Orchid Child
Orchid Child by Victoria Costello, published by Liminal Books on June 13, 2023, is a 312-page work that explores the intersection of science and mysticism. The narrative follows Kate, a neuroscientist whose orderly life unravels after an affair with her married lab director leads to her dismissal. Pressured by her mother to care for her fifteen-year-old nephew, Teague, who possesses unusual abilities, Kate embarks on a journey to West Ireland to conduct a study on the local prevalence of schizophrenia, only to encounter resistance from the townsfolk and revelations about her family’s past.
Readers will find a rich tapestry of visionary and metaphysical elements woven throughout the story, as Kate grapples with her scientific beliefs while navigating Teague’s unique perceptions and the insights of a local chief Druid. The narrative delves into themes of cultural heritage and the complexities of neurodiversity, ultimately challenging Kate to reconcile her understanding of science with the ancient wisdom of her ancestors. This edition presents a compelling exploration of identity and healing against the backdrop of 20th-century Ireland.
Official synopsis Publisher
Kate is a neuroscientist who covets logic and order, unless she’s sleeping with her married lab director, and then logic goes out the window. So does her orderly life in Manhattan when she’s fired over the affair and Kate’s mother presses her to accept responsibility for her fifteen-year-old nephew, Teague, an orchid child who hears voices and talks to trees but rarely people.
To salvage her career, Kate agrees to conduct a study in West Ireland where hostile townsfolk rebuff her study of their historically high rate of schizophrenia and a local chief Druid identifies Teague’s odd perceptions as the gift of second sight, thrusting a bewildered Kate on a trail of madness, magic, and armed rebellion that leads to her own grandparents, who were banished as traitors from the same town.
When a confrontation with the chief Druid endangers Teague’s life, Kate lands at the intersection of ancient Celtic mysticism and 21st century neurodiversity, where the act of witnessing old wounds can heal suffering in both past and present – even hers, if she can accept the limits of science and the power of ancestral ties.
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