How to Walk Away is a 2015 novel and the debut novel of Australian novelist Lisa Birman. The work was first published on 1 February 2015 in the United States by Spuyten Duyvil Press. The novel centers on veteran Otis and his wife Cat, a genealogist. How to Walk Away is an exploration of post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive compulsion, body integrity disorder, and the grief of keeping secrets born in war.
 Cover of first edition, cover image: Untitled fresco by George Schneeman | |
| Author | Lisa Birman |
|---|---|
| Genre | Literary Fiction |
| Publisher | Spuyten Duyvil Press |
Publication date | February 1st, 2015 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (softcover) |
| Pages | 288 |
| ISBN | 9781941550021 |
Synopsis
editAfter three years in Afghanistan, Otis is adjusting to life back home. Struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder, he obsessively replays the traumas of war, cataloging the names of the dead. Cat, his wife, is a genealogist who makes maps of families in an attempt to understand her world. When a car accident takes Otis's left arm, he is grateful to bear a physical loss that makes his damaged emotional self visible. As he recovers, he and Cat confront the silences upon which their marriage is built.[1]
Awards
editOn March 17, 2016 Birman's novel was named a finalist, in the genre of literary fiction, by Colorado Humanities for their annual Colorado Book Awards.,[2] and on May 22, 2016 Birman's novel won the award for literary fiction.[3]
Reviews
edit"How to Walk Away starts at the return. Enveloped and interspersed with letter narration, the short and shorter sections of the book craft a psychological domestic journey in three acts from Otis’ isolation to a delayed reunion with his wife, Cat. Birman's careful structure offers road signs for the reader travelling the confusion of the narrator's consuming obsessions." - Chelsea Werner-Jatzke, The Conium Review[4]
"Moment to moment we are with Otis as he tries to fit the pieces of himself back into the form called “normal.” We suffer his claustrophobia-along with his need to escape from his own thoughts." - Judith Podell, American Book Review[5]
See also
edit- The author was interviewed by Peggy Alaniz about the novel for the Woodland Pattern Book Center weblog.[6]
References
edit- ^ "How to Walk Away".
- ^ "2016 Colorado Book Awards Finalists | Colorado Humanities". Archived from the original on 15 August 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
- ^ "2016 Colorado Book Award Winners | Colorado Humanities". www.coloradohumanities.org. Archived from the original on 26 May 2016.
- ^ "Book Review: "How to Walk Away," A Kind of Cartography". 31 January 2015.
- ^ Podell, Judith (2015). "What Lies Beneath". American Book Review. 36 (2): 21. doi:10.1353/abr.2015.0018. S2CID 144738830. Project MUSE 578868.
- ^ ""Peggy Alaniz interviews Lisa Birman"". Woodland Pattern Book Center. Retrieved 16 May 2024.