The acclaimed author Camilla Gibb discusses her new novel The Relatives (Doubleday, 2021), with Joseph Planta.

The Relatives by Camilla Gibb (Doubleday, 2021). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: The Relatives

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.

Camilla Gibb joins me again. The acclaimed writer has a new novel out, The Relatives. I quite enjoyed it. It’s a book set in the present that looks at the meaning of family. We have three stories, alternating in the book. Lila is the first character we meet. She’s a social worker who is working with a young girl, who doesn’t speak. Lila’s life is a mess, professionally and otherwise, and she’s trying to figure things out. Whether being a parent is a possibility is something she contends with. Another character we meet is Tess. She’s a single parent to Max, whom she co-parents with Emily. They’ve split up, and there’s a new complication in their relationship. Then there’s Adam, who we don’t really know. I’ll ask Camilla about him and the others. And as expected, there’s a connection between them. They each talk or live out the role of parent, and it’s such a thoughtful meditation on who is a parent, and what is considered a parent. The book also deals with PTSD, as well as fertility law, which brings up largely new considerations. Camilla Gibb is the author of the novels Mouthing the Words, The Petty Details of So-and-so’s Life, Sweetness in the Belly, and The Beauty of Humanity Movement, which she was first on the show with back in 2010. She returned in 2015 just as her bestselling memoir This Is Happy was released. Visit www.camillagibb.com for more, and her Twitter handle is @gibbcamilla. This new book is published by Doubleday. Please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program, Camilla Gibb; Dr. Gibb, good morning.

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