Nineveh
A Novel
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- $15.99
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
Katya Grubbs is Cape Town’s only ethical pest removal specialist. She expertly wrangles every manner of wild critter, creature or beast with the help of her unwitting nephew, Toby. When she is hired to remove the exotic beetles that have overrun Nineveh, a new luxury housing development on the coast, Katya finds that bugs aren’t the only unwelcome creatures hiding in the new (but inhabited) apartments. As she investigates further, it becomes clear that Nineveh is fast becoming an environmental, not to mention architectural, blunder. With marshlands encroaching on its borders, and the nearby seaside more menace than attraction, Katya becomes immersed in the world of Nineveh’s few residents—the mysterious caretakers and scavenger crews that survive in its shadow. It is only when her estranged father—a professional exterminator fallen on hard times—reappears in her life, that Nineveh’s deeper secrets are exposed.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
South African writer Rose-Innes creates a thoughtful, textured narrative focused on how people interact with their neighbors, the natural world, and the critters that encroach on us all. Katya Grubbs deals in painless pest relocations: no matter the pest, she promises to get rid of it. Instead of exterminating the creatures, she takes them into the wilderness and releases them. It isn't glamorous or high-paying work, but she knows what she's doing and it's a family business. Given the chance at her biggest task yet clearing out troublesome beetles from Nineveh, a new luxury housing complex on the South African coast Katya's attempts don't quite go according to plan. The growing cracks in the walls of her house and the demolition of a tiny park where she used to release insects represent the state of her life. Focused closely on Katya, the narrative is a fragile ecosystem of its own, condensed into her increasingly claustrophobic mind and echoing the environs around her. Katya must find a way to exist with her past and the mixed memories of her father, whose footsteps she followed in despite their estranged relationship. Surreal in style and atmosphere, yet grounded in the reality of place and the ever-present threat of insects, this is a quiet but deep look at the ecosystems we create for ourselves as well as those we can't escape.
