The Crocodile Bride
The Crocodile Bride by Ashleigh Bell Pedersen is a debut novel published by Hub City Press in 2022, featuring 291 pages in English. Set in the summer of 1982, the story follows eleven-year-old Sunshine Turner and her troubled father, Billy, as they navigate the complexities of their family’s past in the small town of Fingertip, Louisiana. Amidst the backdrop of a hot June filled with storms and secrets, Sunshine grapples with her coming-of-age experiences and the challenges posed by her father’s behavior.
Readers will find a narrative that intertwines elements of magical realism with themes of generational trauma and personal discovery. As Sunshine confronts her changing body and the weight of family secrets, she turns to an apocryphal story from her grandmother about a crocodile and a woman with healing powers. This exploration of identity and familial bonds unfolds against the rich tapestry of Southern life, offering insights into the struggles and resilience of its characters.
Official synopsis Publisher
Set during the swampy summer in 1982, this stunning debut novel follows eleven-year-old Sunshine Turner and her troubled father Billy as the secrets of their family’s past swirl around them in the one-road town of Fingertip, Louisiana.
During a hot summer of June moods, grubworms, and dark storms, Sunshine discovers stones in her chest – and learns the dangers her coming-of-age will bring about in the yellow house she shares with her father. Without the vocabulary to comprehend Billy’s actions or her own changing body, Sunshine turns to an apocryphal story passed down from her grandmother: in the dark waters of the Black Bayou lives a crocodile with an insatiable appetite and a woman with a mysterious healing gift. As Sunshine’s summer unspools, she turns to the one person who will need no explanation of the family secrets she carries–the crocodile bride.
The Crocodile Bride is at once a heartbreakingly tender coming-of-age tale and a lyrical, haunting reflection on generational trauma. Reminiscent of Jesmyn Ward and Helen Oyeyemi, Ashleigh Bell Pedersen is a promising new voice in American fiction.
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