Hemlock

Helene Cixous is one of the world's leading writers. She is founder and former director of the Centre de Recherches en Études Féminines at Paris VIII University.

• Mama's Not in Mama - There's Someone ElseIn Which Country?HenbanePut Me a Ghost at the EmbarcaderoThe Vitrine Two Slices of LifeHemlockCousin DeafnessThe JerkGet, GotchaTo Have To Lose The Blue NotebookEri Goes On AheadTranslator's PostfaceNotes

"Focuses on the relationship between Cixous and her mother, gradually building a picture of the painful ambivalence that children experience as they witness their parents' decline. The text forms a patchwork quilt of anecdotes that weave together domesticity and philosophy."Times Literary Supplement "Love and death battle subtly and ceaselessly in this tenderly dramatic, funny, domestic book. Told by a daughter doing all she can not to anticipate the death of her much-loved mother, fiction joins forces with flowers and animals, philosophy and the act of writing itself to affirm life in the teeth of loss."Sarah Wood, University of Kent"Beverly Bie Brahic's beautifully-crafted translation succeeds in capturing the distinctive music and haunting tonality of the original along with its rich web of meaning - this is a wonderful addition to the growing body of works by Cixous available in English"Mairéad Hanrahan, University College London