The Artificial Anatomy of Parks

A young woman is thrust back into the midst of the dysfunctional, secretive family she escaped in this“heart-piercing psychological drama…a stunner” (Carol Cassella, author of Oxygen).

At twenty-one, Tallulah Park lives alone. There's a sink in her bedroom and a strange damp smell that means she wakes up wheezing. It’s far from luxurious, but it’s far away from her difficult family. Then she gets the call that her father has had a heart attack.

Now she’s returning to the root of her bad memories: a world of sniping aunts, precocious cousins, emigrant pianists, and lots of gin, all presided over by an unconventional grandmother. A world where no one will answer Tallie’s questions: Why did Aunt Vivienne loathe Tallie’s mother? Why is everyone making excuses for her absent father? Who was Uncle Jack and why would no one talk about him? As Tallie struggles to grow into independence, she will learn the hard way about damage and betrayal, that in the end, the worst betrayals are those we inflict on ourselves.

“With heartbreakingly understated prose, Kat Gordon lays out the terrible loneliness of a child at the center of an exploded, secretive family. It is an autopsy of how we love and an exploration of forgiveness.” —Liza Klaussmann, author of Tigers in Red Weather

“A genuine and sincere expression of a troubled young soul.”—The Guardian
“A compulsive family drama…an excellent read.”—Emma Chapman, author of How To Be a Good Wife