life-changing adventure with lasting repercussions.

IT IS WOOD, IT IS STONE examines the assumptions and expectations of its characters, their class distinctions and a sort of normalized, privileged behavior. The characters are born from the author's experience, her family, heartbreak, resilience and complex history.

Gabriella Burnham is a dual citizen of the USes and Brazil. Now a New York resident, she lived in São Paulo as a child and most of her family still lives there. She holds an MFA in creative writing fiction from The Writer's Foundry at St. Joseph's College. She has worked as a reporter, and a creative writing teacher and in immigration law. Gabriella's writing has appeared in The Battersea Review, Nantucket Today, The Inquirer and Mirror, and The Attic.
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Published 2020-07-28 by One World

Book

Published 2020-07-28 by One World

Comments

One of the greatest draws of It Is Wood, It Is Stone is Burnham's exquisite prose, making Linda's shrewd observations lush and alive... The writing veers from dreamlike to brutal and unflinching... Linda's soul-searching is made compelling through Burnham's lyricism.

This debut novel is striking in its confident, close study of a complex woman.

It is Wood, It is Stone is a fever dream of a book; absolutely captivating and wonderfully destabilizing. I could not put it down. It is about uprootedness, class and color, and sex. It is about women on the verge - of collapse, of escape, of self-knowledge - failing and flailing and propping one another up. It is a book about the limits of propriety and the boundlessness of grace. Burnham is a writer of such remarkable insight, it's impossible to believe this is her debut.

IT IS WOOD, IT IS STONE is 'One of the most anticipated books of Summer 2020' by Elle, Buzzfeed, Travel & Leisure, Harper's Bazaar, Afar magazine, Lit Hub, PopSugar and more

This is a remarkable story of secrecy, discovery and self-expression, delivered by a skillful observer.

Burnham's captivating debut is told in a surprisingly seamless second person...Burnham dazzles by exploring the overlapping circles of need and care though tensions of race, privilege, sexuality, history, and memory. Thanks to Burnham's precise, vivid understanding of her characters, this stranger-comes-to-town novel has the feel of a thriller as it illuminates the obligations of emotional labor. Burnham pulls off an electrifying twist on domestic fiction. Read more...

Bookriot's recommendations via YouTube Read more...

Intimate, unsparing, and compassionate, It is Wood, It is Stone is unlike anything I've read. It's a portrait of a woman adrift, but more than that: it's a reflection on race, class, and privilege, rendered in beautifully observed and textured prose that describes hazy internal weather with gimlet clarity. Gabriella Burnham writes with generosity - and with sympathy for human imperfection - and captures so well the pain, envy, and expectations on life that make up each of our pasts, and linger into our present.

A subtle and adept character study that reveals the power of connections between women. The novel is buoyed as well by Burnham's dreamy prose, with which she conjures memorable images of Brazil... the author's psychological insight and skill in portraying the multifaceted nature of female friendship make for a compelling read. A transporting debut that deftly probes the complex nature of relationships between women. Read more...

IT IS WOOD, IT IS STONE is one of Buzzfeed's "Most Anticipated Books of 2020" Linda is an American living in São Paulo, having moved with her husband for his yearlong stint as a professor. As her despondence and anxiety grow, she looks for an escape by running away with a free-spirited artist. Marta, her housekeeper, is struggling against the racial tensions of her country and frustrated by the whims of her boss. Over the course of one year, the women's lives become enmeshed in surprising ways, revealing deep-seated tensions over class, race, and sexuality. Read more...

An absorbing and remarkably assured debut, It is Wood, It is Stone marries taut, cinematic suspense with intimate, textured domestic realism. Hits a major refresh button on the genre of psychological thriller and gives us something immensely satisfying and new.

[A] captivating novel about a Brazilian American woman, Linda, who moves to São Paulo with her husband... Linda's behavior grows erratic after she becomes attracted to a woman, and she describes her self-dissociation in painstaking, Lispector-esque clarity. Burnham's ever-tense domestic drama becomes an awe-inspiring study of gaps between race and class.

IT IS WOOD, IT IS STONE is included in Travel + Leisure's "The 20 Most Anticipated Books Of Summer 2020" Read more...

IT IS WOOD, IT IS STONE is included in Elle Magazine's "The 30 Most Anticipated New Books Of Summer 2020": I'll be honest: I would recommend this book based on the cover alone. Thankfully, the story inside is equally gorgeous, following three women in São Paulo: the anxious and listless Linda; her conflicted but steady maid, Marta; and Celia, an intoxicating artist with whom Linda leaves home. A lush depiction of privilege and power, sex and stability, It Is Wood, It Is Stone is an elegant arrival of a new talent. Read more...

A searing debut novel, Burnham tells a nuanced and thought-provoking story of privilege, desire, and female kinship.